Goliathus goliatus is a very large species of beetle of the family Scarabaeidae, native to tropical Africa.[1]
Goliathus goliatus is one of the largest species in the genus Goliathus, males having a body length of 50mm110mm and females having a body length of 54mm80mm. The pronotum (thoracic shield) is mainly black, with whitish longitudinal stripes, while the elytra are mostly dark brown in the typical form. The color of the elytra may differ greatly in some other forms, with varying amounts and patterns of brown, white and black. The elytra are mostly white in the "quadrimaculatus" form, which (along with various intermediate forms that have been named "albatus", "apicalis", "conspersus", "hieroglyphicus" and "undulatus") occur together with the more common brown typical form in Benin, eastern Nigeria and western Cameroon.[1]
This species possess a large and membranous secondary pair of wings actually used for flying. When not in use, they are kept completely folded beneath the elytra. The head is whitish, with a black Y-shaped horn in males, used as a pry bar in battles with other males over feeding sites or mates. These beetles feed primarily on tree sap and fruits.
This species is widespread from western to eastern equatorial Africa (Nigeria, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Western Kenya and Northwestern Tanzania).
Goliathus goliatus is mainly present in the equatorial forests and in the sub-equatorial savannah.
On January 1, 1959, a species from Gabon, believed to be the first such beetle seen alive in the United States, went on display at the American Museum of Natural History.[2]