Flat African Dung Beetle
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© Australian Museum
Fast Facts
-
Classification
- Genus
- Onthophagus
- Species
- depressus
- Subfamily
- Scarabaeinae
- Family
- Scarabaeidae
- Super Family
- Scarabaeoidea
- Order
- Coleoptera
- Class
- Insecta
- Subphylum
- Uniramia
- Phylum
- Arthopoda
- Kingdom
- Animalia
-
- Number of Species
- 400
-
- Size Range
- 7 mm - 9 mm
Dung beetles are a diverse group of beetles. There are about 400 species in the family Scarabaeidae in Australia alone.
Habitat
The Flat African Dung-beetle lives in urban areas, forests and woodlands.
Distribution
The Flat African Dung-beetle is found in south-eastern Australia.
Feeding and diet
Most dung-beetles share the habit of feeding on the dung of mammals.
Other behaviours and adaptations
In most cases, the dung is broken up and buried in nests in the soil for their larvae. The Flat African Dung Beetle was accidentally introduced to Australia, probably with farm stock. It is now common in urban areas where it feeds on dog and even human dung. It has been released in large numbers by some councils to help with the control of dog faeces in public places. Other species remove cow dung from pastures, which helps to control the numbers of bush flies in summer.
