Neosisyphus calcaratus ( Klug, 1855 )

Daniel, Gimo M., Davis, Adrian Lv., Sole, Catherine L. & Scholtz, Clarke H., 2020, Taxonomic review of the tribe Sisyphini sensu stricto Mulsant, 1842 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) in southern Africa, including new species descriptions, Insect Systematics & Evolution 51 (1), pp. 1-61 : 44

Neosisyphus calcaratus ( Klug, 1855) ( Figs. 17 , 18B )

Montreuil 2015b: 15

Sisyphus calcaratus Klug, 1855

Klug 1855: 651; Harold 1869: 984; Arrow 1927: 464; Boucomont 1933: 3; Haaf 1955: 377, Ferreira 1972: 829.

Sisyphus rubripes Boheman, 1857

Boheman 1857:193

Size: Male: length: 7.1– 6.6 mm; width: 4.5–3.0 mm. Female: length: 7.0– 6.5 mm; width: 4.0– 3.8 mm.

Type locality: Sena (Sofala, Mozambique).

Diagnosis: N. calcaratus is similar to N. barbarossa . Males of both species bear a sharp pointed spine on the mid-posterior edge of the metafemur, which is absent in the female. However, the elytra of N. calcaratus bear black setae that are bent over at the tip whilst the elytra of N. barbarossa are covered by brown setae. Furthermore, compared to N. barbarossa , major males of N. calcaratus are smaller but the projection of the metatrochanter is twice as long.

Examined type material

Sisyphus rubripes Boheman, 1857 : (1♀ NHRS): / Caffraria /, / Typus /; / rubripes Bohem /; / Sisyphus rubripes Boh =armatus Gory , det. E. Haaf, 1954/; / Sisyphus calcarutus Klug , det. KM, Paschalidis 1975/; /NHRS_JLKB: 000025221.

Examined non-type material: See Supplementary information.

Distribution: N. calcaratus has been recorded in dry lowland savanna and mixed woodland in the lowveld of South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Swaziland. It has also been observed on the coastal plain and interior of southern central Mozambique ( Fig. 19 ).

Figures

Fig. 17. Images of the habitus of the barbarossa species-group: A. N. barabrossa; B. N. calcaratus; C. N. tembyi sp. n, arrow showing a diagnostic feature for the new species; D. N. setiger.

Fig. 18. Images of the aedeagi of the barbarossa species-group: A. N. barabrossa; B. N. calcaratus; C. N. tembyi sp. n; D. N. setiger.

Fig. 19. Distribution map for the barbarossa species-group.