Determination of species and instars of the larvae of the Afrotropical species of Thanatophilus Leach, 1817 (Coleoptera, Silphidae)

Abstract

Thanatophilus micans and T. mutilatus have significance for forensic entomology. Their larvae are therefore described and a key is provided for identifying the larvae of Afrotropical Silphidae based on morphological characters. It is shown that seven common species of Thanatophilus can be distinguished by a 360 bp mtDNA sequence from the cytochrome oxidase I gene.