Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Zophobas atratus
escarabajo, Giant mealworm beetle
Scavenger; arid and transition zones; March, May, November; under rocks, under bark, on buttress roots of Ceiba pentandra (L.) Gaertn. tree at night, night beating.
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Coleoptera
Suborder
Polyphaga
Superfamily
Tenebrionoidea
Family
Tenebrionidae
Section
Tenebrionini
Genus
Zophobas
Species
atratus
Taxon category: Accepted
Syn.: Z. morio; in Franz (1985) as Z. morio, fide Peck (2006)
Origin: Native
Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.
Distribution: Isabela, San Cristóbal
- Franz, H. (1985) Beitrag zur Kenntnis der Koleopterenfauna der Galapagos-Inseln. Österr. Akad. Wissensch. Mathem.-naturw. Kl., Abt. I, 194(1-5): 73-124.
- Kaszab, Z. (1970) Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae. Mission Zool. Belge aux îles Galapagos et en Ecuador (N. et J. Leleup, 1964-1965) 2: 183-210.
- Linsley, E.G. (1977) Insects of the Galápagos (Supplement). Occassional Papers of the Califoria Academy of Sciences 125: 1-50.
- 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.
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This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Zophobas atratus", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=7069. Accessed 15 December 2025.