Agathidium vaderi is a species of round fungus beetle in the family Leiodidae. It is found in North America.[1][2] The beetle was named after the fictional character Darth Vader by Cornell University entomologists due to its shiny helmetlike head that resembles that of the Star Wars villain.[3][4]

Agathidium vaderi
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Leiodidae
Genus: Agathidium
Species:
A. vaderi
Binomial name
Agathidium vaderi
Miller, K.B. & Q.D.Wheeler, 2005

Range

edit

Agathidium vaderi has been observed in the mountains of western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and northern Georgia, including the Great Smoky Mountains.[5]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Agathidium vaderi Report". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
  2. ^ "Agathidium vaderi". GBIF. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
  3. ^ "Slime-mold beetles named for Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld -- but strictly in homage". Cornell Chronicle. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
  4. ^ Duntley, Sonja Meyer (March 5, 2014). "ESF president's favorite insect, the Darth Vader beetle: CNY Science". The Post-Standard. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  5. ^ Miller, Kelly B.; Wheeler, Quentin D. (2005). "Slime-mold beetles of the genus Agathidium Panzer in North and Central America, Part II. Coleoptera: Leiodidae". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 2005 (291): 87–88. doi:10.1206/0003-0090(2005)291<0001:SBOTGA>2.0.CO;2. hdl:2246/459. S2CID 85624633.

Further reading

edit