An apparently undescribed species of beetle that eats snake excrement has been discovered near Uluru in a national park fauna survey.
Entomologist Graham Brown was looking for specimens within sight of Uluru when he came across unusual beetles "happily feeding" one night.
"There was two of them feeding on this blob of poo. It was old, dry stuff," Dr Brown said.
Although the beetle has not been described or named, it belongs to the Trogidae family, a relative of scarabs known for their warty or bumpy appearance.
There are about 50 species of Trogids in Australia and although little is known about their biology, they are most commonly found in arid areas and associated with dry animal matter.
"What little is known of this group of beetles is that they generally go for old, dried animal products. And I guess poo fits into that category," Dr Brown said.
"But there's probably more dead animal bodies around the place and decent blobs of poo around the place that hasn't been fed on by other things when it's sloppier.
"It's really unusual.
"The poo was very white. A lot of uric acid in it."
'Specialised poo-feeders'
Dr Brown, a former NT Museum curator of insects and author of several tomes on flora and fauna, has described more than 100 genera.
He estimated the poo could have been up to 12 months old, and while the white colour pointed to a snake, he said the culprits could have been reptiles or birds.
"The size of it makes me think that it was a reasonable-sized snake," he said.
"They may well be specialised poo-feeders."
Further research into the beetle is now being conducted.
Soft spot for beetles
Within earshot, and also on the 2022 Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Flora and Fauna Survey, was South Australian Museum terrestrial vertebrates collection manager Ben Parslow, who has a "soft spot" for Trogid beetles.
"Based on the appearance of the droppings, it definitely looked like reptile poo," Dr Parslow said.
"Based on a lot of the other animals that we were encountering there and the size of the droppings, we think it's a pretty safe bet that it was a quite a large snake.
"They normally are some of the last insects to arrive when you have animal carcasses decomposing, and they like to feed on the dried, mummified flesh and fur.
"The faeces may be a really nice suitable food source and it also might have a good bit of moisture content in it as well.
"Maybe that could play into its name."
Dr Parslow said the beetle was not the first arid animal known to eat faecal matter but it was interesting behaviour to observe.
"It becomes quite a treat you might say, and probably something that's utilised quite a lot by different beetles."
Job 'different every week'
Ranger and Mutijulu man Michael Cullinan helped the many scientists on the survey.
"They get to see what I see," he said.
"They taught me how to trap, weigh and scan them.
"It makes me feel happy inside and makes me want to do my job properly.
"I just really love the job. Going out on country is the best thing to do."
His main responsibility is caring for mala wallabies.
"The job is different every week."
Maths lesson
Ranger Tracey Guest said the fauna survey was a huge event for the community; culturally and environmentally. Especially for the Nyangatjatjara College.
"The primary school students got up at five o'clock in the morning and came out, which is amazing," she said.
"These little guys came back in the afternoon and had dinner with us and did some spotlight searches and so forth.
"The kids all had a go at processing the animals.
"We turned this into a little maths lesson for the primary-school kids, so there's this learning on country element to the fauna survey.
Ms Guest said hands-on education experiences like the fauna survey were "a really good way of engaging kids in school".
Rebuilding the past
The survey started in the mid-1980s and has returned after a hiatus, at the request of Anangu traditional owners.
"Young people don't see the animals anymore. They're not on country. They can't identify tracks, and they don't understand the habitats," she said.
"They connected back with the animals in the land and understood where they live.
"The main priority was Anangu engagement."
Kaltukatjara rangers and some of the female elders also helped reintroduce tracking expertise to the Anangu.
"We just overlook our insects. They drive our systems because they're the food sources," she said.
