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🧬 Biological Classification (Kingdom to Species)Gymnopleurus mopsus

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Coleoptera

Family

Scarabaeidae

Genus

Gymnopleurus

Species

Gymnopleurus mopsus

Insecta🍂 Omnivore

Gymnopleurus mopsus

Gymnopleurus mopsus (Gymnopleurus mopsus · Gymnopleurus mopsus)

🛡️ Conservation Status (IUCN Red List)NE (Not Evaluated)

Not Evaluated (NE) on the IUCN Red List yet.

🇰🇷 Class II endangered wildlife (Korea)

Geological Era

Extant

Diet

Omnivore

Length · Height

1~1.6cm · No data

Mass · Top Speed

No data · No data

Habitat & Fossil Locality

Deserts, grasslands, and forests (places with dung of large herbivores such as cattle, horses, and sheep)

💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed

💡 Its maximum body length of 16 mm is slightly smaller than the diameter of a Korean 10-won coin (18 mm) (Comparison).
💡 Declines in open grazing of cattle and horses, heavy pesticide use, and changes in livestock farming practices are cited as reasons for its disappearance. In nature, it served to clean up cow dung in pasture grasslands.

Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.

#소똥구리#Gymnopleurus mopsus

📖 1. Overview

Gymnopleurus mopsus is a dung beetle that rolls the dung of large herbivores such as cattle, horses, and sheep and carries it into underground burrows. In Korea, it is a Class II endangered wildlife (Korea) presumed to have disappeared in the 1970s.

🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology

Its body is 10–16 mm long and matte black, with a large, flat, circular pronotum. There are 3 large teeth near the tip of the forelegs, and the tarsi are very small.

🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior

Adults are active from late spring to autumn and are most numerous in June and July. They roll animal dung into underground burrows to lay eggs, playing a role in decomposing dung and keeping soil clean.

🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea

It is a Class II endangered wildlife (Korea). In the past it lived throughout North and South Korea, including Jeju Island, but is presumed to have gone locally extinct in Korea in the 1970s.