The Giant Lord Howe Island Roof Beetle was described in 1929 based on specimens that had been collected from the summit of Mt. Lidgbird on Lord Howe Island, Australia.

The species was flightless, it reached a size of about 1,7 cm, making it a true giant compared to most other species of its family.

The Giant Lord Howe Island Roof Beetle has never been found again since its description, and it is quite clear that this big insect fell victim to introduced mice and rats, it is now extinct. [1][2]

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Lord Howe Island still harbors two very large members of the same genus: Hesperus dolichoderes (Lea) and Hesperus pacificus Olliff. [2]

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References:

[1] Department of Environment and Climate Change (NSW), Lord Howe Island Biodiversity Management Plan Appendices, Department of Environment and Climate Change (NSW), Sydney 2007
[2] Arn Rytter Jensen; Josh Jenkins Shaw; Dagmara Żyła; Alexey Solodovnikov: A total-evidence approach resolves phylogenetic placement of ‘Cafius’ gigas, a unique recently extinct rove beetle from Lord Howe Island. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 190(4): 1159-1174. 2020

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edited: 26.04.2022