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
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Family:	Silphidae
Tribe:	Nicrophorini
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 mice 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

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