The rove beetles (Staphylinidae) contain about 63000 species, making it one of the largest families in the animal kingdom, several new species are being described every year.
So, it is no wonder that this family also contains countless extinct forms – at least 18 are known from subfossil remains found on the Austral Islands so far.
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edited: 31.10.2020
Wollaston’s Ant-like Beetle was described in 1879; it was endemic to the island of Saint Helena in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
The species was apparently last seen in 1836 and now feared to be extinct, unfortunately I could not find any additional information.
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I’m not quite sure if this species indeed is the same as Euconnus wollastoni (Waterhouse).
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edited: 27.05.2021
Upolu Cephalochetus Roof Beetle (Cephalochetus sp.)
This species is known only from several subfossil remains that have been recovered from samplings from the island of ‘Upolu, Samoa by Nick Porch, an Australian entomologist specialized in subfossil insect remains.
The species must have had a size of about 0,3 cm in length.
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The genus was formerly known to occur on the Fijian Islands, so this is a new record for the Samoan Islands.
The species might quite likely be still alive, but will be mentioned here for completeness.
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edited: 31.10.2020
Moorean Osoriine Rove Beetle (Staphylinidae gen. & sp.)
This species is known from at least a single head capsule that was recovered from deposits on the island of Mo’orea in the Society Islands; it can at least assigned to the subfamily Osoriinae. [1]
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References:
[1] Jennifer G. Kahn, Cordelia Nickelsen, Janelle Stevenson, Nick Porch, Emilie Dotte-Sarout, Carl C. Christensen, Lauren May, J. Stephen Athens, Patrick V. Kirch: Mid- to late Holocene landscape change and anthropogenic transformations on Mo‘orea, Society Islands: A multi-proxy approach. The Holocene 1-15. 2014
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edited: 31.10.2020
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