241. Flat Brown Scavenger Beetle

These spunky little beetles are found through the winter in the moist undergrowth searching out decaying plant matter or animal tissue to scavenge. This individual was cleaning the last of the meat, fat and soft bits from a young deer that had died at Leaning Oaks. Necrophilus hydrophiloides and others of their ilk play a very important role by recycling the nutrients through the coastal forest from the Alaskan panhandle to California. And cleaning things up! 

They are part of the Primitive Carrion Beetle family (Agyrtidae). They were once considered to be a subfamily of the Carrion Beetles (Silphidae). Look for the grooved elytra in the primatives to distinguish the families.