First observation on the predation of a non-arthropod species by a dung beetle species: the case of Canthon chalybaeus and the snail Bulimulus apodemetes

CLAUDIA M. MARTÍN; ANDREA DEL V. GUANUCO; VIEYLE CORTEZ; JOSÉ VERDU

PLOS ONE

PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE

Lugar: San Francisco; Año: 2021

1932-6203

We described, for the first time, a case of predation of a non-arthropod species by adung beetle species. Canthon chalybaeus Blanchard, 1843 kills healthy individuals ofthe terrestrial snail Bulimulus apodemetes (D´Orbigny, 1835) showing an evidentpattern of physical aggressiveness in the attacks using the dentate clypeus and theanterior tibiae. The description of this predatory behaviour was complemented with the analysis of the chemical secretions of the pygidial glands of C. chalybaeus ,highlighting those main chemical compounds that, due to their potential toxicity, could contribute to death of the snail. We observed a high frequency of predatory interactions reinforcing the idea that predation in dung beetles is not accidental and although it is opportunistic it involves a series of behavioural sophistications that suggest an evolutionary pattern within Deltochilini that should not only be better studied from a behavioural point of view but also phylogenetically