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SCAVENGER SCARAB BEETLES

HYBOSORIDAE

H

ybosoridae, sometimes called scavenger

scarab beetles, is a small family of

Scarabaeoidea, almost restricted to the tropics.

There are two subfamilies, Hybosorinae and

Ceratocanthinae, which were long thought to be

separate families because their appearance and

ecology is completely different. But DNA and

detailed morphological study have shown them

to be closely related.

Although there are few species, Hybosorinae

can be found in large numbers. They earn their

English name because many of them feed on

dead organic matter, and they fill the carrion

beetle niche in the tropics that is occupied by

Silphidae and Leiodidae in temperate regions.

The genera Phaeochroops and Phaeochrous are

sometimes found in their hundreds under slightly

dried-up, road-killed carcasses, which can seem to

HYBOSORIDAE—Scavenger Scarab Beetles

family

Hybosoridae

known species

570

distribution

Worldwide, but almost absent from

temperate latitudes and concentrated

in the tropics

habitat

Forests, with some hybosorinae being

found in grasslands

size

3–15 mm

diet

Scavengers; many Hybosorinae feed

on carrion, while others live and feed

in dead wood or leaf litter, as do most

Ceratocanthinae. A few Ceratocanthinae,

which are rare, appear to develop and

feed in termite colonies