Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

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Tarsostenus univittatus (Rossi, 1792)

Escarabajo

Probably a predator on bostrichid beetles; June; at UV light at a house in Puerto Ayora. This beetle is known to be a ferocious predator of Lyctus and Xylobius powder post beetles and is often intercepted by quarantine inspection of lumber products (Arnett et al. 2002: 279).

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Arthropoda

Class
Insecta

Order
Coleoptera

Suborder
Polyphaga

Superfamily
Cleroidea

Family
Cleridae

Genus
Tarsostenus

Species
univittatus

Taxon category: Accepted

Origin: Introduced - established

Introduction

Year of first record: 1985

Mode of introduction: Accidental

Introduction Pathway: Contaminant

Subpathway: In wood/construction material

Introduced status: Naturalized

Invasive status: No data

Distribution

Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.

Distribution: Santa Cruz

References

  • Peck, S.B. (1996) Origin and development of an insect fauna on a remote archipelago: The Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. In: Keast A., Miller S.E. (eds.): The origin and evolution of Pacific Island biotas, New Guinea to eastern Polynesia: patterns and processes. SPB Academic Publishing, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, p. 91-122.
  • Peck, S.B. (1993) New beetle records from the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador (Coleoptera). Coleopterists Bull. 47(2): 151-157.
  • Peck, S.B. Heraty, J., Landry, B. & Sinclair, B.J. (1998) Introduced insect fauna of an oceanic archipelago: The Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Am. Entomol. 44: 218-237.
  • Peck, S.B. (2006) The Beetles of the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador: Evolution, Ecology, and Diversity (Insecta: Coleoptera) NRC Research Press, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. 314 pp.

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This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Tarsostenus univittatus", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=11604. Accessed 5 June 2026.