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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Scarabaeoidea » Scarab Beetles (Scarabaeidae) » Dung Beetles (Scarabaeinae) » Onthophagini » Onthophagus » Bull Headed Dung Beetle (Onthophagus taurus)
Photo#36595
Onthophagus sp. - Onthophagus taurus
Copyright © 2005 Matthew Roth

Onthophagus sp. - Onthophagus taurus
Mountville, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, USA
November 3, 2005
Size: 9 mm
Can anyone ID to species? Thanks! NOTE: There are two horns. Only one is visible in this photo.

Images of this individual: tag all
Onthophagus sp. - Onthophagus taurus Onthophagus sp. - Onthophagus taurus
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Contributed by Matthew Roth on 6 November, 2005 - 11:16am
Last updated 18 November, 2005 - 2:01pm

Thanks!
I have lightened and reloaded the photos. I looked and couldn’t find any ridge along the head. If you need more pics from different angles, let me know. I hope this helps!
… Matthew Roth, 6 November, 2005 - 12:10pm login or register to post comments

 
Dark background might help
Since you are shooting a dead specimen without flash, a dark backround with no pin labels or other light objects would cause your camera lengthen the exposure time and brighten the colors of the beetle.
… Jim McClarin, 6 November, 2005 - 3:47pm login or register to post comments

 
O. taurus
Pretty certain this is O. taurus - O. striatulus, in addition to the two small upright horns typically has a conical tubercle on the pronotum often extending between the horns.
… Phillip Harpootlian, 6 November, 2005 - 12:21pm login or register to post comments

Two suggestions
Could be a mid-minor male O. taurus. Their horns range from water buffalo size to barely detectable. That species has a transverse ridge across the top of the head, which you should be able to spot under slight magnification. O. gazella is another two-horned possibility, but they have some elytral patterning.

Try getting a brighter image so the colors are more visible.
… Jim McClarin, 6 November, 2005 - 11:24am login or register to post comments

 
another opinion
A better shot would certainly help, but I'll guess that this is either a minor male Onthophagus taurus or O. striatulus, not O. gazella.
… Phillip Harpootlian, 6 November, 2005 - 11:32am login or register to post comments

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