Galapagos Species Database

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

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Ammophorus laevis Van Dyke, 1953

Escarabajo tenebriónido, Darkling beetle

eyes very reduced

Scavenger; humid forest and pampa zones; February, April–July; in moss and fern litter; evergreen shrub litter.

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Arthropoda

Class
Insecta

Order
Coleoptera

Suborder
Polyphaga

Superfamily
Tenebrionoidea

Family
Tenebrionidae

Section
Nyctoporini

Genus
Ammophorus

Species
laevis

Taxon category: Accepted

Syn.: A. galapagoensis laevis, CAS type 7391, A. franzi Kaszab, 1977, fide Peck (2006)

Origin: Endemic

Distribution

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

Distribution: San Cristóbal

References

  • 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.
  • Kaszab, Z. (1977) Neue Tenebrioniden (Coleoptera) von den Galapagos und Antillen, sowie aus Südamerika und Ostasien. Annls. Hist. Nat. Mus. Natl. Hungarici 69: 117-131.
  • 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.
  • Peck, S.B. (1990) Eyeless arthropods of the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador: Composition and origin of the cryptozoic fauna of a young, tropical, oceanic archipelago. Biotropica 22(4): 366-381.
  • Van Dyke, E.C. (1953) The Coleoptera of the Galapagos Islands. Occasional Papers of the California Academy of Sciences 22: 1-181.

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This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Ammophorus laevis", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=5523. Accessed 31 October 2026.