Dermestes genus of beetles in the family Dermestidae, the skin beetles. The genus is distributed worldwide.
The larvae of these beetles feed on dead and dried animal material, including dead bodies, dried meat and fish, and body parts such as bone, hair, skin, and feathers. They are cannibalistic on occasion. They are pests of museums, where they feed on specimens such as dried insects and stuffed animals. They may be useful in museum settings as well, where they are used to clean tissue from skeletons. Some species may play a role in forensic entomology when they are found on human corpses.
As of 2013 there are about 92 species.
Species include:
Dermestes affinis Sturm, 1843 Dermestes argentinus Herrmann & Háva, 2013 Dermestes ater DeGeer, 1774 Dermestes aurichalceus Küster, 1846 Dermestes avidus Christofori & Jan, 1832 Dermestes bicolor Fabricius, 1781 Dermestes boliviensis Háva & Kalík, 2005 Dermestes caninus Germar, 1824 Dermestes canus Sturm, 1843 Dermestes carnivorus Fabricius, 1775 Dermestes castaneus Thunberg, 1794 Dermestes cinereus Dahl, 1823 Dermestes coarctatus Harold, 1877 Dermestes coronatus Steven in Schönherr, 1808 Dermestes depressus Gebler, 1830 Dermestes destructor Christofori & Jan, 1832 Dermestes dimidiatus Boeber, 1802 Dermestes elegans Gebler, 1830 Dermestes elongatissimus Pic, 1916 Dermestes elongatus Dejean, 1837 Dermestes erichsoni Ganglbauer, 1904 Dermestes fasciatus LeConte, 1854 Dermestes fasciventris Reitter, 1881 Dermestes flavicornis Schneider, 1785 Dermestes floricola Melsheimer, 1806 Dermestes freudei Kalík & Ohbayashi, 1982 Dermestes frischii Kugelann, 1792 Dermestes fuliginosus Rossi, 1792 Dermestes fulvicollis Reitter, 1881 Dermestes gerstaeckeri Dalla Torre, 1911 Dermestes gyllenhalii Laporte, 1840 Dermestes haemorrhoidalis Küster, 1852 Dermestes hankae Háva, 1999 Dermestes hirticollis Fabricius, 1792 Dermestes hispanicus Kalík, 1952 Dermestes impressipennis Pic, 1942 Dermestes insulanus Schneider, 1785 Dermestes intermedius Kalík, 1951 Dermestes kafkai Háva & Kalík, 1999 Dermestes kaszabi Kalík, 1950 Dermestes laniarius Illiger, 1802 Dermestes laosensis Háva, 2004 Dermestes lardarius Linnaeus , 1758Dermestes larvalis Cockerell, 1917 Dermestes latissimus Bielz, 1850 Dermestes lectulalius Goeze, 1777 Dermestes leechi Kalík, 1952 Dermestes leopardinus Mulsant & Godart, 1855 Dermestes linearis Rossi, 1788 Dermestes loebli Háva, 2002 Dermestes maculatus DeGeer, 1774 Dermestes madagascariensis Lepesme, 1939 Dermestes marmoratus Knoch in Melsheimer, 1806 Dermestes marocanus Háva, 1999 Dermestes maximus Pic, 1915 Dermestes murinus Linnaeus , 1758Dermestes nan Háva, 2002 Dermestes nebulosus Melsheimer, 1806 Dermestes nidum Arrow, 1915 Dermestes niger Melsheimer, 1806 Dermestes normandi Kalík, 1951 Dermestes oblongus Sturm, 1843 Dermestes obscurus Sturm, 1843 Dermestes olivieri Lepesme, 1939 Dermestes palmi Sjöberg, 1950 Dermestes pardalis Billberg in Schönherr, 1808 Dermestes patagoniensis Háva & Kalík, 2005 Dermestes pauper Heer, 1847 Dermestes persimilis Crotch, 1873 Dermestes peruvianus Laporte, 1840 Dermestes planus Mroczkowski, 1960 Dermestes progenior Zhantiev, 2006 Dermestes pulcher LeConte, 1854 Dermestes rapax Christofori & Jan, 1832 Dermestes rattus LeConte, 1854 Dermestes reductus Kalík, 1952 Dermestes roubali (Kalík, 1951) Dermestes ruficornis Sturm, 1843 Dermestes rufofuscus Solier, 1849 Dermestes sardous Küster, 1846 Dermestes schneideri Háva, 2002 Dermestes semistriatus Boheman, 1851 Dermestes serraticornis Thunberg, 1787 Dermestes shaanxiensis Cao, 1987 Dermestes sibiricus Erichson, 1848 Dermestes sichuanicus Háva, 1999 Dermestes signatus LeConte, 1874 Dermestes solskyi Dalla Torre, 1911 Dermestes spadiceus elsheimer, 1806 Dermestes spinipennis Christofori & Jan, 1832 Dermestes sturmi Christofori & Jan, 1832 Dermestes subaenescens Pic, 1943 Dermestes szekessyi Kalík, 1950 Dermestes talpinus Mannerheim, 1843 Dermestes teretiusculus Schneider, 1785 Dermestes tertiarius Wickham, 1912 Dermestes tessellatocollis Motschulsky, 1860 Dermestes undulatus Brahm, 1790 Dermestes vetustus Zhantiev, 2006 Dermestes viridanus Melsheimer, 1806 Dermestes viridis Schneider, 1785 Dermestes voi Háva, 2000 Dermestes vorax Motschulsky, 1860 Dermestes wittei Kalík, 1955 
