Cretaceous-fossil-relative
Guides
Onthophilus alternatus
clown beetle
Onthophilus alternatus is a species of clown beetle in the family Histeridae, described by Thomas Say in 1825. It is one of approximately 4,000 extant species in a family with a fossil record extending back at least 99 million years. The genus Onthophilus has a close Cretaceous relative, Cretonthophilus tuberculatus, preserved in Burmese amber, providing evidence of long-term morphological stability in this lineage.