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NOTE: As of 2014, the California Beetle Project page is no longer updated. The original database and list of California beetles in the menu on the left will remain for the time being, but the information contained within is not necessarily current. SBMNH Entomology Curator Matthew L. Gimmel has divided up the function of the original database into two conceptual halves:

  1. The SBMNH Entomology specimen-level database, including all SBMNH beetle specimens included in the CBP database, which is now available (and ever-growing) through the ecdysis portal at https://serv.biokic.asu.edu/ecdysis/

  2. A literature- (and available specimen-)based checklist.
    3. of the Coleoptera of California, which is being revised and re-compiled by Dr. Gimmel, and, as of January 2017, is about 85% complete.



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Last updated 01/16/2009

 California Beetle Project > Species Pages > Colon longitorsum

Classification

Scientific name: Colon longitorsum Peck
    Order Coleoptera
    Superfamily Staphylinoidea
    Family Leiodidae

Images (click to enlarge)

What it looks like: 2-3 mm in length. Its body is shiny, reddish-brown, oval-shaped, and more elongated than the other species in its genus. It has distinctly clubbed antennae and hairs cover its entire surface. The male hind femur has a large, sharp tooth.

Where you'll find it: This species is found in coastal California and Oregon.

Natural History: These beetles are rarely collected and very little is known about their habits and habitat. Like most leiodids, they are probably subterranean fungus feeders. They have been collected in leaf litter and flight traps between the months of March and May.

This page was written by Maren Farnum, a 2005 California Beetle Project intern.



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