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This Alien-looking Beetle Lives in S’pore & Was Featured in National Geographic

2019-08-19 , 6:00 am

A rare and mysterious beetle

This alien-looking beetle is a rare trilobite female beetle that has baffled scientists for over two centuries. For (ancient) history buffs, you’ll think the beetle is related to the trilobites, a species of armoured sea creatures that existed in prehistoric times.

But they’re not. The beetles have been around for 47 million years, about 200 million years after the trilobites went extinct.

Male Trilobite beetles even harder to identify

The female beetles are alien-looking and rarely seen but their male counterparts are even harder to spot. The male trilobite beetles are only a tenth of their female counterparts and look totally different.

The only way to identify a male trilobite beetle is to witness them mating. Till today, the beetles were only caught in the act twice – once in 1925 and once in 1993 ever since they were discovered in the 1800s.

Singapore Ecologist Mark Wong

He was looking for ants in a Singapore forest when he flipped over a log. Initially, he mistook the beetle to be a piece of fungus until he realised it was moving slowly.

His video was featured on the National Geographic Facebook Page and has since garnered 15.7 million views.

This Alien-looking Beetle Lives in S’pore & Was Featured in National Geographic

A rare and mysterious beetle

Male Trilobite beetles even harder to identify

Singapore Ecologist Mark Wong

Check out the video of the beetle below:

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