Tag Archives: Apetasimus kauaiensis

Apetasimus kauaiensis (Scott)

Kauai Sap Beetle (Apetasimus kauaiensis)

The Kauai Sap Beetle was described in 1908; it was endemic to the Waimea region on the island of Kaua’i in the Hawaiian Islands.

The species reached a length of about 0,53 cm; it was brick red colored, with the lateral margins of the elytra being dark brown. [1]

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Like all members of its group, this species lived under the bark of decaying koa trees (Acacia koa A. Gray), a habitat that now has been overtaken by introduced terrestrial isopods, leading to the extinction of this, and many other endemic invertebrate species. [1]

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References:

[1] Curtis Ewing: Revision of the endemic Hawaiian sap beetle genus Apetasimus Sharp 1908 (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae). Zootaxa 1385: 1-30. 2006

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edited: 02.06.2021