Skip to main content

Sakalava dung beetle (Scarabaeus sakalava), a new species from Madagascar using transformative approach

Sakalava dung beetle (Scarabaeus sakalava), a new species from Madagascar using transformative approach

NEWS - Researchers from the University of Helsinki in Finland tested the utility of phenoscripts by describing a new species, Sakalava dung beetle (Scarabaeus sakalava sp. nov.), found in west-central Madagascar and closely related to S. vietti (Paulian, 1953) from northwestern Madagascar.

Scarabaeus (Coleoptera, scharabaeinae, scharabaeini) are found primarily in the arid regions of the Old World, including three endemic species that inhabit the arid ecosystems of western and southern Madagascar. These species are thought to form a monophyletic clade nested within the African scarabaeus.

Semantic phenotype modeling using ontologies is a transformative approach to species description in biology, making phenotypic data fair and computable. The developed Phenoscript language enables the creation of computable semantic species descriptions using a syntax similar to human natural language (NL).

However, Phenoscript has not yet been tested as a tool for describing new taxa. Giulio Montanaro and Sergei Tarasov tested the phenoscript by describing Scarabaeus (sensu lato) sakalava. The initial description was written directly in phenoscript, replacing the traditional natural language format.

This phenoscript description was then translated into human-readable form using the phenospy tool and converted into a computer-readable RDF graph using semantic technology.

S. sakalava is similar to S. vietti (Paulian, 1953), but can be distinguished by the laterally projecting tip of the anterolateral pronotal angle (vs. obliquely forward in S. vietti). Females are easily distinguished by the shape of the cephalic tubercle, which is medially slanted (vs. conical).

Males are distinguished by the shape of the parameres, which are shorter and have more strongly ventrally curved apices (vs. in the other species) and the shape of the protibia, which are less slender and have a more flared ventral margin.

The new species is found in a restricted area of central-western Madagascar inhabiting dry deciduous forests that are unusual for Scarabaeus. They are attracted to human waste, cattle and rotting fish. These ecological aspects are similar to S. vietti.

The named after the Sakalava people who inhabit western Madagascar. The name Sakalava probably means "long ravine/valley", referring to the relatively flat landscape of western Madagascar. The Sakalavas descend from a mixture of Austronesian and Bantu peoples and established kingdoms mainly during the 18th century. They rely mainly on pastoralism for their livelihood.

Original research

Montanaro G, Tarasov S (2024). Beyond natural language: an ontology-based description of a new Scarabaeus dung beetle from Madagascar (Coleoptera, Scarabaeinae). Biodiversity Data Journal 12: e134364, DOI:10.3897/BDJ.12.e134364

Dlium theDlium
Labels:

Popular Posts

Thomas Sutikna lives with Homo floresiensis

BLOG - On October 28, 2004, a paper was published in Nature describing the dwarf hominin we know today as Homo floresiensis that has shocked the world. The report changed the geographical landscape of early humans that previously stated that the Pleistocene Asia was only represented by two species, Homo erectus and Homo sapiens . The report titled "A new small-bodied hominin from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia" written by Peter Brown and Mike J. Morwood from the University of New England with Thomas Sutikna, Raden Pandji Soejono, Jatmiko, E. Wahyu Saptomo and Rokus Awe Due from the National Archaeology Research Institute (ARKENAS), Indonesia, presents more diversity in the genus Homo. “Immediately, my fever vanished. I couldn’t sleep well that night. I couldn’t wait for sunrise. In the early morning we went to the site, and when we arrived in the cave, I didn’t say a thing because both my mind and heart couldn’t handle this incredible moment. I just went down...
Read more

Southern cone marigold (Tagetes minuta)

Southern cone marigold ( Tagetes minuta ) is a species of plant in the Asteraceae, herb or shrub, upright, up to 2 meters high, cylindrical or square stem, green or red in color, smooth and shiny surface, grows in forests, roadsides and agricultural land. T. minuta has compound leaves 23 cm long, with up to 6 pairs of leaves with 1 at the tip and is green. The strands are elongated, 8 cm long, 1 cm wide, with sharp ends and serrated edges. Flowers in panicles. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Asterales Family: Asteraceae Subfamily: Asteroideae Tribe: Tageteae Genus: Tagetes Species: Tagetes minuta
Read more

Purwaceng (Pimpinella pruatjan)

Purwaceng or purwoceng or antanan gunung or Viagra of Java ( Pimpinella pruatjan or Pimpinella priatjan ) are small termas growing horizontally in Apiaceae, growing in villages on Dieng Plateau, Central Java Province, Indonesia, at 1,500 to 2,000 meters above sea level, the roots have medicinal properties for aphrodisiacs and are usually processed in powder form for a mixture of coffee or milk. P. pruatjan grows flat on the ground but does not propagate, small leaves are reddish green for 1-3 cm in diameter. This plant is only found in Java and grows in high mountain areas. A low population where industrial demand is very high results in increasingly scarce. Another place that is likely to become a purwaceng habitat is the Iyang Mountains and the Tengger Mountains in East Java Province. Efforts to multiply and cultivate have a big problem where these plants have difficulty producing seeds. In vitro propagation research through tissue cultivation has been carried out to overcome ...
Read more