Talk:Macrodontia cervicornis

"Official" recognition of "longest beetle" claims

It may help to head off arguments to acknowledge that there are multiple different ways to measure length. I was able to find a fairly detailed thread in this discussion group quoting my colleagues Max Barclay and George Beccaloni at the NHM in London, both authorities on this topic:

"from Max Barclay, Collection Manager, Coleoptera and Hymenoptera:

The heaviest beetles (as adults) are Goliathus, the African goliath beetles and the ‘largest’ is generally given as Titanus giganteus, which is longer than any Goliath beetle and broader than many (though not as bulky). Macrodontia is a much smaller beetle with very long jaws, and generally ‘size’ is counted as not including such appendages. If appendages were to be included, Macrodontia would be as you say much longer than Titanus, and a large male of Dynastes hercules with the very long thoracic horn, or a large specimen of Acrocinus longimanus with extremely long front legs, would also be very strong contenders for the ‘longest’ beetle.

In reality the larvae of Titanus or Macrodontia, or of Megasoma, Goliathus etc. are very much larger than any of the adults, and heavier, though these are not ‘counted’. The larva of Titanus is not to my knowledge even known.

- reply from George Beccaloni, Curator, Orthopteroidea and Wallace Collection:

The definitive information about all of this can be found in my book “Biggest Bugs (Life-size)” which was published by the Museum. The heaviest beetle is the South American Megasoma actaeon (larva at 228 g) [this species is far weightier than the largest goliath beetle]; the longest horned beetle is Dynastes hercules (172 mm); the longest beetle with enlarged jaws is Macrodontia cervicornis (177 mm); and the longest beetle excluding jaws and horns is Titanus giganteus (167 mm)."

As such, each of the WP entries for these beetles should include appropriate "disclaimers" that make clear which criteria are being applied. I will soon modify this article accordingly, in light of these comments. Dyanega (talk) 23:59, 19 February 2019 (UTC)