Gymnopleurini is a tribe of scarab beetles, in the dung beetle subfamily (Scarabaeinae),[1] but it may now be combined with the Scarabaeini.[2] The side edge of each elytron (hardened fore-wing protecting the hind-wing) has a characteristic shape that exposed the underlying pleural sclerites (side plates of the abdomen). Relative to other dung beetles they are of moderate size (10–18 mm long).[1]
| Gymnopleurini | |
|---|---|
| |
| Garreta unicolor on a ball of rhinoceros dung | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Family: | Scarabaeidae |
| Subfamily: | Scarabaeinae |
| Tribe: | Gymnopleurini Lacordaire, 1856 |
Ecology edit
All species fly during the day (diurnal). They are probably all ball-rollers: a ball is fashioned from the dung, and rolled away from it, either by a single beetle or a pair of beetles. A short tunnel is dug in the soil, and the ball is buried at the end of it. After reworking the ball, the female lays an egg in a depression in the ball, and covers it with dung. The brood is then abandoned; after hatching, larvae feed on the dung ball.[1]
Taxonomy edit
There are four genera in this tribe:
References edit
External links edit
Data related to Gymnopleurini at Wikispecies
