Five indigenous species of Scarabaeinae are known from Mauritius island, classified into 2 genera: the monotypic Nesovinsonia Martínez & Pereira, 1959 and Nesosisyphus Vinson, 1946. This study conducts a taxonomic review of the latter genus and evaluates its recent extinction using historical and new occurrence records, subfossils, and species distribution model (SDM). We provide the first molecular phylogeny and evaluate the evolutionary relationships of Nesosisyphus by comparing 2 different phylogenetic trees: the first, based on a Ultraconserved Elements dataset, and the second one, on 4 loci (28S, 16S, COI, and CAD). We identify 5 Mauritian Nesosisyphus species, including a new extinct one from a Mid-Holocene (∼4,200 years BP) subfossil. We diagnose, illustrate, and provide an updated key to all the sisyphine species from Mauritius, as well as their occurrence map. The lectotypes and paralectotypes of N. pygmaeus and N. rotundatus are here designated. Our SDM analysis reveals a broader past distribution ranges, now confined to small and disjunct forest patches, likely due to the extensive forest contraction and local extinctions.
Losacco, F., Lopes, F., Rossini, M., Porch, N., Ruzzier, E., Krell, F., et al. (2026). A review of Sisyphini dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) endemic to Mauritius: insights from subfossil evidence and phylogenetic analysis. INSECT SYSTEMATICS AND DIVERSITY, 10(4) [10.1093/isd/ixag025].
A review of Sisyphini dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) endemic to Mauritius: insights from subfossil evidence and phylogenetic analysis
Ruzzier, Enrico;
2026-01-01
Abstract
Five indigenous species of Scarabaeinae are known from Mauritius island, classified into 2 genera: the monotypic Nesovinsonia Martínez & Pereira, 1959 and Nesosisyphus Vinson, 1946. This study conducts a taxonomic review of the latter genus and evaluates its recent extinction using historical and new occurrence records, subfossils, and species distribution model (SDM). We provide the first molecular phylogeny and evaluate the evolutionary relationships of Nesosisyphus by comparing 2 different phylogenetic trees: the first, based on a Ultraconserved Elements dataset, and the second one, on 4 loci (28S, 16S, COI, and CAD). We identify 5 Mauritian Nesosisyphus species, including a new extinct one from a Mid-Holocene (∼4,200 years BP) subfossil. We diagnose, illustrate, and provide an updated key to all the sisyphine species from Mauritius, as well as their occurrence map. The lectotypes and paralectotypes of N. pygmaeus and N. rotundatus are here designated. Our SDM analysis reveals a broader past distribution ranges, now confined to small and disjunct forest patches, likely due to the extensive forest contraction and local extinctions.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
