Atholus

Thomson, 1859

Species Guides

Atholus americanus(clown beetle)
Atholus bimaculatus(Spotted Clown Beetle)
Atholus confinis
Atholus falli(Atholus falli)
Atholus minutus
Atholus nubilus(clown beetle)
Atholus perplexus(clown beetle)
Atholus relictus(clown beetle)
Atholus sedecimstriatus(clown beetle)

Atholus is a of clown beetles ( Histeridae) comprising more than 70 described . Members are found across the Palaearctic, Oriental, and Afrotropical regions, with documented occurrences in Europe, Asia, and the Philippines. Philippine species have been collected from ruminant and decaying organic matter.

Atholus bimaculatus by (c) Олег Кудров, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Олег Кудров. Used under a CC-BY license.

Atholus americanus by CNC/BIO Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics. Used under a CC BY 3.0 license.

Clown or Hister Beetle. Histerinae . Atholus bimaculatus - Flickr - gailhampshire by gailhampshire from Cradley, Malvern, U.K. Used under a CC BY 2.0 license.

Pronunciation

How to pronounce Atholus: /ˈæθoʊləs/

These audio files are automatically generated. While they are not always 100% accurate, they are a good starting point.

Identification

Atholus can be distinguished from other histerid by morphological features detailed in regional revisions; Philippine species are separated by genitalia structure and external as illustrated in taxonomic keys.

Images

Habitat

Lowland farms and pastures; decaying banana stumps; ruminant including cow and water buffalo dung; desiccated dung substrates.

Distribution

Palaearctic region (Europe, Asia including Tajikistan); Oriental region (China, Taiwan, Ryukyu Islands, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam, India, Philippines); Afrotropical region (Comoros). Philippine records from Luzon, Mindoro, Panay, Guimaras, Negros, Cebu, Mactan, and Mindanao.

Behavior

Atholus coelestis is moisture-specific and has been found dwelling on desiccated . Atholus philippinensis has been observed in association with Platylister .

Similar Taxa

PlatylisterAtholus philippinensis has been observed in association with Platylister , suggesting potential microhabitat overlap or co-occurrence in environments.

More Details

Taxonomic history

established by Thomson in 1859. Philippine revised in 2023 with redescriptions of A. torquatus, A. bakeri, A. nitidissimus, and diagnostic descriptions for A. coelestis and A. philippinensis.

Mite associations

Beetles of this the mite Lobogynium sudhiri ( Diplogyniidae), which completes its in and decaying organic matter.