| Carabus gigas | |
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| Carabus gigas male and female, at National Museum (Prague) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Family: | Carabidae |
| Genus: | Carabus |
| Division: | Carabus div. Multistriati |
| Subdivision: | Carabus subdiv. Procrustimorphi |
| Subgenus: | Carabus (Procerus) |
| Species: | C. gigas |
| Binomial name | |
| Carabus gigas Creutzer, 1799 |
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| Synonyms | |
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Carabus gigas is a species of beetles belonging to the Carabidae family.
Contents |
Carabus gigas is the Europe's largest ground beetle, it can reach a length of about 40–70 millimetres (1.6–2.8 in). The upper surface is black and glossy. The elytrtra are oval , strongly convex and covered with about 15 rows of more or less small tubercles. Also the pronotum has a granular surface. The adults reach the age of 3 years or more. These beetles primarily feed on snails.
This species is endemic to Europe and occurs in South-East Europe and in Central Europe, the range extends into Styria and Carinthia. It is observed in Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, mainland Greece, Hungary, mainland Italy, Macedonia, Romania, Slovenia and Yugoslavia.
Carabus gigas lives in moist and subalpine highlands.