Scarabaeus gangeticus

Scarabaeus gangeticus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Family:	Scarabaeidae
Genus:	Scarabaeus
Species:	S. gangeticus
Binomial name
Scarabaeus gangeticus (Castelnau, 1840)
Synonyms
Ateuchus gangeticusCastelnau, 1840 Scarabaeus indicusMotschulsky, 1863

Scarabaeus gangeticus, is a species of dung beetle found in many Indo-African countries including; India, ^[1] Sri Lanka, ^[2] Pakistan, ^[3] Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Botswana, Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda and Zimbabwe. ^{[4] [5]}

Description

This large broadly oval, slightly convex species has an average length of about 23 to 35 mm. Body black and sub-opaque. Legs and ventrum shiny. Lateral margins of prothorax, legs, and ventrum covered with reddish hair. Head densely and rugosely punctured. Forehead with a slight transverse carina on each side. Clypeus consists with four strong teeth which are separated by rounded notches. Pronotum finely and closely tuberculate. Scutellum not visible. Elytra very finely striate and extremely minutely and sparsely punctured. Pygidium opaque at the base, with shiny apex. Pygidium very sparsely and finely tuberculate. In male, middle tibia has a short internal fringe, whereas female has a long internal fringe. ^[6]

Adults are commonly found from fresh cow dungs. ^[7] The parasite Tarsopolipus bisetalus is observed from the adults in Botswana. ^[8]

References

1. "Coleoptera (Insecta) Fauna from the Indian Thar Desert, Rajasthan". Zoos' print journal, 2004. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
2. "The National Red List 2012 of Sri Lanka; Conservation Status of the Fauna and Flora". Ministry of Environment in Sri Lanka. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
3. Noreen, S. (2002). "A report on beetles from a newly emerging ecosystem around the evaporation ponds in Cholistan near Bahawalnagar [Pakistan]" . Retrieved 2021-07-26.
4. "Scarabaeus gangeticus (Castelnau, 1840)". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
5. "Replacement name for a subgenus of Scarabaeus Linné, and remarks on Scarabaeus isidis (Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae: Scarabaeini)" (PDF). Klapalekiana, 47: 89–90, 2011. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
6. "Scarabaeus gangeticus (Castelnau, 1840)". India Biodiversity Portal. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
7. Doube, Bernard M. (September 1983). "The habitat preference of some bovine dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in Hluhluwe Game Reserve, South Africa". Bulletin of Entomological Research. 73 (3): 357–371. doi:10.1017/S0007485300008968 . Retrieved 2021-07-26.
8. Husband, Robert W. (1989-09-01). "A revision of the genus Tarsopolipus (Acari: Podapolipidae), parasites of African and European Scarabaeidae, with description of three new species". International Journal of Acarology. 15 (3): 163–178. doi:10.1080/01647958908683842 . Retrieved 2021-07-26.