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1 September 2013 Leaf-Litter Brood Chambers in Dichotomius (Luederwaldtinia) Carbonarius (Mannerheim, 1829) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae): A Novel Behavior for Dung Beetles
P. A. Dinghi
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Abstract

Dichotomius (Luederwaldtinia) carbonarius (Mannerheim, 1829) provisions its brood chambers entirely with comminuted leaf litter, mostly of fumo bravo (Solanum granuloso-leprosum Dunal), and covers them with a thin layer of entire or large fragments of leaves. This is the first recorded case of brood chambers provisioned exclusively with leaf litter. The brood chamber is composed of a main spherical chamber and a cylindrical protuberance in the proximal pole. The egg chamber is located at the distal pole. These brood chambers show, to some extent, intermediate features between brood masses and brood balls. The pupation chamber is constructed without any pellet arrangement and differs from others described from South America and also from those preserved inside Patagonian fossil brood balls, suggesting that this branch of Dichotomius Hope including Luederwaldtinia Martinez could be a separate lineage.

P. A. Dinghi "Leaf-Litter Brood Chambers in Dichotomius (Luederwaldtinia) Carbonarius (Mannerheim, 1829) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae): A Novel Behavior for Dung Beetles," The Coleopterists Bulletin 67(3), 388-396, (1 September 2013). https://doi.org/10.1649/0010-065X-67.3.388
Received: 25 April 2013; Accepted: 16 July 2013; Published: 1 September 2013
KEYWORDS
ball-shaped provisions
Dichotomiini
nesting behavior
plant detritus
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