Dynastes maya explained

Dynastes maya, the Maya white beetle,^[1] is a species of New World scarab beetles (Scarabaeidae). It has a distribution range in the Central American region, specifically in southern Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala. ^[2]

Taxonomy

D. maya is part of the genus Dynastes, whose species include the Hercules beetle. D. maya is sister species to Dynastes moroni.^[3]

Description

The horns on males of this species are thick and stout pronotal. This species elytra has an olive coloured green coloration to it. The species is morphologically similar to the species Dynastes hyllus and Dynastes hercules.^[4] The coloration of its body might be because of introgression from Dynastes septentrionalis, a sympatric species of Hercules beetle. ^[5]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Maya White Beetle (Dynastes maya) . 2023-10-24 . iNaturalist . en.
2. Web site: Dynastes maya Hardy, 2003 . 2023-10-24 . www.gbif.org . en.
3. Huang JP, Knowles LL (2015) The species versus subspecies conundrum: Quantitative delimitation from integrating multiple data types within a single Bayesian approach in Hercules beetles. Syst Biol 65(4):685–99
4. Web site: Generic Guide to New World Scarab Beetles-Scarabaeidae-Dynastinae-Dynastini-Dynastes . 2023-10-24 . unsm-ento.unl.edu.
5. Huang . Jen‐Pan . November 2016 . Parapatric genetic introgression and phenotypic assimilation: testing conditions for introgression between Hercules beetles (Dynastes, Dynastinae) . Molecular Ecology . en . 25 . 21 . 5513–5526 . 10.1111/mec.13849 . 0962-1083. 2027.42/134423 . free .