Oxysternon

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Cladus: Panarthropoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Classis: Insecta
Cladus: Dicondylia
Subclassis: Pterygota
Cladus: Metapterygota
Infraclassis: Neoptera
Cladus: Eumetabola
Cladus: Endopterygota
Superordo: Coleopterida
Ordo: Coleoptera
Subordo: Polyphaga
Infraordo: Scarabaeiformia
Superfamilia: Scarabaeoidea

Familia: Scarabaeidae
Subfamilia: Scarabaeinae
Tribus: Phanaeini
Genus: Oxysternon
Subgenera: Mioxysternon

Species (11): O. conspicillatum – O. durantoni – O. ebeninum – O. festivum – O. lautum – O. macleayi – O. palaemon – O. pteroderum – O. silenus – O. spiniferum – O. striatopunctatum
Name

Oxysternon Laporte in Brullé, 1840

Type species:

References
Links

Schoolmeesters, P. 2017. Scarabs: World Scarabaeidae Database (version Jul 2016). In: Roskov Y., Abucay L., Orrell T., Nicolson D., Bailly N., Kirk P., Bourgoin T., DeWalt R.E., Decock W., De Wever A., Nieukerken E. van, Zarucchi J., Penev L., eds. 2017. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life, 30th January 2017. Digital resource at www.catalogueoflife.org/col. Species 2000: Naturalis, Leiden, the Netherlands. ISSN 2405-8858. Reference page. [accessed on April 4, 2017]

Oxysternon is a genus of Scarabaeidae or scarab beetles in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea. It can be distinguished from all other phanaeines and scarabaeine dung beetles by a long, spiniform extension of the anterior angle of the metasternum. Most taxa vary in color and color pattern, and are more commonly found in tones of green, often infused with yellow or coppery highlights. All species appear very smooth or glassy smooth to the unaided eye.[1]

Taxonomy and nomenclature

The genus Sternaspis was proposed first by Hope in 1837, but the name was preoccupied and thus invalid. Laporte, writing under the pen name of Le Compte de Castelnau, proposed the genus Oxysternon to include several species of Phaneus-like species. O. festivum was later designated as the type species.[2][1]
Phylogeny and evolution

The genus is monophyletic and its sister group is the genus Phanaeus. Two subgenera and two further species groups are recognized by some authors. It has been suggested that the current distribution of the species reflect vicariance events following climatic fluctuations in the Amazon.[1]
Diversity

There are currently 11 species in the genus Oxysternon.[3]

Oxysternon conspicillatum Weber, 1801
Oxysternon durantoni Arnaud, 1984
Oxysternon ebeninum (Nevinson, 1890)
Oxysternon festivum (Linnaeus, 1767)[4]
Oxysternon lautum (Macleay, 1819)
Oxysternon macleayi (Nevinson, 1892)
Oxysternon palaemon Laporte, 1840
Oxysternon pteroderum Nevinson, 1892
Oxysternon silenus Laporte, 1840
Oxysternon spiniferum Laporte, 1840
Oxysternon striatopunctatum Olsoufieff, 1924

Distribution

Oxysternon is a neotropical genus occurring north of the Tropic of Capricorn and east of the Andes. Only two, widespread species are found in the northwest of South America and up to the southern portion of Central America. Most Oxysternon species have restricted distributions within the Amazon basin, the Guiana Shield, the Cerrado region and the Atlantic coastal forest of Brazil.[1]
Ecology

Oxysternon palaemon is a common beetle in the cerrado formations of Brazil and adjacent areas of Bolivia and Paraguay. All other species inhabit supermoist to mesic forest habitats with different degrees of tolerance to fragmentation and forest degradation.[1][5]

The behavior of Oxysternon species has not been studied in detail. All species seem to be coprophagous or copro-necrophagous, although fruit pulp is sometimes used as an adult food resource.[6]
References

Edmonds, W. D. (1972). "Comparative skeletal morphology, systematics and evolution of the phanaeine dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)". University of Kansas Science Bulletin. 49 (11): 731–874. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
Castelnau, M. (Le Comte de) (1850). Histoire naturelle des insectes, coléoptères. Paris, France: Société Bibliophile. pp. Tome deuxieme, Premiere partie. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.36538., pag. 82
Edmonds, W.D.; Zidek, J. (2004). "Revision of the Neotropical dung beetle genus Oxysternon (Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae: Phanaeini)". Folia Heyrovskyana. 11: 1–58.
Linné, Carl von (1767). Systema naturae : per regna tria natura, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (Ed. 12, reformata. ed.). Holmiae :Impensis direct. Laurentii Salvii. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.68927. pag. 552
Ferrer-Paris, José R.; Lozano, Cecilia; Cardozo-Urdaneta, Arlene; Thomas Cabianca, Arianna (2016). "Indicative response of Oxysternon festivum Linné (Coleoptera: Scarabaidae) to vegetation condition in the basin of the Orinoco river, Venezuela". Journal of Insect Conservation. 20 (3): 527–538. doi:10.1007/s10841-016-9886-6.
Silvius, KM; Fragoso, JMV (2002). "Pulp handling by vertebrate seed dispersers increases palm seed predation by bruchid beetles in the northern Amazon". Journal of Ecology. 90 (6): 1024–1032. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2745.2002.00728.x.