The assessment of species’ diet and trophic plasticity serve as key elements to understand their adaptations to harsh ecosystems, such as deserts and dry forests. Among dung beetles, coprophagy is the main feeding habit, which may be substituted or complemented by other unusual diets, such as granivory and necrophagy. This study presents new records of dung beetle uncommon diets in Caatinga, the largest Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest in America. We include novel descriptions of the genera Dichotomius Hope, 1838 and Canthidium Erichson, 1847 in using and removing seeds in Caatinga. We also present the first report of dung beetles from Caatinga attracted to dead millipedes, specifically for Coprophanaeus pertyi (Olsufieff, 1924). Also, we found goat hairballs along with the roller beetle Deltochilum verruciferum Felsche, 1911 inside a pitfall trap, suggesting that this species may use animal fur to feed or breed. Finally, we included an updated list on unusual food records of dung beetle species in Caatinga dry forest. Our findings indicate that dung beetles in Caatinga display diverse feeding habits in response to extreme environmental conditions and/or limited resources. We expand the still-scarce knowledge regarding dung beetle feeding ecology outside their interaction with dung or the soft tissues of carrion. Despite our findings, new evidence is essential to reinforce our understanding on trophic plasticity of dung beetles in Caatinga. A better comprehension of resource plasticity by dung beetles will also be a significant input for biodiversity conservation due to the changes in food availability in anthropogenic landscapes.

对物种饮食和营养可塑性的评估是了解它们对沙漠和干燥森林等恶劣生态系统的适应的关键要素。在粪甲虫中，食粪是主要的食性，可能会被其他不寻常的饮食所取代或补充，例如食谷和食尸。这项研究展示了美国最大的季节性干旱热带森林卡廷加的粪甲虫不常见饮食的新记录。我们收录了Dichotomius Hope属（1838 年）和Canthidium Erichson（1847 年）在卡廷加使用和去除种子的新颖描述。我们还首次报告了来自卡廷加的粪甲虫被死去的千足虫吸引，特别是Coprophanaeus pertyi（Olsufieff，1924）。此外，我们还在陷阱中发现了山羊毛团以及滚轴甲虫Deltochilum verruciferum Felsche（1911），这表明该物种可能使用动物毛皮来喂养或繁殖。最后，我们提供了卡廷加干燥森林中粪甲虫物种异常食物记录的最新列表。我们的研究结果表明，卡廷加的粪甲虫表现出不同的摄食习惯，以应对极端的环境条件和/或有限的资源。我们扩展了有关粪甲虫取食生态学的仍然稀缺的知识，除了粪甲虫与粪便或腐肉软组织的相互作用之外。尽管有我们的发现，新的证据对于加强我们对卡廷加粪甲虫营养可塑性的理解至关重要。由于人类景观中食物供应的变化，更好地理解粪甲虫的资源可塑性也将成为生物多样性保护的重要投入。