Neosisyphus rubrus
Creators: name: Daniel, Gimo M.
name: Davis, Adrian Lv.
name: Sole, Catherine L.
name: Scholtz, Clarke H.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Scarabaeidae
Neosisyphus
Neosisyphus rubrus

description: <i>Neosisyphus rubrus</i> (Paschalidis, 1974) (Figs. 29, 30B) Montreuil 2015b: 20, 28 <i>Sisyphus rubrus</i> Paschalidis 1974 Paschalidis, 1974b: 299 <b>Type locality</b>: Castle Gorge (South Africa) <b>Size</b>: Male: length: 9.0–6.0 mm; width: 4.1–3.0 mm. Female: length: 8.7–6.0 mm; width: 4.0–3.0 mm. <b>Diagnosis</b>: <i>N. rubrus</i> closely resembles <i>N. macrorubrus</i> (Paschalidis 1974). However, the species can be distinguished by the lateral protrusions at the apices of the parameres in <i>N. rubrus</i> (Fig. 30B), which are lacking in <i>N. macrorubrus.</i> <b>Examined type material</b> Holotype: (&amp;male; SANC) / SOUTH AFRICA, TVL, Castle Gorge (42 mi W Pretoria), 15.v.1971, leg: Bornemissza &amp; Insley /; /283a/, /ex coll. CSIRO, Div. Entomology; S. African Station /; red label / Holotype &amp;male;, <i>Sisyphus rubrus</i> <b>spec. nov</b>, det. KM Paschalidis, 1974 /, white label / SANC TYPH 00723/. Paratypes: (5 &amp;male;, 1 &amp;female; SAM) / RHODESIA, Sebakwe /, / <i>Sisyphus rubripes</i> Pér, det. Dr. Haaf, 1954/. (15&amp;male;, 15 &amp;female; SANC) SOUTH AFRICA, TVL, Castle Gorge (42 mi W Pretoria), 15.v.1971, leg: Bornemissza &amp; Insley. (2&amp;male;, 1 &amp;female; SANC) SOUTH AFRICA, OFS, Vredefort (20 mi S), 03.xi.1971, leg: Bornemissza &amp; Kirk. (3&amp;male;, 5 &amp;female; SANC) SOUTH AFRICA, CP, Mafeking, 22.v.1972, leg: Davis. (2&amp;male;, 1 &amp;female; SANC) SOUTH AFRICA, SE. TVL, Bergen, 1.v.1972, leg: Kirk. (1&amp;male;, 5 &amp;female; SANC) SOUTH AFRI- CA, N. TVL, Louis Trichardt (11 mi N), 14.xii.1971, leg: Olsen. (2&amp;male;, 1 &amp;female; SANC) SOUTH AFRICA, CP, Aliwal North (22 mi S), 4.iii.1971, leg: Aschenborn, (50&amp;male;, 47 &amp;female; SANC) SOUTH AFRICA, E. TVL, Bosbokrand (5 mi N), 6.ii.1971, leg: Olsen. (2&amp;male;, 3&amp;female; SANC) SOUTH AFRICA, Transkei, Umtata (10 mi N), 19.v.1971, leg: Aschenborn. (1&amp;male;, 2&amp;female; SANC) MOZAMBIQUE, Vila Pery, (5 mi E), 10.iv.1971, leg: Bornemissza &amp; Aschenborn. (1&amp;male; SANC) SOUTH AFRICA, Vryburg, N. CP, (15 mi E, Leeuwrand Farm), 7.x.1972, leg: Kluge. <b> <i>Sisyphus rubripes</i> Péringuey, 1901</b> : Lectotype: (&amp;male; SAM) /Natal, Durban/; / <i>Sisyphus rubripes</i> Pér, det. Dr. Haaf, 1954/; red label / <i>Sisyphus rubripes</i> Pér, Lectotype, det: E. Haaf, 1954/. <b>Examined non-type material</b>: See Supplementary information. <b>Distribution</b>: <i>N. rubrus</i> is distributed in upland and coastal, moist grassland and savanna (Davis et al. 1999) in southeast Africa (Fig. 31). <b>Conservation status</b>: <i>N. macrorubrus</i> and <i>N. rubrus</i> are listed as Least Concern species on the IUCN Red Data List (Davis 2013 e, f). <b>Remarks</b>: It has been suggested that on grounds of gender, the spelling of <i>N. rubrus</i> and <i>N. macrorubrus</i> should be changed to <i>N. ruber</i> and <i>N. macroruber</i> respectively (Davis et. al. 1999; Davis et al. 2008, Davis 2013 e, f). It should be noted that; “ <i>ruber</i> ” is a masculine classical adjective, which has been used in a rare case as an alternative form of ‘ <i>rubrus</i> ’ (Brown, 1954). However, the original description of each species does not specify the etymological meaning of the specific name ‘ <i>rubrus</i> ’ (Paschalidis, 1974 b). According to ICZN (article: 31.2.2) “Where the author of a species-group name did not indicate whether he or she regarded it as a noun or as an adjective, and where it may be regarded as either and the evidence of usage is not decisive, it is to be treated as a noun in apposition to the name of its genus”. Therefore, <i>rubrus</i> and <i>macrorubrus</i> must be treated as indeclinable names.
description: Published as part of <i>Daniel, Gimo M., Davis, Adrian Lv., Sole, Catherine L. &amp; Scholtz, Clarke H., 2020, Taxonomic review of the tribe Sisyphini sensu stricto Mulsant, 1842 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) in southern Africa, including new species descriptions, pp. 1-61 in Insect Systematics &amp; Evolution 51 (1)</i> on pages 56-57, DOI: 10.1163/1876312X-00002195, http://zenodo.org/record/3786629
description: {"references": ["Paschalidis, K. M. (1974 a) The genus Sisyphus Latr. (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in Southern Africa. MSc. Thesis, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa, 183 pp.", "Montreuil, O. (2015 b) Le genre Neosisyphus Muller em Afrique (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Sisyphini). Catharsius La Revue, 12 (1): 1 - 36.", "Paschalidis, K. M. (1974 b) The identity of two species in the genus Sisyphus (Coleoptera: Scarbaeidae). Journal of Entomology of Southern Africa. 37 (2): 299 - 303.", "Peringuey, L. (1901) Descriptive catalogue of the Coleoptera of South Africa. Transactions of the South African philosophical Society. Cape Town, 12: 1 - 563 (13 - 368).", "Davis, A. L. V., Scholtz, C. H., &amp; Chown, S. L. (1999) Species turnover, community boundaries and biogeographical composition of dung beetle assemblages across an altitudinal gradient in South Africa. Journal of Biogeography, 26 (5): 1039 - 1055.", "Davis, A. L. V. (2013 e) Neosisyphus rubrus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013: e. T 137480 A 525709. http: // dx. doi. org / 10.2305 / IUCN. UK. 20132. RLTS. T 137480 A 525709. en. (accessed 07 September 2016).", "Davis, A. L. V., Frolov, A. V., &amp; Scholtz, C. H. (2008) The African dung beetle genera. Protea Book House. 148 - 155 pp."]}