move because of the heaving mass of beetles

underneath them.

Members of Ceratocanthinae are not carrion

feeders, but live in the leaf litter on the forest floor.

They are distinctive for their ability to roll

themselves into a ball, called “conglobation.”

The head, thorax, and abdomen, as well as

small plates on the legs, are involved in this

process, the result of which is an almost

perfect smooth-sided spheroid, sometimes

camouflaged and sometimes glossy metallic.

These spheroids are difficult for a predator

such as a bird or an ant to grip or pick up. All

Ceratocanthinae can roll up into balls in this way,

except a few rare, poorly known Neotropical genera

such as Ivieolus and Scarabatermes, which have evolved

a different shape, probably from living with termites.

notes

Ceratocanthines conglobate, or roll up

into a ball, as a defense mechanism, but it

doesn’t always save them from being eaten.

Specimens of undigested ceratocanthines

were found inside the stomach of a toad

specimen in the Natural History Museum’s

collection in London, collected over

100 years ago. It was only by identifying

the beetles that scientists could find out

where the toad was from, because it was

incorrectly labeled

above | Eusphaeropeltis This glossy,

spherical Malaysian ceratocanthine is

difficult for a predator to pick up, and

resembles a water droplet.

opposite | Phaeochrous A typical

carrion-feeding Hybosorinae, from

Australia.

right | Madrasostes variolosum This

ceratocanthine from Singapore has

a rough texture, and resembles a seed

or animal dropping.