The beetle is up to 15mm long and has an elongated neck that it uses to reach into snail shells, which it sprays with a digestive fluid.

The beetle feeds on live snails, insects and earthworms, as well as on carrion.

Newly moulted beetles are brownish in color, older ones are black.

[1] Although they are widely distributed, they are seldom found, because they hunt at night and hide during the day, often under bark.

Range: Europe (including UK), Russia (European, Siberia, Far East, Kuriles), Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, Korea (N,S), Japan, India (Kashmir), China (Heilongjiang+); intro Iceland