Oryctoantiquus borealis

Oryctoantiquus borealis; Temporal range: Eocene
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Family:	Scarabaeidae
Subfamily:	Dynastinae
Genus:	Oryctoantiquus
Species:	†O. borealis
Binomial name
	†Oryctoantiquus borealis; Ratcliffe et al., 2005

Oryctoantiquus borealis is the largest known extinct species of beetle in the family Scarabaeidae and is currently the oldest specimen of the subfamily Dynastinae.[1]

Description

Based on their single known fossil, O. borealis is 50 mm in length--5 millimeters longer than the previous largest known Scarabaeidae fossil, Cheirotonus otai.[1]

Habitat & distribution

The only known fossil of O. borealis was found west of the town Mitchell, Oregon. Fossils of flora gathered in the same area indicated that they would have lived in a tropical, forested climate at the time that they thrived. However, during the time they were extant the climate of their habitat changed drastically from tropical to a cooler, temperate climate; this event is known as the Eocene-Oligocene extinction event. This led to O. borealis going extinct, as they were unable to thrive in the new temperate environment.[1]

Etymology

Oryctoantiquus borealis' genus is derived from the Greek word oryktes, meaning "digger", and the Latin word antiquuis, meaning "old". Thus meaning "old digger", referencing both the Dynastinae family's digging adaptations and the 45 million year old age of the fossil. The species name is derived from the Latin word borealis, meaning "northern" or "north", referencing that O. borealis has a northern locality (in contrast to the mainly southern distribution of other beetles in the tribe of oryctine). [1]

References

Ratcliffe, Brett; Smith, Dena M.; Erwin, Diane Marie (January 2005). "ORYCTOANTIQUUS BOREALIS, NEW GENUS AND SPECIES FROM THE EOCENE OF OREGON, U.S.A., THE WORLD'S OLDEST FOSSIL DYNASTINE AND LARGEST FOSSIL SCARABAEID (COLEOPTERA : SCARABAEIDAE : DYNASTINAE)". The Coleopterists Bulletin. 59 (1). Retrieved July 11, 2023.

External links

Oryctoantiquus classifications & fossil distribution

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[:0-1] Ratcliffe, Brett; Smith, Dena M.; Erwin, Diane Marie (January 2005). "ORYCTOANTIQUUS BOREALIS, NEW GENUS AND SPECIES FROM THE EOCENE OF OREGON, U.S.A., THE WORLD'S OLDEST FOSSIL DYNASTINE AND LARGEST FOSSIL SCARABAEID (COLEOPTERA : SCARABAEIDAE : DYNASTINAE)". The Coleopterists Bulletin. 59 (1). Retrieved July 11, 2023.