Ivory-Spotted Dung Beetle vs Subterranean Diving Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Ivory-Spotted Dung Beetle Subterranean Diving Beetle
Scientific Name Euoniticellus pallipes Limbodessus palmulaoides
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Scarabaeidae Dytiscidae
Size 5-8 mm 1.5-2.5 mm
Habitat Farmland Caves
Diet Dung Feeders Omnivores
Regions Africa, introduced to Australia Australia
Conservation Least Concern Data Deficient

Ivory-Spotted Dung Beetle

A small, pale brown tunneling dung beetle with ivory-colored legs. Native to Africa, it has been introduced to several countries as a biological control agent. It is especially efficient in warm, dry climates.

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Did You Know?

This tiny beetle can compete with much larger species by arriving first and tunneling quickly beneath fresh dung.

Subterranean Diving Beetle

An eyeless aquatic beetle living in underground calcrete aquifers of Western Australia. It has lost all pigmentation and wing development.

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Did You Know?

It evolved independently from surface ancestors trapped by the aridification of Australia.