Chromosome-level genome assembly of the dung beetle Catharsius molossus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)

Dung beetles (Scarabaeinae, Scarabaeidae, Scarabaeoidea, Coleoptera) contribute to ecosystem processes by fragmenting dung, aerating soil, and facilitating nutrient cycling. Among them, Catharsius molossus is a large-bodied tunneler species known for its high dung removal efficiency and ecological significance. It not only exerts an indirect contribution to livestock productivity through dung decomposition, but also holds medicinal value due to its traditional and empirical pharmacological applications. Despite its ecological and economic significance, no genomic data for C. molossus or any species within Catharsius were previously available. In this study, a chromosome-level genome assembly of C. molossus was generated using PacBio HiFi, Illumina, and Hi-C sequencing. The assembled genome is 1.54 Gb in size, with an N50 of 164.06 Mb, 35.36% GC content, and 10 chromosomes. BUSCO completeness reached 94.40%, with 10,009 predicted protein-coding genes, 98.23% functionally annotated. This genomic resource provides a foundation for studying stress responses, functional genomics, and species conservation, supporting further research in ecological and evolutionary studies.