Tribolium castaneum
(Herbst, 1797) · speciesAt a glance
Sources12 archives
Databases and archives Tribolium castaneum's data was compiled from.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation11 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility3 195 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI366 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics356 specimens↗
LOTUSNatural Products (Wikidata)compounds↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome & karyotype↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinegenome & karyotype↗
Tree of SexTree of Sex Consortiumgenome & karyotype↗
Catalogue of LifeCOLtaxonomy↗
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.
The red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum) is a species of beetle in the family Tenebrionidae, the darkling beetles. It is a worldwide pest of stored products, particularly food grains, and a model organism for ethological and food safety research.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
No structured trait data for this taxon yet.
Compounds documented for Tribolium castaneum across natural-product and food-composition databases — not just the ~150 nutrients on a classic label ("nutritional dark matter").
Compound class profile4 classes
Documented compounds12 total
| Compound | Class | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,6-Pentadecadiene | present | LOTUS | |
| 1,8-Heptadecadiene | present | LOTUS | |
| 1-Heptadecene | present | LOTUS | |
| 1-Hexadecene | present | LOTUS | |
| 1-Pentadecene | present | LOTUS | |
| 1-Undecene | present | LOTUS | |
| 2'-Hydroxy-4'-methoxypropiophenone | present | LOTUS | |
| 8-Heptadecenylene | present | LOTUS | |
| Ethyl-1,4-benzoquinone | present | LOTUS | |
| N-Acetyldopamine | present | LOTUS |
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Tribolium castaneum has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
Besides the big genome in the nucleus, cells carry a small, circular loop of DNA inside the cell's energy factories — the mitochondria. It is inherited almost only from the mother and is a leftover from ancient bacteria that moved into the cell. The mitochondrial markers above (ND*, COX, CYTB…) are read from exactly this loop. Outer ring = one strand, inner ring = the other.
The complete instruction manual Tribolium castaneum carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is
Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
2n 206×GoaT · Animal Chromosome Counts Database · GoaT · Tree of Sex Database · GoaT · Coleoptera Karyotype Database +2
diploid1×GoaT · Coleoptera Karyotype Database
Sequencing statusassembly quality — how far to trust these numbers
Assembly level tells you how finished the sequence is — from fragmented contigs, through scaffolds, up to a full chromosome-level assembly. BUSCO % estimates completeness: the share of genes expected to be present that were actually found. These describe the data quality, not the organism.
How far back this lineage goes — and how we know. Everything here is measured in Ma, short for “mega-annum”: millions of years ago. The chart reads left to right like a calendar of the Earth, from the deep past on the left to today at the right edgetop to bottom like a core drilled through the Earth, from the deep past at the top down to today at the bottom.
At a glance
When this lineage existed
How to read this: the coloured strip along the bottomdown the left is the geological calendar — the standard periods (Jurassic, Cretaceous…) every museum uses, shown so you can see which chapter of Earth's history this lineage lived in. The dashed rules marked ✦ are the five great mass extinctions. The orange marker is the DNA clock: DNA accumulates mutations at a roughly steady rate, so comparing this species' DNA with its relatives estimates when the lineage split off — independently of any fossil.
Record type3 195 records
Origin
Range
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Holding institutions38 of 89 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
| Institution | Specimens |
|---|---|
| DPIlocation not on record | 690 |
| OSUClocation not on record | 129 |
| Provo, US | 125 |
| Lexington, US | 96 |
| National Institute of Biological Resourceslocation not on record | 80 |
| Museo Entomologico de Leonlocation not on record | 77 |
| College Station, US | 77 |
| Bern, CH | 68 |
| Muzeum Górnośląskie w Bytomiulocation not on record | 64 |
| Tartu, EE | 49 |
| Chicago, US | 47 |
| SLU Artdatabankenlocation not on record | 43 |
| US | 40 |
| University of Alabamalocation not on record | 38 |
| Zürich, CH | 37 |
| Ciudad de México, MX | 36 |
| Edmonton, CA | 34 |
| Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznańlocation not on record | 34 |
| Bonn, DE | 34 |
| Colorado State Universitylocation not on record | 29 |
| Olocation not on record | 27 |
| MWLRlocation not on record | 25 |
| Paro, BT | 25 |
| NMOKlocation not on record | 24 |
| The University of Hawaii Insect Museumlocation not on record | 24 |
| NHMOlocation not on record | 23 |
| DRIBlocation not on record | 20 |
| Geneva, CH | 17 |
| Provincia di Livornolocation not on record | 15 |
| ASUlocation not on record | 15 |
| Natural History Museum Rotterdamlocation not on record | 15 |
| Corporación Colombiana de Investigación Agropecuaria - AGROSAVIAlocation not on record | 14 |
| Helsinki, FI | 14 |
| MZLUlocation not on record | 12 |
| New Zealand Arthropod Collectionlocation not on record | 11 |
| University of Central Floridalocation not on record | 10 |
| NSMKlocation not on record | 10 |
| Musee d'Histoire Naturallelocation not on record | 10 |
| Tallinn, EE | 9 |
| SFRAlocation not on record | 8 |
| Durban Natural Science Museumlocation not on record | 8 |
| Cape Town, ZA | 8 |
| Museum Ludovicae Ulricae, Zoology Institute of the University of Uppsalalocation not on record | 8 |
| Lubbock, US | 7 |
| Sagamihara, JP | 7 |
| NTNU-VMlocation not on record | 7 |
| Museums Victorialocation not on record | 7 |
| Naturmuseum St. Gallenlocation not on record | 6 |
| Auckland, NZ | 6 |
| ZSMlocation not on record | 6 |
| CBDClocation not on record | 5 |
| Tilburg, NL | 5 |
| National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineeringlocation not on record | 4 |
| Naturéum — Muséum cantonal des sciences naturelles, Lausanne, Département Zoologielocation not on record | 4 |
| University Park, US | 4 |
| NCMGlocation not on record | 4 |
| Museum zu Allerheiligen Schaffhausenlocation not on record | 4 |
| San Diego, US | 4 |
| University of Oslo, Natural History Museumlocation not on record | 3 |
| Winterthur, CH | 3 |
| Bando, JP | 3 |
| Tokushima, JP | 3 |
| Fergusson College (Autonomous)location not on record | 3 |
| Yamaguchi-shi, JP | 3 |
| Natick, US | 3 |
| Salzburg, AT | 2 |
| Mangilao, GU | 2 |
| Uniwersytet Łódzkilocation not on record | 2 |
| Awka, NG | 2 |
| Decorah, US | 2 |
| Dhaka, BD | 2 |
| Oulu, FI | 2 |
| Centre for Biodiversity Genomicslocation not on record | 2 |
| Muséum d'histoire naturelle de Lillelocation not on record | 2 |
| Chiba, JP | 2 |
| Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University, S. V. Agricultural college, tirupatilocation not on record | 1 |
| MAJClocation not on record | 1 |
| COMClocation not on record | 1 |
| Mayagüez, PR | 1 |
| Copenhagen, DK | 1 |
| KCMNlocation not on record | 1 |
| Museo civico di Storia naturale Giacomo Doria di Genova | Giacomo Doria Natural History Museum in Genoalocation not on record | 1 |
| Santa Barbara Museum of Natural Historylocation not on record | 1 |
| Tromsø, NO | 1 |
| Trondheim, NO | 1 |
| CUlocation not on record | 1 |
| UAclocation not on record | 1 |
| SGAV-and-NHMDlocation not on record | 1 |
| PUC-RSlocation not on record | 1 |
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Where the DNA of Tribolium castaneum was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Where its DNA was found
How strong is each trace?
Modelled climatemodelled
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.