Rare South American ground beetles sport unusual, likely multi-purpose antennal cleaners

For 157 years, scientists have wished they could understand the evolutionary relationships of a curious South American ground beetle that was missing a distinctive feature of the huge family of ground beetles (Carabidae). Could it be that this rare species was indeed lacking a characteristic trait known in over 40,000 species worldwide and how could that be? Was that species assigned to the wrong family from the very beginning?

from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2KhP2DD