Sisyphus gazanus Arrow 1909
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
Sisyphus
Sisyphus gazanus

description: <i>Sisyphus gazanus</i> Arrow, 1909 (Figs. 11, 12C). Arrow 1909: 518; Gillet 1911: 23; Arrow 1927: 461; Haaf 1955: 361; Ferreira 1972: 799; Schäfer &amp; Fischer 1992: 129. <b>Type locality</b>: Chirinda, Mashonaland (Zimbabwe) <b>Size</b>: Male: length: 5– 4.5 mm; width: 3.1– 2.5 mm; Female: length: 5– 4.4 mm, width 3.1– 2.4 mm. <b>Diagnosis</b>: <i>S. gazanus</i> is relatively close in appearance to <i>S. inconspicuus</i> <b>sp. n</b>. However, it is easily distinguished by a combination of features as follows: <i>S. gazanus</i> has a somewhat shallow depression dorsally on the genae; the dorsal surface of the head (vertex and frons) is entirely covered by distinct ocellate punctures (Fig. 11J); the pronotal disc shows a patchwork of bald areas and sparse short setae. In addition, the parameres of both species are distinctly different (Figs. 12 C–D). <b>Examined type material</b> Lectotype: (&amp;male; NHML): ZIMBABWE, Mashonaland, Chirinda, 05.x.1908. Leg: Marshall (handwritten <i>Sisyphus gazanus</i> Arrow 1909), lectotype det: Bacchus, 1976 / violet label /. Paralectotype: (&amp;male; NHML): ZIMBABWE, Mashonaland, Mt. Chirinda, 01.xii.1908, leg: Marshall (handwritten <i>Sisyphus gazanus</i> Arrow 1909), lectotype det: Bacchus, 1976; /blue label/. <b>Examined non-type material</b>: See Supplementary information. <b>Distribution</b>: <i>Sisyphus gazanus</i> is associated with cooler conditions in highland forest in Zimbabwe and Malawi. It was described from Mount Chirinda (Zimbabwe) at the southern end of the Inyanga Highlands and Chimanimani Mountains. This range may have acted as a corridor into Malawi where the species has also been recorded from Mount Mulanje and Mount Gomoloti (Fig. 13). So far, it has not been recorded under cooler, shaded conditions on the intervening Muchinga Mountains (Manica, Mozambique) or Mount Binga (19.78°S 33.30°E).
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 30-31, DOI: 10.1163/1876312X-00002195, http://zenodo.org/record/3786629
description: {"references": ["Arrow, G. J. (1909) On some new species of Coleoptera from Rhodesia and adjacent territories. The Annals and Magazine of natural History, including Zoology, Botany and Geology. London 8 (3): 517 - 523.", "Gillet, J. J. E. (1911) Scarabaeidae: Coprinae I. Coleopterorum Catalogus, 38: 1 - 263.", "Arrow, G. J. (1927) Notes on the Coleopterous genus Sisyphus. Annals and Magazine of natural History, 9 (19): 456 - 465.", "Haaf, E. (1955) Uber die Gattung Sisyphus Latr. (Col. Scarab.). Entomologische Arbeitenaus dem Museum G. Frey, 6 (1): 341 - 381.", "Ferreira, M. C. (1972) Os Escarabideos de Africa (sul do Saara). Revista de Entomologia de Mocambique, 11 (1968 - 1969): 5 - 1088.", "Schafer, P., &amp; Fischer, E. (1992) Zur Scarabaeiden-Fauna Rwandas, Zentralafrika. Sisyphini (Insecta: Coleoptera: Lamellicornia). Senckenbergiana biologica, 72 (1 - 3), 119 - 137."]}