Galapagos Species Database

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

Dermestes maculatus Degeer, 1774

Escarabajo, Hide beetle

Scavenger on dry animal tissue; littoral to humid forest zones; January–June, October.

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Arthropoda

Class
Insecta

Order
Coleoptera

Suborder
Polyphaga

Superfamily
Bostrichoidea

Family
Dermestidae

Section
Dermestini

Genus
Dermestes

Species
maculatus

Taxon category: Accepted

Syn.: Dermestes vulpinus Fabricius, 1781, fide Peck (2006)

Origin: Introduced - established

Introduction

Year of first record: 1835

Mode of introduction: Accidental

Introduction Pathway: Contaminant

Subpathway: Food contaminant

Introduced status: Naturalized

Invasive status: No data

Distribution

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

Distribution: Darwin, Fernandina, Floreana, Genovesa, Isabela, Rábida, Santa Cruz, Santiago, Wolf

References

  • 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.
  • Linell, M.L. (1898) On the coleopterous insects of the Galapagos Islands. Proc. U. S. Natl. Mus. 21(1143): 249-268.
  • 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. (1925) Coleoptera. From the Williams Galapagos Expedition. Zoologica 5(20): 219-240.
  • 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. 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.
  • Van Dyke, E.C. (1953) The Coleoptera of the Galapagos Islands. Occasional Papers of the California Academy of Sciences 22: 1-181.
  • Waterhouse, G.R. (1845) Descriptions of coleopterous insects collected by Charles Darwin, Esq., in the Galapagos Islands. Ann. Nat. Hist. 16: 19-41.

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 maculatus", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=5788. Accessed 28 May 2026.