A checklist of the dung beetles (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Scarabaeinae) deposited at Pakistan Museum of Natural History

Abstract

The Pakistan Museum of Natural History (PMNH) holds a large number and historically valuable specimens of insects that were collected from various parts of the country before and after the independence of the Indo-Pak subcontinent (1917–2024). In this study, we examined 605 specimens of dung beetles of subfamily Scarabaeinae Latreille, 1802, and identified 26 species belonging to 12 genera and seven tribes. The tribes consist of Coprini Kolbe, 1805 (nine species), Onthophagini Lacordaire, 1856 (six species), Onitini Laporte, 1840 (six species), Gymnopleurini Lacordaire, 1856 (two species), Oniticellini d´Orbigny, 1916 (one species), Scarabaeini Latreille, 1802 (one species), and Sisyphini Mulsant, 1842 (one species). This study adds one species to the scarabid fauna of Pakistan, Onthophagus (Palaeonthophagus) conspersus Reitter, 1893.

Keywords

• coprini
• onthophagini
• ontini
• gymnopleurini
• south asia