Family: Lucanidae (stag beetles)

Life > Eukaryotes > Opisthokonta > Metazoa (animals) > Bilateria > Ecdysozoa > Panarthropoda > Tritocerebra > Arthopoda > Mandibulata > Atelocerata > Panhexapoda > Hexapoda > Insecta (insects) > Dicondyla > Pterygota > Metapterygota > Neoptera > Eumetabola > Holometabola > Coleoptera (beetles) > Polyphaga > Superfamily: Scarabaeoidea

Medium to large beetles (15-35mm). Smooth and usually black or dark or reddish brown. It is thought that adults do not feed or might take nectar and/or plant sap. Male mandibles are large and toothed, usually larger than the female. The larvae bore into decaying wood and are therefore associated with forests. However, Colophon is the exception. Little is known about this genus that is limited to higher regions of some mountains of the south western Cape in South Africa. They are thought to feed on  roots of Restionaceae (grasses, sedges).

Some subfamilies that occur in southern Africa.