Sisyphus is a genus of dung beetles comprising more than 90 species.[1] Adults are characterised by their long hind legs.[2]
| Sisyphus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Sisyphus longipes | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Family: | Scarabaeidae |
| Tribe: | Scarabaeini |
| Genus: | Sisyphus Latreille, 1807 |
| Species | |
|
see text | |
Distribution
editAfrica, Eurasia, Asia, Central America and Australia.[1]
Habits
editAdults separate balls of dung from droppings and roll them some distance over the soil surface before burying them.[2] Eggs are laid in the buried dung; this provides a source of food for the larvae once they hatch.
Species
editOne common species is Sisyphus schaefferi (Linnaeus, 1758).
References
edit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sisyphus.
- ^ a b "Sisyphus - Taxonomy". insectoid.info. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
- ^ a b Davis, Adrian L. V.; Scholtz, Clarke H.; Philips, T. Keith (September 2002). "Historical biogeography of scarabaeine dung beetles". Journal of Biogeography. 29 (9): 1217–1256. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2699.2002.00776.x. S2CID 84689235.