Red-Lined Carrion Beetle vs Riffle Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Red-Lined Carrion Beetle Riffle Beetle
Scientific Name Necrodes surinamensis Elmis aenea
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Silphidae Elmidae
Size 15-25 mm 1.5-2.5 mm
Habitat Farmland Rivers & Streams
Diet Carrion Feeders Detritivores
Regions North America Europe
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Red-Lined Carrion Beetle

A dark, flattened carrion beetle with reddish markings on the tips of its elytra. It is one of the first beetles to arrive at large carcasses.

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Did You Know?

It feeds more on the maggots found on a carcass than on the carcass itself.

Riffle Beetle

A tiny, dark beetle that spends its entire adult life underwater clinging to rocks in riffles. It breathes using a plastron, a permanent thin film of air.

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Did You Know?

Its plastron air film never needs replenishing, allowing it to remain permanently submerged.