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

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