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20 March 2021 An Update on the Feeding Preferences of the Dung Beetle Onthophagus moroni Zunino and Halffter (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) from the Cuetzalan Caves, Puebla, Mexico
Sara Lariza Rivera-Gasperín, Fernando Escobar-Hernández, Mario E. Favila
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Abstract

The Onthophagus brevifrons species complex (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae: Onthophagini) consists of the five species: Onthophagus cavernicollis Howden and Cartwright, Onthophagus subtropicus Howden and Cartwright, Onthophagus brevifrons Horn, Onthophagus cuevensis Howden and Onthophagus moroni Zunino and Halffter, all of which are strictly associated with underground habitats (caves or burrows) and are consequently considered troglobites. Nevertheless, the biology of Onthophagus Latreille species reported from caves is lacking. In this study, four grottoes in the Cuetzalan region were explored: Trompa de Elefante, El Fósil and El Nido del Murciélago (which belong to the poorly explored Gruta de Atepolihui), and the Tasalolpan cave, in the search for dung beetles. Onthophagus moroni was collected inside El Nido del Murciélago and Tasalolpan cave, representing a new record for El Nido del Murciélago, since its presence was previously recorded inside the Tasalolpan cave in 1988. Adults of O. moroni were collected alive 70 m inside the Tasalolpan cave, under a latrine of Peters' climbing rat, Tylomys nudicaudus (Peters) (Rodentia: Cricetidae). We redescribe the species, discuss its biogeography and provide an updated dichotomous key to enable the identification of the constituent species in the O. brevifrons species complex.

Sara Lariza Rivera-Gasperín, Fernando Escobar-Hernández, and Mario E. Favila "An Update on the Feeding Preferences of the Dung Beetle Onthophagus moroni Zunino and Halffter (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) from the Cuetzalan Caves, Puebla, Mexico," The Coleopterists Bulletin 75(1), 247-255, (20 March 2021). https://doi.org/10.1649/0010-065X-75.1.247
Received: 19 June 2020; Accepted: 2 January 2021; Published: 20 March 2021
KEYWORDS
coprophagous
food resource
imago
Onthophagus chevrolati species group
rat droppings
Sierra Madre Oriental
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