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Sticker of Rhinoceros dung beetle
Bug card No. 3625 of 4,939

Rhinoceros dung beetle

Oxysternon conspicillatum
Eats: Leftovers and dead thingsBeetlesRainforests and jungles6 legs

The rhinoceros dung beetle is a shiny, metallic green beetle from the rainforests of South and Central America. Big males have a long black horn on their head, like a little rhino. It loves to eat dung.

Lives in
South America and Panama, in the Amazon and other tropical forests
Length
1.6 to 3.1 cm (0.63 to 1.2 in)
Top speed
about 0.72 km/h (0.45 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It does not bite or sting people.
What does it eat?
Both the grown-ups and the young eat mostly animal dung. Sometimes it also eats dead animals.
For real!Photo of Rhinoceros dung beetle
Picture by Richard Bartz, Munich Makro Freak. CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Rhinoceros dung beetle about 3.1 cm long (1.2 in)A grain of rice about 6 mm (0.24 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)
as long as 5 grains of rice in a rowcould run across a dinner table in 5 seconds

How big is Rhinoceros dung beetle compared to YOU?

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How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

It is 1.6 to 3.1 centimetres long.

2

Big males have a black horn and two spikes on their back. Females and small males do not.

3

It is usually metallic green, but some are dark blue or blue-green.

4

The blue ones were once thought to be a different kind of beetle, but they are just a different colour.

5

Scientists study it because it may help them make new medicines against germs.

you asked

Most asked questions about Rhinoceros dung beetle

?What does the rhinoceros dung beetle eat?

Mostly animal dung, and sometimes dead animals.

?Why is it called a rhinoceros beetle?

Big males have a long horn on their head, like a rhino.

?Is the rhinoceros dung beetle dangerous?

No. It is harmless to people.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Oxysternon conspicillatum
Group
Beetles
Family
Scarabaeidae
Classification
Insecta > Coleoptera > Scarabaeidae
Lives on
South America, North America

Where the facts come from

  1. Oxysternon conspicillatum (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Richard Bartz, Munich Makro Freak. CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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