Trogloderus major

Trogloderus major is a psammophilic darkling beetle species described in 2019 from the Mohave Desert. It belongs to the genus Trogloderus, a group of sand-dwelling beetles restricted to dunes and sandy habitats in the western United States. The species was erected based on combined morphological and molecular evidence as part of a phylogenetic revision that recognized six new species from desert regions. Phylogenetic analysis dates the most recent common ancestor of the genus to 5.2 million years ago, with current species likely diverging during the mid-Pleistocene.