Sisyphus | |
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Sisyphus longipes | |
Scientific classification
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Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Coleoptera |
Family: | Scarabaeidae |
Tribe: | Scarabaeini |
Genus: |
Sisyphus Latreille, 1807 |
Species | |
see text |
Sisyphus is a genus of dung beetles comprising more than 90 species. [1] Adults are characterised by their long hind legs. [2]
Africa, Eurasia, Asia, Central America and Australia. [1]
Adults 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.
One common species is Sisyphus schaefferi (Linnaeus, 1758).