Sculptured Rove Beetle vs Black Aphodius

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Sculptured Rove Beetle Black Aphodius
Scientific Name Oxytelus sculptus Aphodius fimetarius
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Staphylinidae Scarabaeidae
Size 2-4 mm 5-8 mm
Habitat Farmland Farmland
Diet Dung Feeders Dung Feeders
Regions Cosmopolitan, all continents except Antarctica Europe, North America, Asia
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Sculptured Rove Beetle

A tiny dung-associated rove beetle with a distinctly sculptured thorax and short elytra. It has become nearly cosmopolitan through association with livestock and agricultural habitats.

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Did You Know?

This species has hitchhiked with human agriculture across the globe and is now found on every inhabited continent.

Black Aphodius

A small dweller dung beetle with a black head and pronotum and reddish-brown elytra. It lives directly within dung pats rather than tunneling or rolling. One of the most common and widespread dung beetles in the Northern Hemisphere.

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Did You Know?

Unlike roller and tunneler species, dwellers complete their entire life cycle within the dung pat itself.