Suborder Polyphaga (Water, Rove, Scarab, Longhorn, Leaf and Snout Beetles)
Superfamily Scarabaeoidea (Scarab, Stag and Bess Beetles)
Family Passalidae (Bess Beetles)
Genus Odontotaenius
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Genus revalidated by Reyes-Castillo (1970), see Schuster (1994).
Explanation of Names
Author of genus is Kuwert, 1896 (see Checklist of the Scarabaeoidea of the Nearctic Realm). Genus name is a combination of odonto-, tooth plus Latin taenia (from Greek tainia), a ribbon or band (Internet searches).
Numbers
Two North American species listed by Arnett, page 413 (1), and by Schuster (1994). There are 5-8 species in the genus as a whole, including species not found in the United States (Schuster, 1994).
Size
30-40 mm
Identification
Distinctive elongated, flattened shape, adapted for wood-tunneling lifestyle. Antennae are not elbowed and slightly lamellate (1). See also characteristics given for family.
Range
New World (North, Central, and South America). O. disjunctus is widespread species in the eastern United States. Odontotaenius floridanus Schuster is a Florida endemic, described in 1994.
Schuster, 1994. Odontotaenius floridanus New Species (Coleoptera: Passalidae): A Second U.S. Passalid Beetle. Florida Entomologist 77(4): 474-478, available here.
