Janson's long-armed scarab: No measured body size data available to draw at scale.
- · Grid units represent actual meters (m); human and animals are drawn to the exact same scale with original silhouette aspect ratios preserved.
- · When a size range is recorded (e.g. 1–1.6m), the lower bound is used for scale comparison.
- · Human silhouette: PhyloPic — NASA · Public Domain Mark 1.0
Janson's long-armed scarab
Cheirotonus jansoni (Janson's long-armed scarab · Janson's long-armed scarab)
Not Evaluated (NE) on the IUCN Red List yet.
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 In China, it is a Class 2 State Protected Wild Animal, and its range spans 13 provinces and municipalities: Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Hubei, Jiangxi, Hunan, Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi, Chongqing, Sichuan, and Guizhou.
- 💡 Research papers describe this insect as an important decomposer that eats rotten wood and humus, aiding nutrient cycling in forests.
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
Janson's long-armed scarab is a rare large scarab beetle living mainly in southern China, where it is a Class 2 State Protected Wild Animal.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its body is large and its forelegs are unusually long, to the point of making movement awkward. The male's long forelegs play an important role in mating.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It is a decomposer that eats rotten wood and humus, helping nutrient cycling in the forest. Males guard tree hollows, extending their long forelegs into the hole to coax females out, and hold the female firmly with their forelegs during mating.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List: not evaluated (NE) — cross-checked with the Wikidata conservation-status entry
- • catalogueoflife.org — 5XRDD
- • wikidata.org — Q14868830
- • pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov — PMC11677015
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Edwin Price · CC BY 4.0 (Related taxon silhouette — Hylamorpha elegans)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.