Trigonopterus oblongus

Trigonopterus oblongus is a weevil found in Papua.[1] It was notable as the first known instance of a biological screw joint.[2] The weevils are just 4 millimetres (0.16 in) long and can fold their legs below their body. The biological screw joint is just 0.5 millimetres (0.020 in) in size.[3][4] This discovery was made by Alexander Riedel of the State Museum of Natural History Karlsruhe and by Thomas van de Kamp of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology .[3]

Trigonopterus oblongus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Infraorder: Cucujiformia
Family: Curculionidae
Genus: Trigonopterus
Species:
T. oblongus
Binomial name
Trigonopterus oblongus
(Pascoe, 1885)[1]
Diagram of the biological screw in the weevil Trigonopterus oblongus
The lateral aspect on thorax of the weevil Trigonopterus oblongus. In this genus, the metanepisternite is absent and the elytron touches the metaventrite (indicated).

References
  1. Riedel, Alexander. "The True Weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea, Curculionidae) of Papua Indonesia". Taxonomic and faunistic overviews on the insect species living in Papua and West-Papua (Indonesian New Guinea). The Papua Insect Foundation. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
  2. van de Kamp, Thomas; Vagovic, Patrik; Baumbach, Tilo; Riedel, Alexander (2011). "A Biological Screw in a Beetle's Leg". Science. 333 (6038): 52. doi:10.1126/science.1204245. PMID 21719669. S2CID 8527127.
  3. "Nature uses screws and nuts: Previously unknown musculoskeletal system discovered in weevils". ScienceDaily. Source: Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. 5 July 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  4. Tenenbaum, David J. (30 Jun 2011). "Meet the biological screw". The Why Files. whyfiles.org. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
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