| Creophilus oculatus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Creophilus oculatus on a carcase | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Family: | Staphylinidae |
| Genus: | Creophilus |
| Species: | C. oculatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Creophilus oculatus (Fabricius, 1775) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Creophilus oculatus or devil's coach horse is a species of large carrion-feeding rove beetle endemic to New Zealand. [1] [2]
Creophilus oculatus was described and named by Danish zoologist Johann Christian Fabricius as Staphylinus oculatus. [3] The lectotype and two paralectotype specimens were designated by David J. Clarke in 2011 and are housed at The Natural History Museum, London, UK (BMNH). [4] These were some of the first insect specimens collected in New Zealand by Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander in 1769–1770 on Cook's first voyage to New Zealand. [5] The specimens of C. oculatus were likely collected from dried or decaying animal materials which also contained these carrion beetles. [6]
The name "devil's coach horse" is used for Ocypus olens , another large species of rove beetle found in Europe and North America, so named because of a medieval belief that the Devil took this form to carry away the corpses of sinners. The name probably derived from the threatening appearance of O. olens, which is Britain's largest rove beetle species. [7] [8]
At approximately 20 mm in length, Creophilus oculatus is the largest of the over 1000 species of rove beetle found in New Zealand. [7] It is elongate, black, and shiny, with reduced elytra characteristic of the Staphylinidae, covering one third of its abdomen. Despite its reduced wing covers it is a strong if reluctant flier, preferring to escape by running with the abdomen curled over its back, and when flying is attracted to lights. [7] [9] The orange-red 'spots' behind the eyes distinguish Creophilus oculatus from all other Creophilus species (except rarely C. huttoni ). [4]
The original description listed both Australia and New Zealand as the collection localities for Creophilus oculatus (as "nova Hollandia et Zelandia"). [3] [6] [4] The species has been variously considered to be indigenous, [10] [11] adventive or endemic to New Zealand, [4] and sometimes also indigenous to Australia. [12] The most recent interpretation of the geographical range of Creophilus oculatus is that it is endemic to New Zealand. [4]
Creophilus oculatus is common and widespread throughout New Zealand in the North, South and Stewart Islands, [13] [4] as well as the Chatham Islands, [14] Kermadec Islands, Snares Islands, [4] and Auckland Islands. [15] The species is found in a wide range of habitats including pasture, beach, forest, swamp, tussock land and penguin rookeries, from sea level to 2400 m ASL. [4] [5]
Creophilus oculatus has been collected throughout the year, most commonly from Sept–May. [4]
Creophilus oculatus is a carrion beetle, often been collected from carrion, carrion-baited pitfall traps, or rotting plants, to which it is attracted by smell. [4] [9] The adults are one of the first insect species to arrive at a dead animal. Rather than feed directly on carrion, they consume carrion-feeding insects, especially the maggots of blowflies, and have been observed tearing open flies with their curved jaws to feed on their eggs. [7] These beetles discharge an unpleasant-smelling white substance—described as smelling like "rotten fish" [9] —from glands on their abdomen when threatened. [4]
Adults lay their eggs in a carcase, and the larvae are also predators of carrion-feeding insects. Although adult and larval stages of C. oculatus are documented and illustrated, the pupae are unknown. [4]
The rove beetles are a family (Staphylinidae) of beetles, primarily distinguished by their short elytra that typically leave more than half of their abdominal segments exposed. With over 66,000 species in thousands of genera, the group is the largest family in the beetle order, and one of the largest families of organisms. It is an ancient group, with fossilized rove beetles known from the Triassic, 200 million years ago, and possibly even earlier if the genus Leehermania proves to be a member of this family. They are an ecologically and morphologically diverse group of beetles, and commonly encountered in terrestrial ecosystems.
The devil's coach-horse beetle is a species of beetle belonging to the large family of the rove beetles (Staphylinidae). It was originally included in the genus Staphylinus in 1764,and some authors and biologists still use this classification.
Staphylinoidea is a superfamily of beetles. It is a very large and diverse group with worldwide distribution.
Velleius dilatatus, the hornet rove beetle, is a species of rove beetle belonging to the family Staphylinidae. This beetle is commensal with the European hornet, living in its nests.
The American carrion beetle is a North American beetle of the family Silphidae. It lays its eggs in, and its larvae consume, raw flesh and fungi. The larvae and adults also consume fly larvae and the larvae of other carrion beetles that compete for the same food sources as their larvae. They prefer to live in marshy and woody habitats. Necrophila americana emerge from their larval state in the early summer. The P. ashtoni cuckoo bumble bee displays close mimicry with the American carrion beetle. They are important in forensic studies because of their tendency to thrive on large carcasses.
Creophilus maxillosus, the hairy rove beetle, is a species of rove beetle.
Austrocidaria similata is a species of moth of the family Geometridae. It endemic to New Zealand.
Sabatinca incongruella is a species of moth of the family Micropterigidae. It is endemic to New Zealand and is found only in the northern parts of the South Island. It is a day flying moth and is on the wing from mid January until late February. The larvae of this species feed on liverworts and the adult moths feed on the spores of fern species in the genus Pneumatopteris. This species can be confused with S. chalcophanes as it is very similar in appearance.
Staphylininae are a subfamily of rove beetles. They contain the typical rove beetles with their long but fairly robust blunt-headed and -tipped bodies and short elytra, as well as some more unusually-shaped lineages.
Creophilus is a genus of beetles of the Staphylinidae family, subfamily Staphylininae. It includes some of the largest rove beetle species, up to 30 mm long. Almost all species live primarily on carrion and feed on maggots, and so are of interest to forensic entomologists estimating the age of a corpse. The European species C. maxillosus was described in the Systema Naturae, and has been widely studied, but some other species in the genus are little known.
Staphylinini is a tribe of large rove beetles in the family Staphylinidae. There are at least 20 genera and 120 described species in Staphylinini.
Bledius annularis, or ringed borrow rove beetle, is a species of spiny-legged rove beetle in the family Staphylinidae. It is found in North America.
Ontholestes cingulatus, known generally as the gold-and-brown rove beetle or carrion beetle, is a species of large rove beetle in the family Staphylinidae.
Oemona hirta, the lemon tree borer, also known as the whistling beetle or the singing beetle, is a longhorn beetle endemic to New Zealand. Its larvae are generalist feeders, boring into the wood of a wide variety of trees, native and introduced. When citrus orchards were first established in New Zealand, this beetle started inflicting serious damage, and so gained the name "lemon tree borer". Four species within the genus Oemona have been identified, suggesting that more species could be found. When disturbed by predators or humans, the adult beetle stridulates creating a "rasp" or "squeak" sound by rubbing its thorax and head together against an area of thin ridges. Māori would eat a liquid called "pia manuka", which was produced by manuka trees when its wood was damaged by the larvae. When Captain Cook first arrived in NZ, his naturalists, Banks and Solander, collected a lemon tree borer in their first collection between 1769 and 1771. This oldest collected specimen can be found in the British Museum. A few years after the first collection, the species would be first described by the Danish naturalist Fabricius in 1775.
Creophilus rekohuensis is a beetle of the Staphylinidae family, subfamily Staphylininae. This species occurs only on some small predator-free islands in the Chatham Islands, New Zealand, where it lives in seabird burrows. Its name derives from Rekohu, the Moriori name for Chatham Island.
Necrodes littoralis, also known as the short sexton beetle, is a species of carrion beetle of the genus Necrodes, found in countries across Europe. As a carrion beetle, it feeds on decaying vertebrate remains and maggots. This species' feeding behaviors make it an important asset to forensic entomology.
Neocicindela dunedensis, also known as the Dunedin tiger beetle, is a small species of tiger beetle in the genus Neocicindela endemic to New Zealand.
Stephen Ernest Thorpe was an English-born entomologist in New Zealand. He contributed vast amounts of data and analysis in many contexts, particularly to iNaturalist. Thorpe was a member of the research group that described the beetle genus Neodoxa in 2003. In 2011, he helped with describing the New Zealand marsh beetle species Stenocyphon neozealandicus by recognising the species among unsorted insect specimens at Auckland War Memorial Museum while he was volunteering. Thorpe was murdered on 24 August 2024 during his daily walk to search for insects and plants. Thirteen species were named after Thorpe.
Cyparium thorpei is a species of rove beetle belonging to the family Staphylinidae. The species was first described by Ivan Löbl and Richard A. B. Leschen in 2003, and is endemic to New Zealand.
Pseudopisalia is a monotypic genus of rove beetle belonging to the family Staphylinidae. The sole species found in this genus is Pseudopisalia turbotti. Both the genus and species were first described by Malcolm Cameron in 1950. Pseudopisalia turbotti is endemic to Manawatāwhi / Three Kings Islands in New Zealand.
