Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Aug 1, 2026

Lepidochora

Lepidochora is a genus of darkling beetles endemic to Namibia commonly known as the flying saucer beetles. They have been observed digging trenches on sand dunes and returning to collect water condensation that collected in the trenches during a fog.

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Aug 1, 2026
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Lepidochora
Lepidochora discoidalis argentogrisea
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Pancrustacea
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Suborder: Polyphaga
Infraorder: Cucujiformia
Family: Tenebrionidae
Genus: Lepidochora
Koch, 19521
Synonyms1
  • Lepidichora Gebien, 1938

Lepidochora is a genus of darkling beetles endemic to Namibia commonly known as the flying saucer beetles.2 They have been observed digging trenches on sand dunes and returning to collect water condensation that collected in the trenches during a fog.3

Species

The species recognized in Lepidochora are:2

  • Lepidochora diaphana
  • Lepidochora discoidalis
    • Lepidochora discoidalis ssp. argentogrisea
  • Lepidochora eberlanzi
  • Lepidochora kahani
  • Lepidochora nocturna
  • Lepidochora pilosa
  • Lepidochora porti
References

References

  1. "Lepidochora Koch, 1952". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  2. Citizen science observations for Flying Saucer Beetles (Genus Lepidochora) at iNaturalist
  3. Seely, M. K.; Hamilton, W. J. (1976-08-06). "Fog catchment sand trenches constructed by tenebrionid beetles, lepidochora, from the namib desert". Science. 193 (4252): 484–486. Bibcode:1976Sci...193..484S. doi:10.1126/science.193.4252.484. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 17841821.