Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Dermestes ater
Escarabajo, Black larder beetle
Scavenger on dry animal tissue; littoral to transition zones; January–June, September; carrion baits, in cormorant nests, at lights.
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Coleoptera
Suborder
Polyphaga
Superfamily
Bostrichoidea
Family
Dermestidae
Section
Dermestini
Genus
Dermestes
Species
ater
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: No data
Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.
Distribution: Darwin, Española, Fernandina, Floreana, Genovesa, Isabela, Marchena, Pinta, Santa Cruz, San Cristóbal
- 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. 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, Dermestes ater", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=5786. Accessed 28 May 2026.