Nicrophorus interruptus

Nicrophorus interruptus

For the species misidentified by Gaspard Auguste Brullé in 1832 and again by Gistel in 1857, declared a new species under the name Nicrophorus basalis, but later corrected, see Nicrophorus vestigator


Nicrophorus interruptus
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Silphidae
Genus: Nicrophorus
Species: N. interruptus
Binomial name
Nicrophorus interruptus
Stephens, 1830
Synonyms
  • N. basalis, Gistel, 1848
  • N. corsicus, Laporte, 1832
  • N. c. funereus, Heyden, 1906
  • N. c. laportei, Meier, 1900
  • N. c. vordozi, Meier, 1900
  • N. fossor, Erichson, 1837
  • N. f. algiricus, Portevin, 1926
  • N. f. brunnipes, Portevin, 1924
  • N. f. centrimaculatus, Portevin, 1924
  • N. f. corsicus laportei, Hatch, 1928
  • N. f. c. vodozi, Hatch, 1928
  • N. f. fossor, Růžička, 1993
  • N. f. funereus, Portevin, 1924
  • N. f. infuscaticornis, Portevin, 1924
  • N. f. nigricans, Portevin, 1924
  • N. f. pasqueti, Portevin, 1926
  • N. f. trimaculatus, Portevin, 1924
  • N. funereus, Géné, 1839
  • N. gallicus, Jacquelin du Val, 1860
  • N. i. algiricus, Pasquet, 1916
  • N. i. brunnipes, Gradl, 1882
  • N. i. centrimaculatus, Reitter, 1895
  • N. i. corsicus, Jakobson, 1910
  • N. i. c. funereus, Sainte-Claire-Deville, 1914
  • N. i. c. laportei, Sainte-Claire-Deville, 1914
  • N. i. funereus, Winkler, 1925
  • N. i. gallicus, Gemminger & Harold, 1868
  • N. i. infuscaticornis, Winkler, 1925
  • N. i. interruptus, Bertin & Lebberoni, 1999
  • N. i. nigricans, Pasquet, 1916
  • N. i. pasqueti, Pic, 1917
  • N. i. suturalis, Reitter, 1895
  • N. i. trimaculatus, Gradl, 1882
  • N. i. trinotatus, Reitter, 1911
  • N. investigator suturalis, Portevin, 1926
  • N. i. investigator suturalis, Arnett, 1944
  • N. ruspator fossor, Heer, 1841
  • N. sepultor suturalis, Marseul, 1884
  • N. suturalis, Motschulsky, 1860
  • N. vestigator interruptus, Stein, 1868
  • N. v. trimaculatus, Marseul, 1884
  • Silpha corsica, Reitter, 1884
  • S. fossor, Reitter, 1884
  • S. interrupta, Reitter, 1884

Nicrophorus interruptus is a species of burying beetles or sexton beetles belonging to the family Silphidae subfamily Nicrophorinae.

These beetles are present in most of Europe, in the East Palearctic ecozone, in the Near East and in North Africa.

Lateral view

The adults grow up to 26 millimetres (1.0 in) long. They are mostly black with two orange-red markings on the elytra and a yellow pubescence on protruding abdominal segments. They have large club-like antennae equipped with black and reddish tips containing chemoreceptors, capable of detecting a dead animal from a long way away. In fact they bury the carcasses of small vertebrates such as birds and mouses as a food source for their larvae.

In Nicrophorus interruptus both the male and female parents take care of the brood, quite rare behaviour among insects. The prospective parents begin to dig a hole below the carcass, forming the crypt, where the carcass will remain until the flesh has been completely consumed. Although the larvae are able to feed themselves, both parents also feed them by regurgitated liquid food. The adult beetles continue to protect the larvae, which take several days to mature.. The final-stage larvae migrate into the soil and pupate, transforming from small white larvae to fully formed adult beetles.


Subspecies

  • Nicrophorus interruptus var. algiricus Pasquet, 1916
  • Nicrophorus interruptus var. brunnipes Gradl, 1882
  • Nicrophorus interruptus var. centrimaculatus Reitter, 1895
  • Nicrophorus interruptus var. nigricans Pasquet, 1916
  • Nicrophorus interruptus var. pasqueti Pic, 1917
  • Nicrophorus interruptus var. trimaculatus Gradl, 188
  • Nicrophorus interruptus var. trinotatus Reitter, 1911

References

http://collections2.eeb.uconn.edu/nicroweb/PDFs/Sikes_et_al_2002.pdf

  • Derek S. Sikes, Ronald B. Madge & Alfred F. Newton (2002): A Catalog of the Nicrophorinae (Coleoptera : Silphidae) of the World, Magnolia Press

External links