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Dung Beetle

Othophagus sp.

Published on Project Noah
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33.1384, -117.051

Field Notes

Description:

Black beetle with ridges on elytra.

Habitat:

wet, dead grass

Species ID Suggestions

Dung Beetle

Othophagus sp.

Reference Link
oxyjack
1

Comments (7)
CindyBinghamKeiser
Thanks so much for the ID! Although it's certainly not the highlight of my collection, I'm always glad to find a new-to-me spotting!
oxyjack
It looks like an Othogphagus beetle, found in California. It has the flattened shovel-like front end of the head that all the dung beetles have for digging through dung. (p.s. Othophagus means "dung eater"). =)
oxyjack
It looks very similar to this one: http://travel.mongabay.com/costa_rica/600/costa_rica_5624.JPG which is found in Costa Rica. Of course, there are quite a few dung beetles in CA that are not native. I'll keep looking and see if I can find a likely candidate.
oxyjack
How big was it? It looks like one of the small dung beetles.

Spotted for Missions

Mission
Southern California Wildlife
Mission
California Coleoptera
Mission
Global Flight
Mission
Beetles!

Tags

Photographed
PublishedMarch 20, 2012

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