Moon-Horned Dung Beetle vs Samoan Swallowtail

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Moon-Horned Dung Beetle Samoan Swallowtail
Scientific Name Oxysternon festivum Papilio godeffroyi
Order Coleoptera Lepidoptera
Family Scarabaeidae Papilionidae
Size 20-32 mm 70-90 mm wingspan
Habitat Forests Forests
Diet Dung Feeders Nectar Feeders
Regions South America Oceania (Samoa)
Conservation Least Concern Endangered

Moon-Horned Dung Beetle

A large, dark metallic green or black tunneler with a distinctive crescent-shaped pronotal horn in males. The underside often shows bright metallic green. It is an important decomposer in Neotropical forests.

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Did You Know?

The crescent-shaped horn resembles a lunar crescent, which inspired its common name.

Samoan Swallowtail

A rare and beautiful swallowtail butterfly endemic to Samoa. It has dark wings with pale markings and is found in native forest. It is considered one of the rarest butterflies in the Pacific Islands.

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Did You Know?

This is one of the most isolated swallowtail butterflies in the world, found only on the small islands of Samoa far from any other Papilio population.