Galapagos Species Database

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

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Necrobia rufipes De Geer, 1775

Escarabajo, Redlegged ham beetle

Necrobia rufipes Degeer 1775 (ICCDRS 5989) Photo: Ashley Sheridan, CDF, 2011.
Necrobia rufipes Degeer 1775 (ICCDRS 5989) Photo: Ashley Sheridan, CDF, 2011.

Common scavenger beetle widely distributed through out the Galápagos

Scavenger on remains of dead animals (or larvae of dermestid beetles, and on stored meat products); littoral, arid and transition zones; January–April, June; at lights, on carrion.

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Arthropoda

Class
Insecta

Order
Coleoptera

Suborder
Polyphaga

Superfamily
Cleroidea

Family
Cleridae

Genus
Necrobia

Species
rufipes

Taxon category: Accepted

Syn.: Corynetes rufipes Auct., 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: Unlikely to become invasive

Distribution

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

Distribution: Baltra, Floreana, Genovesa, Isabela, Rábida, Santiago, Santa Cruz, Seymour

References

  • Blair, K.G. (1933) Further Coleoptera from the Galapagos Archipelago. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 10, 11: 471-487.
  • Blair, K.G. (1928) Coleoptera (Heteromera, Teredilia, Malacodermata, and Bruchidae) from the Galapagos Islands, collected on the 'St. George' Expedition, 1924. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 10, 1: 671-680.
  • 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. (1938) Coleoptera from the Galapagos Islands. American Museum Novitates 981: 1-19.
  • 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.

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This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Necrobia rufipes", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=6662. Accessed 5 April 2026.