Acanthoscelis ruficornis (Beach ground beetle)

Life > Eukaryotes > Opisthokonta > Metazoa (animals) > Bilateria > Ecdysozoa > Panarthropoda > Tritocerebra > Arthopoda > Mandibulata > Atelocerata > Panhexapoda > Hexapoda > Insecta (insects) > Dicondyla > Pterygota > Metapterygota > Neoptera > Eumetabola > Holometabola > Coleoptera (beetles) > Suborder: Adephaga > Family: Carabidae (ground beetles) > Subfamily: Scaritinae

Acanthoscelis ruficornis is a predatory ground beetle found on sandy shores round South Africa where it feeds on kelp-feeding amphipods and isopods.

Acanthoscelis ruficornis , 18mm, about to eat a sandhopper Talorchestia capensis (Crustacea : Amphipoda) photographed at night on sandy shore on the Cape Peninsula. [image by H. Robertson ©].

 Text by Hamish G. Robertson