# Mellet's downy-back (*Ophonus melletii*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/mellets-downy-back  
Data as of: 2026-11-14

The mellet's downy-back (Ophonus melletii) is a species in the family Carabidae, order Coleoptera. Recorded adults reach 8 mm in length. Source checklists list it for 23 countries, including Albania, Austria and Azerbaijan.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | Not recorded |
| Length | 5 mm – 8 mm |
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Diet | Herbivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | freshwater, grassland, human_modified |
| Young per litter or clutch | Not recorded |
| Conservation status | Not recorded |
| Countries on record | 23 countries |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Arthropoda
- class: Insecta
- order: Coleoptera
- family: Carabidae
- genus: Ophonus
- species: *Ophonus melletii* (Heer, 1837)

Synonyms: *Harpalus melletii*, *Metophonu melletii*, *Metophonus melletii*, *Ophonus schaubergerianus*

## Countries on record

Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.

Albania, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lebanon, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkmenistan, Ukraine

## Common questions

### How big is the mellet's downy-back?

An adult mellet's downy-back measures 5 mm – 8 mm long, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

### Where does the mellet's downy-back live?

Catalogue of Life checklists list the mellet's downy-back for 23 countries, including Albania, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium and Bulgaria. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.

### What kind of animal is the mellet's downy-back?

The mellet's downy-back (Ophonus melletii) belongs to the family Carabidae in the order Coleoptera.

## Sources

- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15063844), CC BY 4.0, 2.0. Chauvier, Y., Adde, A., Bergamini, A. et al. (2025) TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15063844
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).

Cite as: Mellet's downy-back (Ophonus melletii). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/mellets-downy-back