''Oxysternon'' is a genus of
Scarabaeidae or scarab beetles in the superfamily
Scarabaeoidea. It can be distinguished from all other phanaeines and scarabaeine dung beetles by a long, spiniform extension of the anterior angle of the metasternum. Most taxa vary in color and color pattern, and are more commonly found in tones of green, often infused with yellow or coppery highlights. All species appear very smooth or glassy smooth to the unaided eye.
Taxonomy and nomenclature
The genus ''Sternaspis'' was proposed first by Hope in 1837, but the name was preoccupied and thus invalid.
Laporte, writing under the
pen name
A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name.
A pen na ...
of Le Compte de Castelnau, proposed the genus Oxysternon to include several species of Phaneus-like species. ''O. festivum'' was later designated as the type species.
[, pag]
82
/ref>
Phylogeny and evolution
The genus is monophyletic
In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...
and its sister group is the genus Phanaeus. Two subgenera and two further species groups are recognized by some authors. It has been suggested that the current distribution of the species reflect vicariance events
Allopatric speciation () – also referred to as geographic speciation, vicariant speciation, or its earlier name the dumbbell model – is a mode of speciation that occurs when biological populations become geographically isolated from ...
following climatic fluctuations in the Amazon.
Diversity
There are currently 11 species in the genus ''Oxysternon''.Oxysternon conspicillatum
''Oxysternon conspicillatum'' is a species of dung beetle. It is widespread and common in both evergreen and deciduous forests of Central America and northern South America, and generally sticks to lowland, dry tropical and bamboo forests. The la ...
'' Weber, 1801
* ''Oxysternon durantoni
''Oxysternon'' is a genus of Scarabaeidae or scarab beetles in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea. It can be distinguished from all other phanaeines and scarabaeine dung beetles by a long, spiniform extension of the anterior angle of the metasternum ...
'' Arnaud, 1984
* ''Oxysternon ebeninum
''Oxysternon'' is a genus of Scarabaeidae or scarab beetles in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea. It can be distinguished from all other phanaeines and scarabaeine dung beetles by a long, spiniform extension of the anterior angle of the metasternum ...
'' (Nevinson, 1890)
* ''Oxysternon festivum
''Oxysternon festivum'' is a species of dung-beetle of the scarab beetle family.
Description
''Oxysternon festivum'' has a colored dorsum and black head and underside, the pronotum is smooth. As most Oxysternon species, it has considerable v ...
'' ( Linnaeus, 1767)[ pag]
552
/ref>
* ''Oxysternon lautum
''Oxysternon'' is a genus of Scarabaeidae or scarab beetles in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea. It can be distinguished from all other phanaeines and scarabaeine dung beetles by a long, spiniform extension of the anterior angle of the metasternum ...
'' (Macleay, 1819)
* ''Oxysternon macleayi
''Oxysternon'' is a genus of Scarabaeidae or scarab beetles in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea. It can be distinguished from all other phanaeines and scarabaeine dung beetles by a long, spiniform extension of the anterior angle of the metasternum ...
'' (Nevinson, 1892)
* ''Oxysternon palaemon
''Oxysternon'' is a genus of Scarabaeidae or scarab beetles in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea. It can be distinguished from all other phanaeines and scarabaeine dung beetles by a long, spiniform extension of the anterior angle of the metasternum ...
'' Laporte, 1840
* ''Oxysternon pteroderum
''Oxysternon'' is a genus of Scarabaeidae or scarab beetles in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea. It can be distinguished from all other phanaeines and scarabaeine dung beetles by a long, spiniform extension of the anterior angle of the metasternum ...
'' Nevinson, 1892
* ''Oxysternon silenus
''Oxysternon'' is a genus of Scarabaeidae or scarab beetles in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea. It can be distinguished from all other phanaeines and scarabaeine dung beetles by a long, spiniform extension of the anterior angle of the metasternum ...
'' Laporte, 1840
* ''Oxysternon spiniferum
''Oxysternon'' is a genus of Scarabaeidae or scarab beetles in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea. It can be distinguished from all other phanaeines and scarabaeine dung beetles by a long, spiniform extension of the anterior angle of the metasternum ...
'' Laporte, 1840
* '' Oxysternon striatopunctatum'' Olsoufieff, 1924
Distribution
''Oxysternon'' is a neotropical genus occurring north of the Tropic of Capricorn and east of the Andes. Only two, widespread species are found in the northwest of South America and up to the southern portion of Central America. Most ''Oxysternon'' species have restricted distributions within the Amazon basin, the Guiana Shield, the Cerrado region and the Atlantic coastal forest
The Atlantic Forest ( pt, Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and the ...
of Brazil.
Ecology
''Oxysternon palaemon'' is a common beetle in the cerrado formations of Brazil and adjacent areas of Bolivia and Paraguay. All other species inhabit supermoist to mesic forest habitats with different degrees of tolerance to fragmentation and forest degradation.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3359154
Scarabaeidae