Classification
The scientific name of Aphodius prodromus literally means 'small forerunner'. The word prodromus is Latin; pro means before and dromus means running (Stevenson and Lindberg 2010). To find out more about this definition, feel free to read the following explanations of this beetles classification.
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Domain - Eukarya
Kingdom - Animalia
Phylum - Arthropoda
Class - Insecta
Order - Coleoptera
Family - Scarabaeidae
Genus – Aphodius
Species – prodromus
Domain: Aphodius prodromus belongs to the Eukarya domain because its cells have nuclei (Encyclopedia of Life 2013).
Kingdom: A. prodromus belongs to the Animalia kingdom because it is a motile, multicellular, heterotrophic, and a sexual reproductive organism (Encyclopedia of Life 2013).
Phylum: A. prodromus belongs to the phylum of Arthropoda because it is an invertebrate that has a chitinous exoskeleton, jointed limbs, and a segmented body (Encyclopedia of Life 2013).
Class: A. prodromus belongs to the class Insecta because it has a three-part body with three pairs of jointed legs (Encyclopedia of Life 2013).
Order: A. prodromus belongs to the order Coleoptera because it is a beetle that has wings (Encyclopedia of Life 2013).
Family: A. prodromus belongs to the family Scarabaeidae because it is a dung beetle and shares a common feature, lamellate antennae, solid bodies, and metallic colors (Encyclopedia of Life 2013).
Genus: A. prodromus is categorized as an Aphodius beetle because of its relatively small size (Stevenson and Lindberg 2010 ).
Species: A. prodromus is categorized as this specific species because it is a forerunner a.k.a a pioneer! A. prodomus is one of the first organisms to reach a dung pile (Stevenson and Lindberg 2010) . To read more about organisms who occupy dung pats follow us to Interactions.
This is a phylogenetic tree that shows the three domains of life. As
you can see we have highlighted the Animals section as Aphodius
prodromus falls into the domain Eukarya and Kingdom Animalia
categories. This beetle is most closely related to organisms in the
Kingdom Fungi.
This tree illustrates the phylum Arthropoda and subphylums Hexapoda and Crustacea. A. prodromus falls under the Hexapoda subphylum and is therefore most closely related to the Crustaceans, like crabs, lobsters, and shrimp. You can also see from this tree that Arthropoda is a group that is classified as ecdysozoans, meaning they molt. To find more information about why this beetle molts, jump ahead to Reproduction.