First record of the largest copro-necrophagous beetle in South America (Coprophanaeus lancifer) feeding on fruits

Abstract

Coprophanaeus lancifer is a copro-necrophagous beetle endemic to the Amazon region. Although beetles belonging to the subfamily Scarabaeinae primarily feed on dung, some have a greater diet plasticity that includes carrion, fungi, rotten fruits and invertebrates. The diet of the scavenger beetle C. lancifer mainly consists of vertebrate carcasses, although it is also attracted to mammal faeces. Here, we describe the first record of this species feeding on fruits of the genus Nectandra.

High levels of mercury contamination in a necrophage dung beetle of the Amazon rainforest (Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae)

“…The broad diet of C. lancifer makes it an excellent taxon for Hg bioaccumulation studies. Although it has been reported consuming animals' feces, decomposing millipedes, and rotten fruits, it prefers carrion (Chaboteaux et al, 2023;Edmonds & Zidek, 2010;Santiago et al, 2022;Ururahy-Rodrigues et al, 2008), presumably as a food resource for its larvae that receive extended parental care.…”