Copris tripartitus is a small East Asian dung beetle, about 0.55–0.8 in (14–20 mm) long, that digs beneath cattle and horse dung and raises its young inside dung balls in an underground burrow. Males carry a single tusk-like horn on the head. It lives in Korea, Japan, China, and Taiwan and isn't found in the US.
Appearance
- Appearance
- About 0.55–0.8 in (14–20 mm) long, black and slightly glossy, with finely grooved wing covers. Males have a tusk-shaped horn; females have a low ridge instead.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Pastures
- Grasslands
- Range
- Korea, China, and Taiwan; in Japan, only on Tsushima Island.
- Preferred conditions
- In Korea it depends on grazed pastures with a steady supply of fresh dung; on Tsushima it comes to deer dung in forests.
Behavior
- Diet
- Dung of grazing animals such as cattle, horses, and sheep.
Life cycle
- Nest
- Rather than rolling dung, it tunnels under a dung pat, shapes dung into balls underground, and lays an egg in each; the mother guards the brood.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
- Status
- Listed as endangered in South Korea, where it declined after cattle moved from open grazing into barns.
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