Scarabaeinae, Latreille, 1802

Ratcliffe, Brett C., 2013, The Dung- and Carrion-Feeding Scarabs (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) of an Amazonian Blackwater Rainforest: Results of a Continuous, 56 - Week, Baited-PitfallTrap Study, The Coleopterists Bulletin 67 (4), pp. 481-520 : 507

Scarabaeinae : Oniticellini

The genus Eurysternus Dalman ( Fig. 37 ) was recently reclassified in the Oniticellini and contains 53 species that are found only in the Neotropics ( Génier 2009). Several species of Eurysternus are abundant in the Amazon Basin where most seem to be coprophages. The nidification behavior of only 10 species are known, and this includes complex nesting behavior. Five species of Eurysternus were collected at Reserva Ducke, primarily in the dung traps but occasionally in the carrion traps ( Table 1). Eurysternus atrosericus Génier (Amazon basin of Brazil, Ecuador, Guyana, Venezuela) was the most abundant species collected. It was found throughout the year and represented 92% of all Eurysternus taken in the dung traps.

Figures

Figs. 35–40. Reserva Ducke dung beetles. 35) Onthophagus bidentatus. Photograph by Denis Faure; 36) Onthophagus rubrescens. Photograph by Trond Larsen; 37) Eurysternus caribaeus. Photograph by Trond Larsen; 38) Canthon quadriguttatus rolling a small piece of howler dung spattered on a leaf about 1 m above the ground. Photograph by Trond Larsen; 39) Canthon triangularis. Photograph by Trond Larsen; 40) Cryptocanthon peckorum. Photograph by Trond Larsen. All images used by permission.