Phosphuga

Phosphuga
young P. atrata
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Family:	Silphidae
Subfamily:	Silphinae
Tribe:	Silphini
Genus:	Phosphuga Leach, 1817
Species:	P. atrata
Binomial name
Phosphuga atrata Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms
Silpha atrata Linnaeus, 1758 Silpha punctata De Geer, 1774 Silpha paedemontana Fabricius, 1775 Silpha fusca Herbst, 1793 Phosphuga atrata subrotundata Leach, 1817 Silpha nitida Faldermann, 1835 Phosphuga cassidea Kraatz, 1876 Peltis subparalella Reitter, 1884 Peltis (Phosphuga) atrata var. rostrata Reitter, 1888 Silpha shakotana Kôno, 1929

Phosphuga is a European genus of carrion beetle, whose sole member is the species Phosphuga atrata. The beetle is up to 15mm long and has an elongated neck that it uses to reach into snail shells, which it sprays with a digestive fluid. The beetle feeds on live snails, insects and earthworms, as well as on carrion. Newly moulted beetles are brownish in color, older ones are black. The larvae are black and flattened and feed on snails as well. They pupate in the ground. Adults are flightless, lacking flight muscles.^[1]

Although they are widely distributed, they are seldom found, because they hunt at night and hide during the day, often under bark. When disturbed, they excrete a yellow fluid and retract their head under the shield.

Range: Europe (including UK), Russia (European, Siberia, Far East, Kuriles), Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, Korea (N,S), Japan, India (Kashmir), China (Heilongjiang+); intro Iceland

• Data related to Phosphuga atrata at Wikispecies
• Media related to Phosphuga at Wikimedia Commons
• Pictures of adult and larva
• UK Beetles Phosphuga atrata Linnaeus, 1758