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, dwellers and tunnelers 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.
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 PhD 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 is most noted for his work on the Australian Dung Beetle Project (1965–1985) while working with CSIRO’s Division of Entomology. In 2001 he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for his services to Australian entomology. Bornemissza has written several papers published in notable journals and books and has contributed an extensive collection of mounted beetle specimens to the Australian public.
Onthophagus gazella is a species of scarab beetle. It belongs to the subgenus Digitonthophagus, which may also be treated as a genus. There has been some confusion regarding the application of the name.
The taurus scarab is a species of dung beetle in the genus Onthophagus and the family Scarabaeidae.
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 subaeneus is a species of dung beetle in the family Scarabaeidae.
Onthophagus subtropicus is a species of dung beetle in the family Scarabaeidae.
Onthophagus schaefferi is a species of dung beetle in the family Scarabaeidae.
Onthophagus cavernicollis is a species of dung beetle in the family Scarabaeidae.
Onthophagus browni is a species of dung beetle in the family Scarabaeidae.
Onthophagus depressus, the flat African dung beetle, is a species of dung beetle in the family Scarabaeidae.
Onthophagus batesi is a species of dung beetle in the family Scarabaeidae.
Onthophagus oklahomensis is a species of dung beetle in the family Scarabaeidae. It is found in Oceania.
Onthophagus tuberculifrons is a species of dung beetle in the family Scarabaeidae. It is found in Oceania.
Onthophagus concinnus is a species of dung beetle in the family Scarabaeidae.
