The genus Scarabaeus consists of a number of Afro-Eurasian dung beetle species, including the "sacred scarab beetle", Scarabaeus sacer and is the namesake of the tribe Scarabaeini, the family Scarabaeidae, the superfamily Scarabaeoidea and the infraorder Scarabaeiformia. These beetles feed exclusively on dung, which they accomplish by rolling a piece of dung some distance from where it was deposited, and burying it in order to feed on it underground. They also prepare food for their larvae by excavating an underground chamber, and filling it with balls that have eggs laid in them. The growing larva feeds upon the dung ball, pupates, and eventually emerges as an adult.

A "scarabaeus" is also a now outdated term (OED 2) for an object in the form of a scarab beetle in art. The scarab was a popular form of amulet in Ancient Egypt, and in ancient Greek art engraved gems were often carved as scarabs on the rest of the stone behind the main flattish face, which was used for sealing documents.

A creature identified as Scarabaeus appears in "The Gold-Bug" by Edgar Allan Poe, and a poem entitled "Scarabæus sisyphus" was created by Mathilde Blind.

Gallery

Subgenera and species

The following subgenera are accepted in BioLib:

1. Ateuchetus Bedel, 1892

2. Escarabaeus Zídek & Pokorny, 2011

3. Kheper Janssens, 1940

4. Mnematidium Ritsema, 1888

5. Pachylosoma Zídek & Pokorný, 2008

6. Pachysoma MacLeay, 1821

7. Scarabaeolus Balthasar, 1965

8. Scarabaeus Linnaeus, 1758

9. incertae sedis

10. All species:

11. Scarabaeus acuticollis

12. Scarabaeus aegyptiacus

13. Scarabaeus aegyptiorum

14. Scarabaeus aeratus

15. Scarabaeus aesculapius

16. Scarabaeus alienus

17. Scarabaeus ambiguus

18. Scarabaeus anderseni

19. Scarabaeus andreaei

20. Scarabaeus andrewesi

21. Scarabaeus armeniacus

22. Scarabaeus asceticus

23. Scarabaeus babori

24. Scarabaeus bannuensis

25. Scarabaeus basuto

26. Scarabaeus bennigseni

27. Scarabaeus bohemani

28. Scarabaeus bonellii

29. Scarabaeus bornemizzai

30. Scarabaeus brahminus

31. Scarabaeus caffer

32. Scarabaeus canaliculatus

33. Scarabaeus cancer

34. Scarabaeus carinatus

35. Scarabaeus catenatus

36. Scarabaeus cicatricosus

37. Scarabaeus clanceyi

38. Scarabaeus clericus

39. Scarabaeus cognatus

40. Scarabaeus confusus

41. Scarabaeus convexus

42. Scarabaeus cristatus

43. Scarabaeus cupreus

44. Scarabaeus cuvieri

45. Scarabaeus damarensis

46. Scarabaeus deludens

47. Scarabaeus denticollis

48. Scarabaeus devotus

49. Scarabaeus dioscoridis

50. Scarabaeus ebenus

51. Scarabaeus endroedyi

52. Scarabaeus erichsoni

53. Scarabaeus festivus

54. Scarabaeus fitzsimonsi

55. Scarabaeus flavicornis

56. Scarabaeus fraterculus

57. Scarabaeus fritschi

58. Scarabaeus funebris

59. Scarabaeus furcatus

60. Scarabaeus galenus

61. Scarabaeus gangeticus

62. Scarabaeus gariepinus

63. Scarabaeus gilleti

64. Scarabaeus glentoni

65. Scarabaeus goryi

66. Scarabaeus gracai

67. Scarabaeus heqvisti

68. Scarabaeus hippocrates

69. Scarabaeus hottentorum

70. Scarabaeus inoportunus

71. Scarabaeus inquisitus

72. Scarabaeus intermedius

73. Scarabaeus interstitialis

74. Scarabaeus intricatus

75. Scarabaeus irakensis

76. Scarabaeus isidis

77. Scarabaeus jalof

78. Scarabaeus janssensi

79. Scarabaeus karlwerneri

80. Scarabaeus karrooensis

81. Scarabaeus knobeli

82. Scarabaeus kochi

83. Scarabaeus kwiluensis

84. Scarabaeus laevifrons

85. Scarabaeus laevistriatus

86. Scarabaeus lamarcki

87. Scarabaeus laticollis

88. Scarabaeus licitus

89. Scarabaeus lucidulus

90. Scarabaeus multidentatus

91. Scarabaeus namibicus

92. Scarabaeus natalensis

93. Scarabaeus nigroaeneus

94. Scarabaeus nitidicollis

95. Scarabaeus obsoletepunctatus

96. Scarabaeus opacipennis

97. Scarabaeus pabulator

98. Scarabaeus paganus

99. Scarabaeus palemo

100. Scarabaeus parvulus

101. Scarabaeus piliventris

102. Scarabaeus pius

103. Scarabaeus planifrons

104. Scarabaeus platynotus

105. Scarabaeus plausibilis

106. Scarabaeus poggei

107. Scarabaeus porosus

108. Scarabaeus proboscideus

109. Scarabaeus prodigiosus

110. Scarabaeus puncticollis

111. Scarabaeus pustulosus

112. Scarabaeus radama

113. Scarabaeus ritchiei

114. Scarabaeus rixosus

115. Scarabaeus rodriguesi

116. Scarabaeus rotundigenus

117. Scarabaeus rubripennis

118. Scarabaeus rugosus

119. Scarabaeus rusticus

120. Scarabaeus sacer

121. Scarabaeus sanctus

122. Scarabaeus satyrus

123. Scarabaeus savignyi

124. Scarabaeus schinzi

125. Scarabaeus scholtzi

126. Scarabaeus schulzeae

127. Scarabaeus semipunctatus

128. Scarabaeus sennaariensis

129. Scarabaeus sevoistra

130. Scarabaeus silenus

131. Scarabaeus spretus

132. Scarabaeus striatus

133. Scarabaeus subaeneus

134. Scarabaeus sulcipennis

135. Scarabaeus suri

136. Scarabaeus tonckeri

137. Scarabaeus transcaspicus

138. Scarabaeus typhon

139. Scarabaeus valeflorae

140. Scarabaeus vanderkelleni

141. Scarabaeus vansoni

142. Scarabaeus variolosus

143. Scarabaeus venerabilis

144. Scarabaeus westwoodi

145. Scarabaeus vethi

146. Scarabaeus viator

147. Scarabaeus vicinus

148. Scarabaeus viettei

149. Scarabaeus wilsoni

150. Scarabaeus winkleri

151. Scarabaeus xavieri

152. Scarabaeus zagrosensis

153. Scarabaeus zambezianus

154. Scarabaeus zurstrasseni

References

External links