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What the sources say

Sacred ScarabScarabaeus sacer

Every figure, record and mechanism on the Sacred Scarab profile was written from a source, and this is the working table behind it: 41 claims checked word for word against these sources. The left column is what the page says. The right column is the source's own words, copied, not paraphrased; a ... marks a cut and[brackets] an insertion. Open any source and check it yourself.

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Source
01

Burgas Regional Museum

Sacer Dung Beetle. Burgas Regional Museum.

The page saysA museum in Bulgaria says the beetle can reach 35 to 38 mm long.
The source saysIt can reaches a length of 35-38 mm.
The page saystags: burrower
The source saysThe wide flattened body has peculiar features specialized for digging: 6 lugs edge in front of the head and front legs with jagged shin.Note: task #1096: kept on the definition (excavating for a nursery): the body is built for digging and the ball is buried in the soil with the egg inside
The page saystags: burrower
The source saysThey roll them to some distance, then bury them in the soil and lay their eggs inside.

Source
02

Sullivan et al. 2016

Sullivan et al. (2016). Does one size suit all? Dung pad size and ball production by Scarabaeus sacer (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae). European Journal of Entomology.

The page saysA very large dung roller that shapes droppings into balls and holds heat in its thorax in flight.
The source saysScarabaeus sacer , which is a very large rollerNote: tagline; thorax heat claim below
The page saysSandy ground, in a discontinuous belt from southern Europe and northern Africa across central Asia to western China
The source saysScarabaeus sacer has been reported from more than 30 countries in a discontinuous belt from the far west of southern Europe and northern Africa across central Asia to western ChinaNote: stats.habitat
The page saysIt lives in sandy places.
The source saysScarabaeus sacer inhabits sandy environments
The page saysRolled dung balls of 16 to 86 cc in a Turkish study, and holds flight heat in its thorax
The source saysIn the current study, ball volume ranged from 16 cc to 86 cc.Note: stats.superpower; thorax part claimed below
The page saysa study in Turkey calls it a very large one
The source saysScarabaeus sacer , which is a very large roller
The page saysthe 30 balls it measured ranged from 16 cc to 86 cc in volume
The source saysFor the 30 balls measured from the 5 pad sizes, volume ranged from 16 cc to 86 cc.
The page saysCiting a 1982 study, the same paper gives 30 g as the fresh weight of a ball made by a single sacred scarab.
The source saysFor single beetles, fresh ball weight varied from 0.03 g in Sisyphus seminulum Gerstaecker [Cambefort (pers. obs.) in Hanski & Cambefort, 1991a] to 30 g in Scarabaeus sacer Linnaeus (Marsch, 1982)Note: the paper cites Marsch 1982; 'For single beetles' is the paper's scope
The page saysIt cites that study again for the three kinds of ball the beetle makes: food balls, brood balls and nuptial balls.
The source saysS. sacer produces brood, food and nuptial balls (Marsch, 1982)Note: the paper cites Marsch 1982
The page saysThe species has been reported from more than 30 countries in a discontinuous belt.
The source saysScarabaeus sacer has been reported from more than 30 countries in a discontinuous belt
The page saysThe belt runs from the far west of southern Europe and northern Africa across central Asia to western China.
The source saysfrom the far west of southern Europe and northern Africa across central Asia to western China
The page saysThe Turkish study ran on a coastal sand dune, where free-ranging domestic water buffalo regularly leave dung pads.
The source saysThe experiment was conducted along the exposed ridge line of a coastal sand dune ... Free-ranging, domesticated water buffalo ( Bubalus bubalis Linnaeus) regularly deposit dung pads on the dune system
The page saysOn the Turkish dune, over two nights in June, 98% of the balls were made at night
The source saysproduction was almost exclusively nocturnal (98%), with only 2 balls produced outside night hoursNote: 'almost exclusively nocturnal (98%)': the figure is the claim; two nights and early June 2014 from the same paper's methods and results
The page says59% of all balls came between 21.00 and 22.00
The source sayswith 59% of all balls produced between 21.00 and 22.00
The page saysThey gathered at eight of the larger pads, of 500 g to 2,000 g, which yielded six times as many balls as the other ten pads of those sizes.
The source saysaggregation of S. sacer at 8 pads of the 3 largest pad sizes, 500 g, 1,000 g and 2,000 g ... Six times as many balls were produced from these 8 pads as from the remaining 10 pads of those 3 sizes.
The page saysA 1994 study reported glands in both males and females, which may be responsible for chemical attraction and the crowding.
The source saysThe presence of glandular structures in male and female S. sacer was reported by Pluot-Sigwalt (1994) and they may be responsible for chemical attraction and aggregation.Note: the paper cites Pluot-Sigwalt 1994; 'glands' for 'glandular structures'
The page saysNot Evaluated
The source saysScarabaeus sacer has been reported from more than 30 countriesNote: stats.conservationStatus: no Red List assessment found; GBIF has no category and Crossref has no assessment DOI for Scarabaeus sacer (prefetch 2026-10-06). Quote only anchors the species
The page saysNo. In the Turkish dune experiment it made balls from every pad size on offer, from 125 g to 2,000 g.
The source saysScarabaeus sacer produced balls from all 5 sizes of ... dung pads from 125 g to 2,000 g.
The page saysThe smallest pads gave up the biggest share of their dung to balls, at 43%.
The source saysthe highest percentage utilisation was in the 125 g pads (43%)Note: 125 g is the smallest pad size and 43% the highest percentage, per the quoted line
The page sayswater buffalo droppings
The source sayswater buffalo ( Bubalus bubalis Linnaeus) regularly deposit dung pads on the dune system between a large freshwater lake and the sea, attracting large numbers of S. sacerNote: stats.diet
The page saysover two nights in June
The source saysin early June, 2014Note: study date
The page saysOther studies have also recorded it active at dusk and by day.
The source saysit has also been recorded as crepuscular (Lumaret, 1990; Verdú et al . , 2004) and diurnalNote: crepuscular = active at dusk; the paper cites other studies
The page saysOn the Turkish dune the beetles also crowded together.
The source saysthe aggregation of S. sacer at 8 pads of the 3 largest pad sizes
The page says98% of the balls were made at night
The source saysproduction was almost exclusively nocturnal (98%), with only 2 balls produced outside night hoursNote: vibe.reason animal clause; same quote as the body claim

Source
03

Verdú, Alba-Tercedor & Jiménez-Manrique 2012

Verdú, Alba-Tercedor & Jiménez-Manrique (2012). Evidence of Different Thermoregulatory Mechanisms between Two Sympatric Scarabaeus Species Using Infrared Thermography and Micro-Computer Tomography. PLoS ONE.

The page saysholds heat in its thorax
The source saysS. sacer presents an anatomical design that is able to sequester heat within the meso- and metathoraxNote: tagline
The page saysDung, such as horse and water buffalo droppings
The source sayscollected in June 2010 and 2011 directly from the surface of horse droppingsNote: stats.diet; buffalo half claimed below
The page saysA roller is a dung beetle that cuts off a piece of dung, rolls it some distance away from the pile and buries it.
The source saysrollers (dung beetles that remove a portion of dung from the mass, roll it some distance away from the source and then bury it)Note: paraphrase of the source definition
The page saysIn Spain's Doñana National Park, the beetle is active from April to July.
The source saysScarabaeus sacer and S. cicatricosus are active from April to July in the Doñana National Park
The page saysIn lab flights by beetles caught in Doñana, its thorax ran 5.6°C warmer than its abdomen on average.
The source saysScarabaeus sacer showed a difference between T thorax and T abdomen of 5.6°C in averageNote: warmer: the thorax is the main heat generation centre (verdu-2012, claimed below), so the 5.6 C difference runs thorax hotter
The page saysIts tracheal system and air sacs took up 11.66% of its body volume, against 2.79% in a close relative, S. cicatricosus.
The source says%V air vs. V T 11.66±2.75 2.79±1.46 <0.01Note: Table 2 'Tracheal and air sac volume', %V air vs V T; sacer first, cicatricosus second. Beetles collected in Doñana (methods)
The page saysBefore takeoff the beetle shivers its wing muscles to warm up, which makes sure its thorax is hot enough to launch.
The source saysthe typical warm-up, which implies wing muscle vibrations (wing-shivering) ... Pre-flight warm-up ensures that T thorax is sufficiently high for takeoffNote: "before" paraphrases "pre-flight"
The page saysIn flight the thorax is the main heat generation centre, and the abdomen does not actively dump that heat.
The source saysthe thorax is the main heat generation centre and the thermoregulation is limited by the use of the abdomen as a ‘passive thermal window’; abdomen does not actively dissipate the increase of T thorax generated during flight
The page saysResearchers call this a passive thermal window.
The source saysthe use of the abdomen as a ‘passive thermal window’
The page saysThe study suggests the beetle's abdominal air sacs, bigger than its relative's, may work as insulation.
The source saysS. sacer have a significant greater development of abdominal air sacs than S. cicatricosus ... suggesting the existence of a heat insulator mechanismNote: source text reads 'that suggesting the existence of a heat insulator mechanism'
The page saysan abdomen that does not actively shed heat raises the danger of overheating when the air sits around 35 to 40°C
The source saysabdomen does not actively dissipate the increase of T thorax generated during flight, thus increasing the danger of overheating when T ambient oscillates around 35–40°C
The page saysFrom April to July, in Doñana National Park.
The source saysScarabaeus sacer and S. cicatricosus are active from April to July in the Doñana National Park
The page saysThe beetles used in the heat study were collected there in June 2010 and 2011, straight off horse droppings.
The source saysIndividuals of both species were collected in June 2010 and 2011 directly from the surface of horse droppings
The page saysIn Doñana, Scarabaeus cicatricosus is more active in the warmer hours of the day, while S. sacer avoids them.
The source saysdaily temporal segregation with S. cicatricosus being more active during warmer hours of the day in opposition to S. sacer who avoid it
The page saysTheir bodies handle heat in different ways, which gives each its own thermal niche.
The source saysinterspecific interactions between sympatric species are regulated by very different mechanisms. These mechanisms create unique thermal niches for the different species

How the table was made: a writer drafted the profile from these sources and logged each claim with its quote, a reviewer with nothing but this table checked every sentence said no more than its quote, and a script confirmed each quote appears word for word in the source. The method is in the site'sAbout page.