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How to tell if your
beetle is a dung
beetle
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The importance of
Dung Beetles
Acknowledgements
Lepanus bidentatus
Distribution
East coast of New South Wales and southern Queensland (Mt. Tamborine and Lamington National Park), in dense forest.
Description
Total length 2.7-3.5mm. Black, with humeri, outer edges and apices of elytra occasionally reddish.
Head: Clypeal teeth short. Surface smooth, shiny and glabrous, densely covered with small, shallow and indistinct punctures. Dorsal part of eyes moderately wide.
Prothorax: Pronotal surface smooth, shiny and glabrous, densely covered with moderate-sized, slightly umbilical punctures.
Elytra: Striae indistinct and impunctate. Intervals impunctate.
Sterna: Mesosternum extremely finely punctate, lateral lobes more coarsely punctate, with very short fine setae. No tubercle on metasternum.
Legs: Fore tibiae with fairly long spatulate or truncate apical digit. Fore spur minute or absent. Outer margin of fore tibiae with 2 teeth. Middle and hind legs unmodified.
Abdomen: Pygidium with a large depression. Surface of depression finely shagreened, rest of pygidium smooth, shiny, finely punctate and glabrous.
Sexual dimorphism
Female: Apical digit of fore tibiae about half as long as in male and bearing a prominent, tapering spur.
References
Matthews, E.G. (1974) A revision of the Scarabaeine dung beetles of Australia. II. Tribe Scarabaeini. Aust. J. Zool. Suppl. Ser. 24: 1-211.
Copyright © Australian Museum 2016
Authors: Rebecca Harris & Dr. Chris Reid