Phoberus sternbergi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Phoberus sternbergi | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Suborder: | Polyphaga |
| Infraorder: | Scarabaeiformia |
| Family: | Trogidae |
| Subfamily: | Troginae |
| Genus: | Phoberus |
| Species: | P. sternbergi |
| Binomial name | |
| Phoberus sternbergi van der Merwe & Scholtz, 2005 | |
Phoberus sternbergi is a species of hide beetle in the subfamily Troginae discovered by the scientists van de Merwe and Scholtz in 2005.[1][2] Like with many other beetle species, P. sternbergi has not been observed again after its discovery, so all knowledge of the species comes from the 8 individual beetles van de Merwe and Scholtz saw during fieldwork.[3][2]
Taxonomically, P. sternbergi was initially placed in the subgenus Trox (Phoberus); when Phoberus was recognized as a full genus, taxonomists moved P. sternbergi from the genus Trox to the genus Phoberus. Within the genus Phoberus, P. sternbergi is most similar to P. ngomensis; in fact, females of the two species are almost completely identical, and only the shape of the hide beetles' male genitalia can reliably distinguish the two species. Specifically, in P. sternbergi, the anterior edges of male genitalia's median lobe are M-shaped, while in P. ngomensis those same edges are U-shaped. Furthermore, the parameres of P. sternbergi are longer relative to their penis-like aedeagus than those of P. ngomensis; P. sternbergi's parameres are one-third their aedeagus' length, while the parameres of P. ngomensis are one-fourth that length.[3][2]