Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Cartodere constricta
escarabajo, Plaster beetle
Fungivore on molds?; arid to pampa zones; January–July; FIT, litter. Although these may occur in stored products they do no damage because they feed exclusively on fungi.
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Coleoptera
Suborder
Polyphaga
Superfamily
Cucujoidea
Family
Latridiidae
Genus
Cartodere
Species
constricta
Taxon category: Accepted
Origin: Introduced - established
Year of first record: 1985
Mode of introduction: Accidental
Introduction Pathway: Contaminant
Subpathway: Food contaminant
Introduced status: Naturalized
Invasive status: Unlikely to become invasive
Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.
Distribution: Floreana, Isabela, San Cristóbal, Santa Cruz
- Peck, S.B. Kukalová-Peck, J. (1990) Origin and biogeography of the beetles (Coleoptera) of the Galápagos Archipelago, Ecuador. Can. J. Zool. 68(8): 1617-1638.
- 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.
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, Cartodere constricta", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=5665. Accessed 5 November 2026.