Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Oosternum costatum
escarabajo
Terrestrial leaf-litter scavenger; arid to pampa zones; February–June; sifting litter (see Smetana 1978; 45); in tortoise and horse dung, FIT. The species occurs in many decaying plant materials.
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Coleoptera
Suborder
Polyphaga
Superfamily
Hydrophiloidea
Family
Hydrophilidae
Section
Megasternini
Genus
Oosternum
Species
costatum
Taxon category: Accepted
Origin: Native
Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.
Distribution: Fernandina, Floreana, Isabela, Pinta, Rábida, San Cristóbal, Santa Cruz, Santiago
- Fikácek, M. Hebauer, F., & Hansen, M. (2009) Taxonomic revision of New World species of the genus Oosternum Sharp (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae: Sphaeridiinae). I. Definition of species groups and revision of the Oosternum aequinoctiale group. Zootaxa, 2054(1), 1-37.
- Franz, H. (1985) Beitrag zur Kenntnis der Koleopterenfauna der Galapagos-Inseln. Österr. Akad. Wissensch. Mathem.-naturw. Kl., Abt. I, 194(1-5): 73-124.
- Peck, S.B. (1996) The arthropods of the allobiosphere (barren lava flows) of the Galapagos islands, Ecuador Noticias de Galápagos 56: 9-12.
- 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, Oosternum costatum", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=6727. Accessed 4 June 2026.