Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Adelonia costipennis
Escarabajo tenebriónido, Darkling beetle
Scavenger; littoral and arid zone; January–June, September–December; at lights, under rocks, beating trees at night, in rotting Opuntia.
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Coleoptera
Suborder
Polyphaga
Superfamily
Tenebrionoidea
Family
Tenebrionidae
Section
Belopini
Genus
Adelonia
Species
costipennis
Taxon category: Accepted
Syn.: Rhacius costipennis Blair, 1933, fide Peck (2006)
Origin: Endemic
Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.
Distribution: Fernandina, Pinta, San Cristóbal, Santa Cruz, Santiago, Plaza Sur
- Blair, K.G. (1933) Further Coleoptera from the Galapagos Archipelago. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 10, 11: 471-487.
- Franz, H. (1985) Beitrag zur Kenntnis der Koleopterenfauna der Galapagos-Inseln. Österr. Akad. Wissensch. Mathem.-naturw. Kl., Abt. I, 194(1-5): 73-124.
- Kaszab, Z. (1970) Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae. Mission Zool. Belge aux îles Galapagos et en Ecuador (N. et J. Leleup, 1964-1965) 2: 183-210.
- Linsley, E.G. (1977) Insects of the Galápagos (Supplement). Occassional Papers of the Califoria Academy of Sciences 125: 1-50.
- Linsley, E.G. Usinger, R.L. (1966) Insects of the Galápagos Islands. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences Fourth Series 33(7): 113-196.
- Mutchler, A.J. (1938) Coleoptera from the Galapagos Islands. American Museum Novitates 981: 1-19.
- 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.
- Van Dyke, E.C. (1953) The Coleoptera of the Galapagos Islands. Occasional Papers of the California Academy of Sciences 22: 1-181.
You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.
This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Adelonia costipennis", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=5496. Accessed 2 November 2026.