Liatongus rhadamistus

Liatongus rhadamistus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Suborder:	Polyphaga
Superfamily:	Cucujoidea
Family:	Scarabaeidae
Subfamily:	Scarabaeinae
Genus:	Liatongus
Species:	L. rhadamistus
Binomial name
Liatongus rhadamistus (Fabricius, 1775)
Synonyms
Scaptodera rhadamistusMacLeay, 1821

Liatongus rhadamistus, or Scaptodera rhadamistus, ^[1] is a species of dung beetle found in India, Sri Lanka, Laos and Thailand. ^[2]

Description

This elongate-oval, little flattened species has an average length of about 11 to 15 mm. Body bright orange-yellow in color. Head, pronotum, basal aid sutural margins of the elytra are bluish or greenish-black in color. There is a greenish-black spot common to both elytra upon the middle of the suture. Pygidium posterior, the sterna, abdomen, tibiae and tarsi are dark green in color. A slight metallic golden lustre found at the sides of the pronotum. Head almost semicircular with a flattened rhomboidal area between the eyes. Elytra deeply striate, with the striae very indistinctly punctured. Pygidium finely distinctly punctured. Male has rosy-golden clypeus which is lightly punctured. There is a deep excavation extending almost for its entire length. But female has transversely rugose head with a slight median tubercle. ^[3]

Male has yellowish-orange body with metallic green patches. Clypeus metallic green, with black lateral margins. Antenna with eight segments. Male genitalia consists of parameres and phallobase. Female has yellowish-orange and oval body. Head with dark metallic green clypeus. There is a central metallic green patch. ^[4]

Biology

Adults construct brood ball nest in cow dung pats with an average diameter of 25 to 30 cm. Each nest contains with 3 to 7 brood balls per brood chamber which is guarded by the female. Eggs are lemon yellow in color which are oblong, with an average length of 4.5 ± 0.1 mm. Eggs are followed by three instar larval grub stages. Third instar is translucent in appearance where the body is covered with very fine setae. There is a humped in the middle giving a V-shaped appearance to the body. Average length of the grub is about 19 ± 0.20 mm. Clypeus wider than long, and is rectangular in shape. Antennae with four segments. Exarate pupa has transverse pronotum with rounded margins. There are four thumb-like tergal support projections. But the pronotal support projection is absent. Caudal projection is callus-like in shape. ^[4]

References

1. Philips, T. Keith (2016-11-04). "Phylogeny of the Oniticellini and Onthophagini dung beetles (Scarabaeidae, Scarabaeinae) from morphological evidence". ZooKeys (579): 9–57. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.579.6183 . PMC   4829968 . PMID   27110200 . Retrieved 2021-07-22.
2. "Carbohydrate digestiive enzymes in the mid gut of dung beetle liatongus Rhadamistus (Coleoptera: Scarabaedae: Scarabaeinae)". researchgate. Retrieved 2021-07-22.
3. "Liatongus rhadamistus (Fabricius, 1775)". India Biodiversity Portal. Retrieved 2021-07-22.
4. Khadakkar, Suvarna S.; Tiple, Ashish D.; Khurad, Arun M. (2018-12-26). "Description of life stages of dung beetle Scaptodera rhadamistus (Fabricius, 1775) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) with notes on nesting and biology". Journal of Threatened Taxa. 10 (15): 12990–12994. doi: 10.11609/jott.3935.10.15.12990-12994 . S2CID   92006615 . Retrieved 2021-07-22.