Fregate Island Palm Beetle
Fregate Island Palm Beetle is a large, flightless tenebrionid beetle, endemic to Fregate Island (Seychelles). In 1996 the species was rated as Critically Endangered since Brown Rats that were introduced into the island posed a threat. A captive breeding programme was established at the Zoological Society of London to prevent the species from becoming extinct. After an effective rat eradication programme was put in place, Fregate Island was declared rat-free in 2001. A new threat appeared in 2002 when a fungal infection affected most of the Narra trees (Pterocarpus indicus), an important species for Fregate Island Palm Beetle. A habitat restoration project allowed to increase the island’s forest diversity, enabling the beetle to use other plant species.
Publications about breeding Fregate Island Palm Beetle in Riga Zoo:
Conservation
■ Listed as Vulnerable (VU) in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
■ The species is managed under the EEP (EAZA Ex-situ Programme). Currently it is coordinated by Bristol Zoo.
Taxonomy
■ Phylum Arthropoda – arthropods
■ Class Insecta – insects
■ Order Coleoptera – beetles
■ Family Tenebrionidae – darkling beetles
■ Species Polposipus herculeanus – Fregate Island Palm Beetle