Carabus gigas
| Carabus gigas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 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 | |
| Synonyms | |
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Carabus gigas is a species of beetles belonging to the Carabidae family.
Description
Carabus gigas is the largest European ground beetle, reaching 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.
Distribution
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, Serbia and Slovenia.
Habitat
Carabus gigas lives in moist and subalpine highlands.
Subspecies
- Carabus g. duponcheli, Dejean, 1831 (Southern Greece)
- Carabus g. parnassicus, Kraatz, 1884 (Greece, Macedonia, southern Albania)
Gallery
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Illustration of Carabus gigas from Carl Gustav Calwer and Gustav Jäger, "Naturgeschichte der Käfer Europas" (1876), Table 1, Picture 13.
References
- ↑ Carabus gigas, biolib.cz
External links
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Wikispecies has information related to: Carabus gigas |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Carabus gigas. |