Geotrupidae
Forest dung beetles ( Anoplotrupes stercorosus )
The dung beetle ( Geotrupidae ) are a family of beetles in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea. They were counted earlier than subfamily of the family of scarab beetles (Scarabaeidae ). Until recently it has been attributed as a subfamily, the present family Bolboceratidae. However, this was charged by Browne & Scholtz 1995 in the family rank. The animals live in forests, fields and in the steppe. There are just over 150 known species, 59 of them in Europe, Central Europe there are 11 in five genera.
- 4.1 Notes and references
- 4.2 Literature
Features
Beetle
The beetles are 10.0 to 45.0 millimeters long. They have a dark brown, purple, or black color, often with a metallic sheen. The head is not bent down. The compound eyes are at the Geotrupinae completely, otherwise partly separated by a canthus, the ommatidia are fully developed ( eucon ). The nasopharynx is rounded and has in the Lethrinae a notched anterior margin; in the other subfamilies he is straight. The antennae are 10 -membered in the Geotrupinae and Lethrinae 11 -membered, at the Taurocerastinae and carry a tripartite lobe. The mandibles are at the Taurocerastinae and Geotrupinae elongated, serrated double at the top and have Mesal a brush and connection. The Lethrinae they differ between males and females; in the former they are larger. They are also heavily sclerotized Molaroberflächen and brush are serrated asymmetric. The Maxillarpalpen are four members, the labial palps are also usually, but at the Lethrinae they have three members. The Lethrinae the maxilla is strongly modified. A Empodium formed. The dorsodistale ridge of the wing vein 2Ax has a long and curved apex and a conspicuously long anterior region. The transverse vein ScA BR of 1BP is formed. The stigmata on the first to eighth abdominal segment are functional. The stigma of the first abdominal segment is located at the Geotrupinae and Lethrinae on sternite, the spiracles II to VII in the pleural membrane, is located in the genus Geotrupes the stigma of the eighth abdominal segment on tergite, otherwise as in the pleural membrane. The Taurocerastinae is the stigma of the first to seventh abdominal segment in the pleural membrane, the tergite of the eighth on. Only the Geotrupinae a central nervous system is known in the ganglia of the meso and Metathorax are partially connected to each other and all the ganglia of the abdomen associated with Metathorax.
Larvae
The body of the larvae is broadly C-shaped. The segments of the thorax and the first to sixth segments of the abdomen are dorsally into two folds. The cranium is symmetrical. Simple eyes ( ocelli ) are missing. With the exception of the genera and Taurocerastes Frickius a Frontoclypealnaht is not formed. The face plate ( clypeus ) is symmetric or asymmetric. The labrum is lobed in triplicate. The sensors are tripartite and have no great sense stain. The mandibles are asymmetrical, have a ventral extension and lacks the ventral Stridulationsbereich. Galea and lacinia are clearly separated. On leg ring ( trochanter ) of the middle legs and the rear legs of organs for sound generation is designed. The hind legs are considerably reduced in some species. The spiracles are sieve-like ( cribriform ).
Way of life
The adults are diurnal and nocturnal and clumsy in flight. With them one can observe parental care: males and females dig underground passages and a brood chamber and lay there food supplies for their larvae. The Geotrupinae feed on dung up to fungi and humus. The Lethrinae are the only subfamily, which collect and macerated fresh leaves. The Taurocerastinae feed on the dung of herbivorous mammals. The Lethrinae has been demonstrated that the animals are based on your way of her brood chamber for food sources by factors including the starlight.
Taxonomy and systematics
The family is divided into three subfamilies. The monophyly of the family is well justified by the following autapomorphies: The imagines the Mesale Mandibularbürste is large, the Prementum is separated from the mentum, the dorsodistale branch of the wing vein 2Ax has a long and curved apex and a conspicuously long anterior region, the cross- vein ScA BR of 1BP is formed and the karyotype is 2n = 22 and not 20 Moreover, one can observe parental care in adult beetles. The monophyly of the subfamilies is well-founded.
The following table lists all subfamilies, as well as some central European species:
- Subfamily Geotrupinae (25 genera, about 150 species; Holarctic, New World and a type ( Geotrupes spiniger ) introduced in Australia) Common dung beetles ( Geotrupes stercorarius )
- Forest dung beetles ( Anoplotrupes stercorosus )
- Spring dung beetle ( Geotrupes vernalis )
- Taurus beetle ( Typhaeus typhoeus )
- Odonataeus armed
- Vines Schneider ( Lethrus apterus )