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Scientific name Dorcus formosanus Miwa, 1929
=Dorcus curvidens formosanus Miwa, 1929
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Chinese name 台灣大鍬形蟲
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English name
Formosan Stag Beetle, Formosan Giant Stag Beetle |
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Classification 鍬形蟲科(Lucanidae)
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Diagnosis
Body length variable with individuals, male 2.4-7.8 cm
and female 3.3-4.7 cm. Large male individual bearing prominent
and arched mandible with an inner tooth sharper than that
of D. schenklingi; punctuation on elytra, cranial and
thoracic portions more significant in smaller individuals;
punctuation in female usually arranged in longitudinal
lines. |
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Distribution
Widely distributed in the lowland and at lower elevation
of the whole island. |
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Habitat and Ecology
The adults occur in April to August in general, and easily
attracted by light. The larvae live within rotten woods.
For more detail about larval and adult morphological observations
see Chang (1993), Wang (1994) and Mizunuma & Nagai
(1994). |
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Threats and Conservation Status
Since large male individuals are highly priced in specimen
trading market, and owning a large individual has been
regarded a "challenge" and "symbol of achievement"
in amateur collectors and students, this species has faced
serious threats by such collecting "culture"
and habitat destruction for the past decades. Captive
breeding may release only a part of the threats from insect
trading and demand from amateur collectors because wild
individuals are always priced much higher. According to
Nilsson et al. (2000), protecting the primary forests
would be the best and most sustainable way to preserve
stag beetles, but the present "culture of insect
collecting" may have caused some unpredictable impacts
on local populations. |
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Remarks
In Mizunuma & Nagai (1994), Dorcus formosnus is regarded
as a subspecies of D. curvidens, while in some literature,
formosanus is attributed to Dorcus hopei (Saunders, 1854)
or D. grandis (Didier, 1926) (Ikeda & Nishimura, 1995).
Until the interrelationships within the whole species-complex
are elucidated, we suggest to follow the original nomenclatural
combination. |
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