| | Insects of Britain and Ireland: Coleoptera-Scarabaeoidea (dung beetles and chafers) |
Aphodiidae, Coprophaginae
General appearance. 3–6(–13) mm long. Body length/maximum body width 1.55–2.35 (i.e., quite variable in shape). Elytral length/pronotal length 0.45–5.55. Base of prothorax not or scarcely narrower than the combined elytral bases. Greatest prothoracic width not narrower or only slightly narrower than the greatest elytral width (the prothorax relatively wide). Beetles oval to elongate-oval; dorsally somewhat convex to dorsally strongly convex; not necked; somewhat waisted to conspicuously waisted; variable in colour; exhibiting bright ‘warning colours’, or without ‘warning colouration’. Upper surfaces of body glabrous or subglabrous, or non-glabrous; not bristly; exhibiting scales or scale-like setae, or with neither scales nor scale-like setae.
Detailed morphology. Beetles not prognathous. Inclination of the head slight. Eyes strongly protuberant, or not strongly protuberant; without bristles; finely facetted. Ocelli absent. The labrum concealed beneath the clypeus (the labrum and mouthparts concealed beneath the fronto-clypeus). Mandibles present; with a well developed mola; with well developed prosthecae. The mandibular apices simple, or bidentate or bilobed, or multidentate or multilobed (some Aegialiini). The incisor edges of the mandibles simple (mostly), or with a single tooth (some Aegialiini). The maxillae with distinct galea and lacinia apically to the palp, or with a single apical structure additional to the palp. The apical segment of the maxillary palps cylindrical to fusiform (mostly), or securiform to cultriform (some Aegialiini). The apical segment of the labial palps not expanded apically. Antennae very short to short; strongly asymmetric; not elbowed; 9 segmented; with the scape much-elongated to without a much-elongated scape; clubbed. Antennal clubs tightly lamellate (but with the capacity to open fan-like); 3 segmented; without a cupule. Antennal insertions hidden from above; not in fossae.
Prothorax shorter than wide. Pronotal length/maximum pronotal width 0.52–0.85. The pronotum with lateral keels (pronotal carinae); keels complete. Prothorax at its widest not markedly narrower than the adjoining part of the abdomen. Prothorax without notopleural sutures. Scutellum well developed and conspicuous to absent; when applicable, elevated above the mesoscutum in lateral view, or not elevated (usually); anteriorly simple; posteriorly narrowly rounded or acute. The prosternal process present. The prosternal process interrupted, or entire. The prosternal process when entire, slightly overlapping the mesoventrite. Metaventrite without a transverse groove. The fore-leg coxae countersunk in ‘procoxal cavities’. The fore-leg coxal cavities closed behind externally; broadly closed; medianly confluent, or narrowly separated; medianly confluent to narrowly separated; strongly transverse, or slightly transverse; without lateral extensions; internally open. The mid-leg coxae countersunk in ‘mesocoxal cavities’; separated by less than the shortest diameter of the cavity. The mid-leg coxal cavities narrowly separated, or moderately to widely separated; markedly oblique; open laterally. Hind-leg coxae extending laterally to meet the elytra. Tarsal segmentation formula 5, 5, 5. The tarsi without bilobed segments; always? without ‘hidden’ segments. Tarsal claws two (without lateral teeth); equal. The front tarsi present and well developed; front tarsi with as many segments as the mid-tarsi; front tarsi 5-segmented. Mid-leg tarsi 5-segmented; pentamerous; the penultimate segment not distinctly shorter than the antepenultimate one. The claws of the mid-leg tarsi not appendaged. The claws of the mid-leg tarsi simple; with an empodium between them (usually, this with no more than two setae), or without an associated empodium. The hind tibiae with two apical spurs. Hind tarsi with as many segments as the mid-tarsi; 5-segmented (and the hind tibiae with two spurs).
Elytral length/maximum width across the elytra 1.05–1.64. Elytra covering most to all of the abdomen; exposing no more than part of the terminal tergite. The pygidium almost entirely concealed by the ends of the elytra even when viewed from behind, or at least partly exposed beyond the long elytra (but a more or less concealed pygidium is a supposedly defining feature of this subfamily). Elytra glossy, or dull; striate, or without striae. Elytra with six or more longitudinal lines of punctures, or with six or more impressed striae, or apunctate, irregularly punctate, or each with fewer than 6 longitudinal lines of punctures or impressed striae; the lines per elytron when more than five, 6–7, or 8 to 12 or more. Scutellary striole absent. Wings well developed (always, in British representatives). Wings with an anal lobe. Wings the radial cell incomplete or absent. Wings without a medial fleck. Wings not fringed. Abdominal sternites 6; comprising both fused and moveable components, or all fused and immoveable. Basal abdominal sternites immovably joined 5, or 6. Abdominal segment 8 apparently without functional spiracles. The male external genitalia bilobate.
Adult habitat, ecology. Associated with dung (mostly), or in decaying plant material (Aegialiini and Psammobiini, on dry sangy soils); coprophagous (mostly), or consuming decaying plant material.
Larvae. Mature larvae small to medium-sized to relatively large. The larvae elongate and more or less parallel-sided; C-shaped in lateral view (but distinguishable from those of Scarabaeinae in lacking a dorsal hump). Body circular in cross-section. Vestiture restricted to fine hairs or setae. The larvae dorsally only very lightly pigmented or sclerotized; ventrally only very lightly pigmented. The antennae 4 segmented, or 5 segmented (rarely more?). Stemmata absent (usually), or present; on either side of the larval head when present, 1. The frontoclypeal suture between frons and clypeus distinct. The labrum and head capsule separated by a complete suture. Apices of the mandibles with a single lobe or tooth, or bilobed or bidentate, or trilobed or tridentate. The maxillary palps 4 segmented. The labium without ligula between the palps, or with a short ligula between the palps. Labial palps present and segmented; 2 segmented. Mesothoracic legs present and segmented; 2 segmented, or 3 segmented, or 5 segmented; with 1 moveable claw. Visible abdominal segments 9, or 10. Tergum 9 of the abdomen entirely dorsal. The abdomen having functional spiracles on anterior segments (these cribriform); without spiracular tubes. The abdominal apex without a respiratory chamber. Abdominal tergum 8 without amature. The last abdominal segment without cerci.
Larvae in decaying plant material (in dry sandy soils, Aegialiini and Psammobiini only), or in dung (mostly); consuming decaying plant material, or coprophagous (mostly).
Classification. Superfamily Scarabaeoidea.
Worldwide and British representation. About 1200 species worldwide. About 60 species in Britain; genera in Britain 12; Aegialia, Aphodius, Euheptaulacus, Heptaulacus, Oxyomus, Saprosites, Brindalus, Diastictus, Psammodius (sic), Tesarius, Pleurophorus, Rhyssemus.
General comments. The antennal club usually short, broad, and dull; the elytra completely covering the abdomen; the labrum and mouthparts concealed beneath the fronto-clypeus.
Illustrations. • Aphodius villosus (Hairy Aphodius: B. Ent. 027). • Aphodius villosus: B. Ent. 027, legend+text. • Aphodius villosus: B. Ent. 027, text cont.. • Psammodius asper (Channel-necked Psammodius: B. Ent. 258). • Psammodius asper (details, B. Ent. 258). • Psammodius asper: B. Ent. 258, legend+text. • Aphodius (10 spp.), Colobopterus (3 spp.): Fowler 4, 100 (1890). APHODIINAE. 1–3, Colobopterus spp. 1, Colobopterus erraticus; 2, C. fossor; 3, C. haemorrhoidalis. 4–13, Aphodius spp. 4, A. rufus; 5, A. foetens; 6, A. ater; 7, A. sordidus; 8, A. lapponum; 9, A. porcus; 10, A. scrofa; 11, A. lividus; 12, A. distinctus; 13, A. equestris. From Fowler's plate, with the names from the original legend (q.v.) updated. • Fowler 4, 100 (1890): original legend.. • Aphodius (12 spp.), Euheptaulacus, Heptacaulus, Oxyomus sylvestris (as O. porcatus): Fowler 4, 101 (1890). APHODIINAE. 1–11 and 13, Aphodius spp. 1, A. paykulli; 2, A. quadrimaculatus; 3, A. merdarius; 4, A. zenkeri; 5, A. prodromus; 6, A. rufipes; 7, A. luridus; 8, A. luridus var.; 9, A. putridus; 10, A. sus (Euheptaulacus); 11, A. testudinarius (Heptacaulus); 13, A. brevis. 12, Oxyomus sylvestris. From Fowler's plate, with the names from the original legend (q.v.) updated. • Fowler 4, 101 (1890): original legend.. • Aegialia, Pleurophorus and Psammodius, with Geotrupidae and Trogidae: Fowler 4, 102 (1890). APHODIINAE. 1, Pleurophorus caesus. 2, Aegialia sabuleti; 3, Aegialia arenaria; 4, Aegialia rufa. 5, Psammodius asper; 6, Psammodius porcicollis. GEOTRUPIDAE. 7, Odontaeus armiger. 8, Typhaeus typhoeus. 9 and 10, Geotrupes stercorarius; 11, Geotrupes vernalis. TROGIDAE. 12, Trox sabulosus; 13, Trox scaber. From Fowler's plate, with the names from the original legend (q.v.) updated. • Fowler 5, 102 (1890): original legend.. • Aphodius distinctus (Rye & Fowler VIII3).
We advise against extracting comparative information from the descriptions. This is much more easily achieved using the DELTA data files or the interactive key, which allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa. See also Guidelines for using data taken from Web publications.
Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2012 onwards. Insects of Britain and Ireland: Coleoptera-Scarabaeoidea (dung beetles and chafers). Version: 27th July 2019. delta-intkey.com’.
