Okinawan Firefly vs Fluted-horn Dung Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Okinawan Firefly Fluted-horn Dung Beetle
Scientific Name Luciola owadai Copris elphenor
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Lampyridae Scarabaeidae
Size 5-8 mm 20-35 mm
Habitat Rivers & Streams Grasslands
Diet Omnivores Dung Feeders
Regions East Asia, Japan, Ryukyu Islands East Africa, Southern Africa
Conservation Near Threatened Least Concern

Okinawan Firefly

A subtropical firefly endemic to the Ryukyu Islands with a small dark body and rapid greenish flash. It is one of several firefly species unique to the southern Japanese islands.

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Did You Know?

The Ryukyu Islands are a hotspot of firefly endemism, with several species found nowhere else on Earth.

Fluted-horn Dung Beetle

A large black dung beetle with a prominent curved horn on the male's head. It buries dung balls underground to provision its brood.

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Did You Know?

A single pair can bury a dung ball weighing over 200 times their own body weight in one night.