| Onthophagus coenobita | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Family: | Scarabaeidae |
| Genus: | Onthophagus |
| Species: | O. coenobita |
| Binomial name | |
| Onthophagus coenobita (Herbst, 1783) | |
Onthophagus coenobita is a species of dung beetle in the genus Onthophagus .
It typically feeds on dung, but also carrion and decaying fungi. [1] It mainly feeds on human dung, but also dog, cattle, horse, goat, sheep and pig dung. [2]
Kleptoparasitism is a form of feeding in which one animal deliberately takes food from another. The strategy is evolutionarily stable when stealing is less costly than direct feeding, such as when food is scarce or when victims are abundant. Many kleptoparasites are arthropods, especially bees and wasps, but including some true flies, dung beetles, bugs, and spiders. Cuckoo bees are specialized kleptoparasites which lay their eggs either on the pollen masses made by other bees, or on the insect hosts of parasitoid wasps. They are an instance of Emery's rule, which states that insect social parasites tend to be closely related to their hosts. The behavior occurs, too, in vertebrates including birds such as skuas, which persistently chase other seabirds until they disgorge their food, and carnivorous mammals such as spotted hyenas and lions. Other species opportunistically indulge in kleptoparasitism.
Dung beetles are beetles that feed on feces. Some species of dung beetles can bury dung 250 times their own mass in one night.
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 and fungi. Dung beetles can be placed into three structural guilds based on their method of dung processing namely rollers (telecoprids), dwellers (endocoprids) and tunnelers (paracoprids). Dung removal and burial by dung beetles result in ecological benefits such as soil aeration and fertilization; improved nutrient cycling and uptake by plants, increase in Pasture quality, biological control of pest flies and intestinal parasites and secondary seed dispersal. Well-known members include the genera Scarabaeus and Sisyphus, and Phanaeus vindex.
Onthophagus is a genus of dung beetles in the Onthophagini tribe of the wider scarab beetle family, Scarabaeidae. It is the most species-rich and widespread genus in the subfamily Scarabaeinae, with a global distribution.
Onthophagiellus is a subgenus of scarab beetles in the genus Onthophagus of the family Scarabaeidae. There are more than 20 described species in Onthophagiellus. They are found primarily in Asia and Africa.
The Australian Dung Beetle Project (1965–1985), conceived and led by Dr George Bornemissza of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), was an international scientific research and biological control project with the primary goal to control the polluting effects of cattle dung.
George Francis Bornemissza was a Hungarian-born entomologist and ecologist. He studied science at the University of Budapest before obtaining his Ph.D. in zoology at the University of Innsbruck in Austria in 1950. At the end of that year, he emigrated to Australia. There he first worked in the Department of Zoology at the University of Western Australia for 3 years, before pursuing a career with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). Bornemissza was known for his work on the Australian Dung Beetle Project (1965–1985) while working at CSIRO's Division of Entomology. He wrote scientific papers and books based on his research and contributed a collection of mounted beetle specimens to the Australian National Insect Collection and the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. In 2001 he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for his services to Australian entomology.
Digitonthophagus gazella is a species of scarab beetle. It belongs to the genus Digitonthophagus, which was promoted from subgenus to genus level in 1959. There has been some confusion regarding the application of the names with many people using the outdated name Onthophagus gazella. Dung beetle experts use the term Digitonthophagus gazella.
Onthophagus taurus, the taurus scarab, is a species of dung beetle in the genus Onthophagus and the family Scarabaeidae. Also known as the bull-headed dung beetle, it is a species that specializes in cattle dung and is widely utilized to maintain clean pastures, making it agriculturally valuable. These beetles are typically 8–10 millimetres (0.31–0.39 in) in size. The males of this species exhibit distinct characteristics: large “major” males possess long, sweeping, curved horns resembling those of a longhorn bull, while small “minor” males have tiny horns that project upward from the back of their heads. Females, on the other hand, lack horns. These small beetles are oval shaped, the color is usually black or reddish brown. Sometimes the pronotum has a weak metallic sheen.
Sudhausia is a genus of nematodes (roundworms) of the family Diplogastridae. They live in association with dung beetles and are primarily known from Africa. Species of Sudhausia show a suite of biological features that, together, are unusual for nematodes and animals in general: hermaphrodites, which are females in form, mature to produce offspring before they are adults and thus even capable of mating, and their eggs grow in size during development. Hermaphrodites are also always live-bearing, which is unusual for nematodes under non-stressful conditions. The genus is named in honor of Walter Sudhaus, a German nematologist.
Onthophagus vacca is a species of dung beetles in the Onthophagini tribe of the wider scarab beetle family, Scarabaeidae.
Onthophagus nuchicornis is a species of dung beetle in the family Scarabaeidae. It is found in Europe and North America. Though Onthophagus nuchicornis is listed as "Vulnerable" in the United Kingdom, it is a common and abundant species in North America. It has been used as a model organism for ecotoxicological studies of ivermectin, where different biological endpoints are stimulated at low levels of ivermectin exposure, but impaired at high levels of ivermectin exposure.
Onthophagus alluvius is a species of dung beetle in the family Scarabaeidae. It is native to the southern United States, including Texas. It has been observed using dog dung.
Onthophagus unifasciatus, is a species of true dung beetle native to India and Sri Lanka.
Onthophagus cervus, is a species of dung beetle found in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Thailand.
Onthophagus dama is a species of dung beetle found in Nepal, Bhutan, India, and Sri Lanka.
Onthophagus fuscopunctatus, is a species of dung beetle found in India, and Sri Lanka.
Onthophagus hastifer, is a species of dung beetle found in India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand, and Myanmar.
Onthophagus ochreatus, is a species of dung beetle found in India, and Sri Lanka.