Phoberus disjunctus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Phoberus disjunctus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Suborder: | Polyphaga |
| Infraorder: | Scarabaeiformia |
| Family: | Trogidae |
| Subfamily: | Troginae |
| Genus: | Phoberus |
| Species: | P. disjunctus |
| Binomial name | |
| Phoberus disjunctus Strümpher, 2016 | |
Phoberus disjunctus is a species of hide beetle in the subfamily Troginae discovered by coleopterologist Werner P. Strümpher in 2016.[1][2]
Initially, the scientific community treated all P. disjunctus specimens as part of the P. capensis species. These beetle specimen resided within the genus Trox. When Phoberus was recognized as a full genus, taxonomists moved P. capensis, and all P. disjunctus beetles along with it, from the genus Trox to the genus Phoberus. Recent evolutionary genetics allowed coleopterologist Strümpher and his team to uncover molecular and morphological differences between mainline P. capensis beetles and the P. disjunctus variant, causing the new Phoberus disjunctus species to be discovered and classified.[3]
Within the genus Phoberus, P. disjunctus is most similar to P. capensis and P. herminae due to their shared evolutionary history, and historically researchers have often confused the three species for each other. P. disjunctus can be distinguished from the other two hide beetles by the shape of their pronota. Specifically, P. disjunctus has an evenly-rounded disc on the pronotum with a shallow depression running through its middle; by contrast, P. capensis and P. herminae have a high disc on the pronotum, whose margins spike out from the beetle's carapace, and a deep valley-like depression runs through their disc's middle.[3]