SBMNH Entomology - The California Beetle Project

NOTE: As of 2014, the California Beetle Project page is no longer updated.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:

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/
A literature- (and available specimen-)based checklist.

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Funded in part by award DEB0447694 from the National Science Foundation to M. Caterino.

Last updated 01/16/2009

California Beetle Project > Species Pages > Ptomaphagus nevadicus

Classification

Scientific name: Ptomaphagus nevadicus Horn
Order Coleoptera
Superfamily Staphylinoidea
Family Leiodidae

Images (click to enlarge)

What it looks like: 2.5-3.3 mm in length. Its body is oval and reddish-brown. It has short, clubbed antennae and long, thin legs. It has unique striae, rows of shallow punctures on the elytra (wing coverings) that run transversely instead of lengthwise, as they do in most beetles.

Where you'll find it: This species can be found throughout the western United States, southern Canada, and northern Mexico.

Natural History: These beetles generally live in the nests and burrows of small rodents like marmots and pocket gophers. They have also been found in burrowing owl nests.