Catharsius pithecius

Catharsius pithecius
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Suborder:	Polyphaga
Superfamily:	Cucujoidea
Family:	Scarabaeidae
Subfamily:	Scarabaeinae
Genus:	Catharsius
Species:	C. pithecius
Binomial name
	Catharsius pithecius; (Fabricius, 1775)
Synonyms
	Scarabaeus pithecius Fabricius, 1775 ; Copris cribricollis Walker, 1858 ; Copris sinensis Hope, 1842 ; Scarabaeus nanus Fabricius, 1792 ; Scarabaeus sabaeus Fabricius, 1781 ;

Catharsius pithecius, is a species of dung beetle found in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and China.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

Description

This oval, very convex species has an average length of about 15 to 23 mm. Body black and shiny. Pronotum partly or entirely opaque. Antennae, and mouthparts are reddish. Legs and ventrum covered with reddish hairy clothing. Head semi-circular, where there is a slender horn in shiny head in male arising just in front of eyes. Female has more deeply sculptured and less shiny head. Clypeus very feeble and closely strigose. In males, there is a slight sharp conical protuberance on each side of the median line in pronotum. Whereas, female has a median longitudinal furrow in the basal part of pronotum. Elytra fine and distinctly striate. Pygidium fine and punctured.^[5] Elytra not very dense and there are two very prominent tubercles on pronotum.^[6]

Mites such as Poecilochirus coimbatorensis, Macrocheles scarabae and Pachylaelaps catharsiae are closely associated with the adult beetles.^[7]

References

^ "Scarabaeid beetles of Bandhavgarh National Park, Madhya Pradesh" (PDF). Zoos' print journal, 2005. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
^ Yadav, J. S.; Pillai, R. K. (1977-01-01). "Karyological Investigations on Seven Species of Coprinae (Scarabaeidae: Coleoptera)". Caryologia. pp. 255–263. doi:10.1080/00087114.1977.10796699. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
^ "Scarab beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) of Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary, Chhattisgarh, India" (PDF). Journal of Threatened Taxa: www.threatenedtaxa.org. 26 August 2013, 5(12): 4660–4671. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
^ "Food preference of some dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)-Indian Journals". www.indianjournals.com. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
^ "Catharsius pithecius (Fabricius, 1775)". India Biodiversity Portal. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
^ "Taxonomic account of dung beetles from Gujrat, Punjab (Pakistan)" (PDF). J. Bio. & Env. Sci. 2015. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
^ "Mites associated with insects in Tamil Nadu, India". www.cabdirect.org. Retrieved 2021-07-19.

[1] "Scarabaeid beetles of Bandhavgarh National Park, Madhya Pradesh" (PDF). Zoos' print journal, 2005. Retrieved 2021-07-18.

[2] Yadav, J. S.; Pillai, R. K. (1977-01-01). "Karyological Investigations on Seven Species of Coprinae (Scarabaeidae: Coleoptera)". Caryologia. pp. 255–263. doi:10.1080/00087114.1977.10796699. Retrieved 2021-07-19.

[3] "Scarab beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) of Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary, Chhattisgarh, India" (PDF). Journal of Threatened Taxa: www.threatenedtaxa.org. 26 August 2013, 5(12): 4660–4671. Retrieved 2021-07-18.

[4] "Food preference of some dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)-Indian Journals". www.indianjournals.com. Retrieved 2021-07-19.

[5] "Catharsius pithecius (Fabricius, 1775)". India Biodiversity Portal. Retrieved 2021-07-19.

[6] "Taxonomic account of dung beetles from Gujrat, Punjab (Pakistan)" (PDF). J. Bio. & Env. Sci. 2015. Retrieved 2021-07-18.

[7] "Mites associated with insects in Tamil Nadu, India". www.cabdirect.org. Retrieved 2021-07-19.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]