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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Scarabaeoidea » Earth-Boring Scarab Beetles (Geotrupidae) » Bolboceratinae » Odonteus

Genus Odonteus

Representative Images

Orange Scarab - Odonteus Odonteus darlingtoni - male Earth Boring Dung Beetle - Odonteus obesus Odonteus sp.? - Odonteus Beetle - Odonteus obesus Geotrupidae? - Odonteus Odonteus - Odonteus obesus - male Odonteus

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Polyphaga
Superfamily Scarabaeoidea
Family Geotrupidae (Earth-Boring Scarab Beetles)
Subfamily Bolboceratinae
Genus Odonteus

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Odontæus Dejean 1821 (now typically treated as subsequent misspelling) • Bolboceras of authors

Explanation of Names

Odonteus Samouelle 1819

Numbers

10 spp. in our area(1), 13 total

Size

5‒10 mm

Identification

Eyes completely divided by canthus. Sexual dimorphism usually obvious, males often with prominent horn. Species identification often requires examination of genitalia.
Key to spp. in (2)

Range

holarctic & S.Asia; in our area, most spp. east of NE‒TX, one strictly western(1)(3)
not yet in the guide:
O. cornigerus (Melsheimer) • ne.US to NC
O. simi Wallis • e.US

Season

Late spring and late summer to fall. In SC: B. liebecki May and Jul‒Oct, B. thoracicornis Apr‒May, Sep‒Nov(4)

Life Cycle

Adults dig burrows and provision with organic matter (e.g., dung, humus). The same burrow may contain eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults at the same time

Works Cited

1.The Scarabaeoid Beetles of Nebraska
Brett C. Ratcliffe & M.J. Paulsen. 2008. University of Nebraska State Museum, Vol 22, 570 pp.
2.Revision of the genus Odontaeus, Dej.
Wallis J.B. 1928. Can. Entomol. 60: 119‒128; 151‒156; 168‒176.
3.Checklist of beetles (Coleoptera) of Canada and Alaska. Second edition
Bousquet Y., Bouchard P., Davies A.E., Sikes D.S. 2013. ZooKeys 360: 1–402.
4.Scarab beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) of South Carolina
Phillip J. Harpootlian. 2001. Clemson University Public Service.
Contributed by Cotinis on 1 June, 2005 - 8:18pm
Additional contributions by Robin McLeod, Phillip Harpootlian, nebbeetle, Aaron Schusteff, v belov
Last updated 22 August, 2024 - 11:03pm

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