Agathidium
Agathidium is the name of an obscure genus of small, slime mold-feeding beetles found in North and Central America. It includes about 100 species (over 60 described by Kelly B. Miller of Brigham Young University and Quentin Wheeler of the Natural History Museum in London in the March 24, 2005, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History).
The creatures are highly contractile and are able to roll themselves up into a virtual sphere.
Males of some species exhibit large horns extending from the left mandible. The horn is unique in that it is dramatically asymmetrical, unlike most male ornaments in insects, which are bilaterally symmetrical.
Males use a head-thrusting behavior to dislodge other males from the surfaces of the slime molds on which they feed, and horned males appear better able to dislodge opponents. This presumably increases the opportunity for the winning male to mate. Head thrusting is also used, less vigorously, on females before and after mating.
Some of the new species have been named in homage to U.S. government officials, such as:
There is also an Agathidium vaderi Miller and Wheeler, named for its shiny Darth Vader-like head.
Last updated: February 13, 2007.
