Common Water Penny vs Stag-Horned Dung Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Common Water Penny Stag-Horned Dung Beetle
Scientific Name Psephenus herricki Onthophagus rangifer
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Psephenidae Scarabaeidae
Size 4-6 mm (adults); 6-10 mm (larvae) 7-12 mm
Habitat Rivers & Streams Forests
Diet Omnivores Dung Feeders
Regions Eastern North America Southeast Asia
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Common Water Penny

A small aquatic beetle whose larvae are flattened and round like a copper penny, clinging to rocks in fast streams. Adults are terrestrial and short-lived.

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Did You Know?

Larvae are so flat they can cling to rocks in torrential currents that would wash away most other insects.

Stag-Horned Dung Beetle

A small, dark brown tunneling dung beetle with spectacularly branched antler-like horns in major males. The branching horns resemble reindeer antlers. It inhabits forest habitats where it tunnels beneath monkey and civet dung.

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Did You Know?

The branching horns of this beetle are some of the most complex found in any insect species.