Geotrupidae (from
Greek γῆ ''(gē)'', earth, and τρῡπητής ''(trȳpētēs)'', borer) is a
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
of beetles in the
order Coleoptera. They are commonly called earth-boring dung beetles or dor beetles.
Geotrupidae - Dor beetles (at NatureSpot)
/ref> Most excavate burrow
file:Chipmunk-burrow (exits).jpg, An eastern chipmunk at the entrance of its burrow
A burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to construct a space suitable for habitation or temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of Animal lo ...
s in which to lay their eggs. They are typically detritivores, provisioning their nests with leaf litter
Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall, or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that has fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituen ...
(often moldy), but are occasionally coprophagous, similar to dung beetles. The eggs are laid in or upon the provision mass and buried, and the developing larvae feed upon the provisions. The burrows of some species can exceed 2 metres in depth.
A few species communicate by stridulation (rubbing body parts together to make sounds).
Classification
They were originally classified as the subfamily Geotrupinae in the family Scarabaeidae before being elevated to a family. Traditionally the family Bolboceratidae was included (as the subfamily Bolboceratinae) on the basis of the number of antenna segments, but examination of a different set of characteristics prompted Scholtz & Browne (1995) to elevate Bolboceratidae to a family, a result supported by recent phylogenetic research.[MCKENNA, D. D., WILD, A. L., KANDA, K., BELLAMY, C. L., BEUTEL, R. G., CATERINO, M. S., FARNUM, C. W., HAWKS, D. C., IVIE, M. A., JAMESON, M. L., LESCHEN, R. A. B., MARVALDI, A. E., MCHUGH, J. V., NEWTON, A. F., ROBERTSON, J. A., THAYER, M. K., WHITING, M. F., LAWRENCE, J. F., ŚLIPIŃSKI, A., MADDISON, D. R. and FARRELL, B. D. (2015), The beetle tree of life reveals that Coleoptera survived end-Permian mass extinction to diversify during the Cretaceous terrestrial revolution. Syst Entomol, 40: 835–880. doi:10.1111/syen.12132]
The family has more than 600 species in about 30 genera in two subfamilies; more recent phylogenetic studies indicate that Taurocerastinae is not related to Geotrupinae, and is instead more closely related to Lucanidae and Diphyllostomatidae.Fischer von Waldheim
Gotthelf Fischer von Waldheim (; 13 October 1771 – 18 October 1853) was a Saxon anatomist, entomologist and paleontologist.
Fischer was born as Gotthilf Fischer in Waldheim, Saxony, the son of a linen weaver. He studied medicine at Le ...
, 1823
** '' Ceratotrupes'' Jekel, 1865
** '' Chelotrupes'' Jekel, 1866
** '' Cnemotrupes'' Jekel, 1866
** '' Cretogeotrupes'' Nikolajev, 1992
** '' Enoplotrupes'' Lucas, 1869
** '' Geohowdenius'' Zunino, 1984
** '' Geotrupes'' Latreille, 1796
** '' Halffterius'' Zunino, 1984
** '' Haplogeotrupes'' Nikolaev, 1979
** '' Jekelius'' López-Colón, 1989
** '' Lethrus'' Scopoli, 1777
** '' Megatrupes'' Zunino, 1984
** '' Mycotrupes'' LeConte, 1866
** '' Odontotrypes'' Fairmaire, 1887
** '' Onthotrupes'' Howden, 1964
** '' Phelotrupes'' Jekel, 1866
** '' Peltotrupes'' Blanchard, 1888
** '' Pseudotrypocopris'' Miksic, 1954
** '' Sericotrupes'' Zunino, 1984
** '' Silphotrupes'' Jekel, 1866
** '' Thorectes'' Mulsant, 1842
** '' Trypocopris'' Motschulsky, 1860
** '' Typhaeus'' Leach, 1815
** '' Zuninoeus'' López-Colón, 1989
* Taurocerastinae
** '' Frickius'' Germain, 1897
** '' Taurocerastes'' Philippi, 1866
References
External links
* D. Jonathan Browne and Clarke H. Scholtz
Bolboceratidae
from th
Tree of Life
Key to the British species of family Geotrupidae
Video of Geotrupes from Hungary
{{Authority control
Polyphaga families
Articles containing video clips
Taxa named by Pierre André Latreille