Published January 9, 2026 | Version v1

Catharsius molossus

  • 1. Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science and Mathematics, Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology, Tibanga, Iligan City 9200, Philippines. & Premier Research Institute of Science and Mathematics, Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology. Andres Bonifacio Avenue, Tibanga, 9200 Iligan City, Philippines.

Description

Catharsius molossus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Scarabaeus molossus Linnaeus, 1758: 347.

Catharsius molossus: Schultze 1916a: 160.

Type locality. “ India.”

Distribution in the Philippines. Luzon (Palawan) (Schultze 1916a).

Overall distribution. The Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Nepal, China (including Taiwan), Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Singapore.

Remarks.Although records of Catharsius molossus from the Philippines are scarce in the literature, the species is known to occur in Palawan and is entirely absent from other regions of the archipelago, as confirmed by Ochi and Kon (pers. comm.). During a recent entomological survey in Bukidnon, Mindanao, the first author collected Catharsius specimens that differed markedly from other Mindanao populations by having entirely reddish-brown pubescence. These specimens closely resembled C. molossus, and after a detailed examination, assisted by Ochi and Kon, they were confirmed to be C. molossus. A more comprehensive treatment of the geographic distribution of Catharsius species in the Philippines will be presented in a separate paper.

Notes

Published as part of Magallanes, Joriemar G., Nuñeza, Olga M. & Mondejar, Eddie P., 2026, First in 109 years: Catalogue of scarab beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) of the Philippines, pp. 1-148 in Zootaxa 5746 (1) on page 103, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5746.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/19166474

Files

Files (1.6 kB)

Name Size Download all
md5:eb4c78c59b96901b586d1e15778e744b
1.6 kB Download

System files (12.5 kB)

Name Size Download all
md5:77ee53cdc238850cb912f5b40fdf5d85
12.5 kB Download

Linked records

Additional details

Biodiversity

References

  • Schultze, W. (1916 a) A catalogue of Philippine Coleoptera. The Philippine Journal of Science, 11, 1-194 (154 - 180).