Platychelus musculus

Platychelus musculus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Suborder: Polyphaga
Infraorder: Scarabaeiformia
Family: Scarabaeidae
Genus: Platychelus
Species:
P. musculus
Binomial name
Platychelus musculus

Platychelus musculus is a species of beetle of the family Scarabaeidae.[1] It is found in South Africa (Cape).[2][3]

Description

Adults reach a length of about 4.25 mm (0.167 in). They are very similar to Platychelus litigosus, but smaller, more depressed, and has longer hairs everywhere. The clypeus is more rounded, broader, not sharp laterally, and closely punctulate like the pronotum. In females, there is a weak longitudinal furrow. The elytra are closely punctulate and are equally covered with long yellowish grey hairs. The abdomen, pectus, and legs have similar hairs. In females, the elytra, tarsi, hind legs, antennae, and palpi are red, but in males they are brown.[3]

References

  1. ^ BioLib
  2. ^ Schoolmeesters, P. (2025). "Platychelus musculus at Catalogue of Life". World Scarabaeidae Database (version 2025-10-07). In O. Bánki, Y. Roskov, M. Döring, G. Ower, D. R. Hernández Robles, C. A. Plata Corredor, T. Stjernegaard Jeppesen, A. Örn, T. Pape, D. Hobern, S. Garnett, H. Little, R. E. DeWalt, J. Miller, T. Orrell, & R. Aalbu, Catalogue of Life (2026-01-16). Amsterdam, Netherlands: Catalogue of Life Foundation. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  3. ^ a b Péringuey, L. (1902). "Descriptive catalogue of the Coleoptera of South Africa (Lucanidae and Scarabaeidae), Sub-families: Rutelinae, Hopliinae". Transactions of the South African Philosophical Society. 12: 561–920. Retrieved March 16, 2026. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.