Summary ⁶

The great diving beetle, Dytiscus marginalis, is a large aquatic diving beetle native to Europe and northern Asia, and is particularly common in England. The great diving beetle, true to its name, is a rather sizable insect. The larvae can grow up to 60 millimetres (2.4 in) in length, while the adults are generally between 27–35 millimetres (1.1–1.4 in).

Morphology ⁷

These aquatic diving beetles have bodies that are compressed top to bottom and keeled laterally and ventrally. They have hydrodynamic bodies and average 27mm in length.

Range mass: 30 (high) g.

Other Physical Features: ectothermic ; bilateral symmetry

Habitat ⁸

Dytiscus marginalis do not exist below certain elevations and are found in mountain lakes or ponds or in collections of melted snow. Adults hibernate under stones to avoid being frozen in the water during colder seasons. (Evans and Bellamy 1996) These beetles are active anywhere by the ice, where they exploite the oxygen bubbles that usually occur under ice along with dissolved oxygen.(Crowson 1981)

Terrestrial Biomes: tundra ; mountains

Aquatic Biomes: lakes and ponds

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Bernard DUPONT, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/berniedup/8332211239/
2. (c) anonymous, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://www.biopix.com/PhotosMedium/Dytiscus%20marginalis%2000014.JPG
3. (c) Michal Maňas, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://www.biolib.cz/IMG/GAL/4307.jpg
4. David Kesl, no known copyright restrictions (public domain), https://www.biolib.cz/IMG/GAL/36998.jpg
5. (c) Stanislav Krejčík, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.biolib.cz/IMG/GAL/39912.jpg
6. (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dytiscus_marginalis
7. (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31391965
8. (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31391964

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• CUIC Insect Images
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• NBN Atlas
• 日本のレッドデータ検索システム

Range Map

(c) Discover Life and original sources, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC-SA)

iNat Map