Osumi Ground Beetle vs Vacca Dung Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Osumi Ground Beetle Vacca Dung Beetle
Scientific Name Carabus osumensis Onthophagus vacca
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Carabidae Scarabaeidae
Size 22-30 mm 6-12 mm
Habitat Forests Grasslands
Diet Predators Dung Feeders
Regions East Asia, Japan (Kyushu) Europe, Western Asia
Conservation Vulnerable Least Concern

Osumi Ground Beetle

An endemic ground beetle from the Osumi Peninsula in southern Kyushu, Japan. Features a beautiful metallic green-gold coloration. A nocturnal predator of forest floor invertebrates.

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Did You Know?

This beetle's restricted range on the Osumi Peninsula makes it a textbook example of geographic speciation on the Japanese archipelago.

Vacca Dung Beetle

A small coppery-green to bronze tunneler with a broad head and short horns in males. It is a common pasture dung beetle across Europe. The metallic sheen distinguishes it from many congeners.

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Did You Know?

Males with longer horns guard tunnel entrances while hornless males sneak through side tunnels to mate.