Gazella scarab ('' Onthophagus gazella'') males; note variation in horn size ''Onthophagus'' is a genus of

dung beetle Dung beetles are beetles that feed on feces. Some species of dung beetles can bury dung 250 times their own mass in one night. Many dung beetles, known as ''rollers'', roll dung into round balls, which are used as a food source or breeding cha ...

s in the Onthophagini tribe of the wider scarab beetle family,

Scarabaeidae The family Scarabaeidae, as currently defined, consists of over 30,000 species of beetles worldwide; they are often called scarabs or scarab beetles. The classification of this family has undergone significant change in recent years. Several sub ...

. It is the most species-rich and widespread genus in the subfamily

Scarabaeinae The scarab beetle subfamily Scarabaeinae consists of species collectively called true dung beetles. Most of the beetles of this subfamily feed exclusively on dung. However, some may feed on decomposing matter including carrion, decaying fruits a ...

(the 'true' dung beetles), with a global distribution.

Etymology

The Genus name derives from the Greek ''onthos'', meaning dung, and ', meaning eater.

Taxonomy

This genus includes more than 20 subgenera and over 2,100 species.Catalogue of life
/ref> Some of the subgenera (including '' Proagoderus'', '' Diastellopalpus'', '' Digitonthophagus'', '' Strandius'', and '' Euonthophagus'') are now widely recognized as genera.

Selected species

* '' Onthophagus (Amphionthophagus) melitaeus'' ( Fabricius, 1798) * '' Onthophagus (Furconthophagus) furcatus'' (Fabricius, 1781) * '' Onthophagus (Onthophagus) illyricus'' (

Scopoli Giovanni Antonio Scopoli (sometimes Latinized as Johannes Antonius Scopolius) (3 June 1723 – 8 May 1788) was an Italian physician and naturalist. His biographer Otto Guglia named him the "first anational European" and the "Linnaeus of the Au ...

Steven Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

, 1809) * '' Onthophagus (Palaeonthophagus) fracticornis'' ( Preyssler, 1790) * '' Onthophagus (Palaeonthophagus) gazella'' ( Fabricius, 1787) * '' Onthophagus (Palaeonthophagus) gibbulus'' (

Pallas Pallas may refer to: Astronomy * 2 Pallas asteroid ** Pallas family, a group of asteroids that includes 2 Pallas * Pallas (crater), a crater on Earth's moon Mythology * Pallas (Giant), a son of Uranus and Gaia, killed and flayed by Athena * Pa ...

, 1781) * '' Onthophagus (Palaeonthophagus) grossepunctatus'' (

Reitter Reitter is a German occupational surname, which means a "mounted soldier" or "knight", from the Middle High German ''ritære'' (" horseman"). Notable people with the surname include: * Edmund Reitter (1845–1920), a Moravia-born Austrian-German e ...

Gallery

File:Proagoderus (=Onthophagus) nigricornis Fairmaire, 1887 male (3232050794).jpg, '' Onthophagus nigricornis'' File:Onthophagus (Gonocyphus) obliquus (Olivier, 1789) male (4346956618).jpg, '' Onthophagus obliquus'' File:Onthophagus (Gonocyphus) shimba Cambefort, 1980 Syn. Onthophagus obliquus shimba Cambefort, 1980 female (4346209433).jpg, '' Onthophagus shimba''

References

7. Kharel BP, Schoolmeester P, Sarkar SK (2020) A first faunistic account on the Onthophagus Latreille, 1802 (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Scarabaeinae) of the Nadia district, West Bengal, with a preliminary checklist from India. Check List 16(2): 361-381. https://doi.org/10.15560/16.2.361

External links