Sulcophanaeus

Sulcophanaeus is a genus of dung beetles belonging to the family Scarabaeidae. Most species in this genus are from tropical and subtropical South America, but a few are found in Central America and Mexico, and S. carnifex is from Jamaica (no other Phanaeini is found on an oceanic island).[1] Sulcophanaeus are mostly coprophagous, but some are also necrophagous. They are paracoprids, meaning that adults dig tunnels into the soil under the food source and move parts of the food source to a nest chamber where the eggs are laid, and their activity pattern (diurnal / crepuscular / nocturnal; year-round / seasonal) varies depending on species.[1]

Sulcophanaeus
Sulcophanaeus menelas (female)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Coleoptera
Family:
Scarabaeidae
Tribe:
Phanaeini
Genus:
Sulcophanaeus

Olsoufieff, 1924

Species

Sulcophanaeus comprises five species groups (faunus, carnifex, auricollis, imperator and menelas) and about 15 valid species:[2]

  • Sulcophanaeus actaeon (Erichson, 1847)
  • Sulcophanaeus auricollis (von Harold, 1880)
  • Sulcophanaeus batesi (von Harold, 1868)
  • Sulcophanaeus carnifex (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Sulcophanaeus chryseicollis (von Harold, 1863)
  • Sulcophanaeus columbi (W.S. MacLeay, 1819)
  • Sulcophanaeus faunus (Fabricius, 1775)
  • Sulcophanaeus imperator (Chevrolat, 1844)
  • Sulcophanaeus leander (Waterhouse, 1891)
  • Sulcophanaeus menelas (Laporte de Castelnau, 1840)
  • Sulcophanaeus miyashitai Arnaud, 2002
  • Sulcophanaeus noctis (Bates, 1887)
  • Sulcophanaeus rhadamanthus (von Harold, 1875)
  • Sulcophanaeus steinheili (von Harold, 1875)
  • Sulcophanaeus velutinus (Murray, 1856)

Description

Adult Sulcophanaeus are generally 1–3 cm (0.4–1.2 in) long with some variations in exact size range depending on species, but the common Amazonian S. faunus usually is 3–4 cm (1.2–1.6 in) and sometimes even larger.[1][3] They are short and powerful dung beetles. This genus includes some particularly colorful species with shiny, metallic colors, but there are also Sulcophanaeus species that are all black or very dark brown. Especially the males tend to have a long curved horn on the top of the head and may also have outgrowths of various kinds on the pronotum. The pronotum is much broader than long. The elytra are short and broad with deep longitudinal wrinkles.[1]

  • Sulcophanaeus faunus - female
    Sulcophanaeus faunus - female
  • Sulcophanaeus faunus - male
    Sulcophanaeus faunus - male
  • Sulcophanaeus imperator imperator - female
    Sulcophanaeus imperator imperator - female
  • Sulcophanaeus imperator imperator - male
    Sulcophanaeus imperator imperator - male
  • Sulcophanaeus menelas - female
    Sulcophanaeus menelas - female
  • Sulcophanaeus menelas - male
    Sulcophanaeus menelas - male

References
  1. W. D. Edmonds (2000): Revision of Neotropical Dung Deetle Genus Sulcophanaeus. Folia Heyrovskyana, supplementum 6: 1-60.
  2. Encyclopedia of life
  3. Boilly, O.; Lapèze, J.; Dalens, P.-H.; Giuglaris, J.-L.; Touroult, J. (2016). "Les Phanaeini de Guyane: liste commentée, clés et iconographie (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae)". COREP-France: Coléoptères de Guyane. X: 86–97.
  • Scarabs: World Scarabaeidae Database. Schoolmeesters P.
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