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Query: ISSN: "1383-4517"

Author	G. Scholtz
Title	Scarab beetles at the interface of wheel invention in nature and culture?
Journal	Contributions to Zoology
Volume	77
Year	2008
Issue	3
Pages	139-148
ISSN	1383-4517
Keywords	Arthropoda; domestication; rolling; Scarabidae; Vertebrata
Abstract	In this review some examples of rolling behaviour in nature are described and discussed in terms of the realised degree of wheel-like locomotion. The combination of rotation and the use of the low friction resistance of circular and smooth surfaces to transport a heavy load, as is seen in scarab beetles rolling dung pills, is the closest degree of similarity to a wheel found in nature. Populations of dung rolling scarabs may have benefited from the early domestication of large mammals in the Middle East. I suggest that an increased opportunity to observe pill rolling scarab beetles has inspired humans to invent the wheel.
Classification	42.75
Document type	article
Download paper	http://www.repository.naturalis.nl/document/118317