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Australian Wildlife

  Carcass Beetle (Omorgus alternans)





Carcass Beetle | Omorgus alternans photo
Omorgus alternans adult, at the Texas A&M University Insect Collection in College Station, Texas.

Image by Shawn Hanrahan - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)







CARCASS BEETLE FACTS

Identification
Omorgus is a genus of beetles in the Trogidae family. Omorgus alternans is a robust untidy looking carcass beetle with rough knobby surface to the wing covers and thorax. The head is bent downwards and hidden from view by the pronotum (the first segment of the thorax).

Other Names
Hide Beetle

Habitat
found in dry habitats

Food
Adult carcass beetles and larvae feed on dry animal carcasses. The larvae live in burrows in the soil under the carcass. They invade the carcass after the soft fleshy parts have gone feeding on the dry remains such as skin.



Classification
Class:Insecta
Order:Coleoptera
Family:Trogidae
Genus:Omorgus
Species:alternans
Common Name:Carcass Beetle

Relatives in same Genus
  Carcass Beetle (O. amictus)
  Carcass Beetle (O. costatus)