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What are these prehistoric-looking bugs that have emerged in a recent viral Reddit post?
Could you guess that these are actually beetles?
They're called trilobite beetles, and they're a rare group of beetles with many species that are native to Malaysia!
They can be found across both Peninsular and East Malaysia, and the largest ones can grow up to 8cm long. For comparison, the average beetle is about 7mm long.
Much like typical beetles, trilobite beetles live in mossy undergrowth. Based on the shape of their mouthparts, it is theorised they feed on forest detritus such as rotting wood and fungi.
Yet they don't look much like beetles, do they? That's why they're called trilobite beetles, since they resemble the long-extinct trilobite group of sea animals. There's no relation, though — trilobite beetles evolved 200 million years after trilobites went extinct!
Only female trilobite beetles look like that, and it's because they don't change much from their larval forms
In other words, the females grow larger (much larger) as they mature, but they don't actually adult in the same way other insects do when they metamorphose.
So, something like a caterpillar maturing into a butterfly? That doesn't happen for these beetles (for the females, at least).
This phenomena is called neoteny, when adult insects retain their larval appearance. The specific variation where females do not change in appearance as adults only occurs in several insect groups such as bagworm moths, many firefly species, and of course, trilobite beetles.
Male trilobite beetles, on the other hand, metamorphose into adult forms that resemble typical beetles, with flight-capable wings. They are also much smaller than their female counterparts.
Also, these female beetles can retract their heads into their armoured shell, just like a tortoise.
A male and female of the same trilobite beetle species.
Image via Tiia Monto/WikimediaThese insects baffled Western scientists for over 200 years
Due to their 'larval' appearance, scientists could not understand what adult forms these beetles matured into, nor did they identify male beetles until a hundred years after their initial discovery.
Sightings of males are even rarer than the females because of how much smaller they are. And due to how different they look, it is very hard to tell if two male and female trilobite beetles are of the same exact species.
There are only two methods to confirm the gender of a trilobite beetle — either through DNA analysis, or by observing a female beetle until a male beetle looking for a mate appears 😉.
Are these fantastical bugs in danger of extinction?
Some species are, while others are considered to be at risk.
Unfortunately, the bright colours and distinct appearances of the trilobite beetles make them attractive to collectors and the illegal pet trade, and female beetles — due to their slow speed and inability to fly — are particularly vulnerable.
According to BBC's Discover Wildlife, there is also a lack of data on these animals that comes down to the difficulty of caring for them in captivity.
Nonetheless, it's amazing that Malaysia is home to such cool-looking creepy-crawlies.
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