False stag beetle

The false stag beetles (Diphyllostoma) are a group of three species of rare beetles known only from California. Almost nothing is known of their life history beyond that the adults are diurnal and females are flightless; larvae have not been observed.

False stag beetle
Illustration of Diphyllostoma fimbriatum (left), and its antenna (a), maxillary palpus (b), labial palpus (c), front tibia and tarsus (d), and hind femur and tibia (e)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Suborder:	Polyphaga
Infraorder:	Scarabaeiformia
Superfamily:	Scarabaeoidea
Family:	Diphyllostomatidae Holloway, 1972
Genus:	Diphyllostoma Fall, 1901[1]
Species
see text

Their length ranges from 5 to 9 mm; bodies are elongate, with a generally dull brown to reddish-brown color. Both body and legs are covered with longish hairs.

Originally classed with the Lucanidae, Diphyllostoma have a number of characteristics not shared with any other type of stag beetle, and so in 1972 Holloway proposed a separate family Diphyllostomatidae, which has since been accepted.

A possible close relative has been reported from mid-Cretaceous aged Burmese amber in Myanmar, dating to around 100 million years ago.^[2]

Species

• Diphyllostoma fimbriatum (Fall, 1901)
• Diphyllostoma linsleyi Fall, 1932
• Diphyllostoma nigricolle Fall, 1912