Celosías

Sceliages (σκέλος = pata) es un género de escarabajos peloteros , depredadores obligados demilpiés espirostreptidos , espirobolidos y juliidos , habiendo renunciado a la coprofagia que les dio nombre. El género es casi endémico del sur de África , aunque Sceliages augias se extiende excepcionalmente hacia el norte hasta la República Democrática del Congo .

Actualmente se reconocen siete especies.

• Celiages adamastor LePeletier & Serville, 1828 - Cabo, Estado Libre de Orange
• Sceliages augias Gillet, 1908 - Zambia, Angola, República Democrática del Congo
• Sceliages brittoni Zur Strassen, 1965 - Cabo
• Sceliages difficilis Zur Strassen, 1965 - Zimbabwe, Natal, Transvaal, Gauteng
• Sceliages gagates Shipp, 1895 - Mozambique, Natal, Cabo Oriental, Eswatini
• Sceliages granulatus Forgie & Grebennikov & Scholtz, 2002 - Cabo Septentrional, Botsuana
• Sceliages hippias Westwood, 1844 - Natal, Transvaal, Mpumalanga ^{[ 1 ] [ 2 ]}

El escarabajo sagrado, Scarabaeus sacer Linnaeus (1758), fue idolatrado por los antiguos egipcios como la encarnación del dios Khepri , quien guiaba el recorrido del sol por los cielos. Los escarabeinos podrían haber evolucionado con otros escarabeinos durante el Cenozoico , a partir de linajes originados en el Cretácico Inferior o posiblemente incluso en el Jurásico Inferior, hace unos 180-200 millones de años. Westwood consideró que Ateuchus adamastor ( Sceliages adamastor ) no se diferenciaba lo suficiente de Scarabaeus (por un par adicional de espuelas en la tibia) como para justificar su separación genérica. ^{[ 3 ]}

Sceliages species have developed special adaptations to disarticulate millipedes - such as the shape of the clypeal margin, in particular the two front ‘teeth’, and the middle legs. The curvature of the meso tibiae is most evident in S. adamastor, fitting snugly around the circumference of the larger spirobolid, spirostreptid and julid millipedes. The adult male or female beetle straddles the subdued millipede and locks onto it particularly with the mid legs, and uses the front clypeal teeth to prise apart the ring segments of the millipede. Front legs assist in this operation, but the main work is done by the front clypeal teeth. The viscera or gut contents, the legs, and some bits of chitin are then used to form some 1-3 brood-balls depending on the size of the millipede. Brood-balls are prepared in a chamber underground and segment rings are discarded into the burrow. The brood-balls, each with one egg, are coated with a compacted layer of clayey soil to prevent desiccation, and are watched over by the female. Some Cephalodesmius species from Australia introduce additional food supplies as the larva develops, but this is not the case with Sceliages.

Sceliages species consume only millipedes (Diplopoda). Utilisation of millipedes by the Scarabaeinae can be both facultative and obligate, and has been documented since 1966, while active predation is recognised in Sceliages and Deltochilum species. Sceliages species are alerted to the presence of injured or freshly-killed millipedes by the smell of quinone-based defensive allomones - the millipedes are then pushed to a suitable site, buried and turned into pear-shaped, soil-encrusted brood-balls. In one observation in Namaqualand a Sceliages brittoni beetle was drawn to a millipede attacked by large reduviid bugs, Ectricodia crux. The beetle wrestled the injured millipede away from the reduviids and then buried it.^[4]

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  Sceliages adamastor preparing to bury millipede carcass
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  Sceliages hippias surrounded by millipede parts
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  Sceliages hippias brood chamber
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  Sceliages hippias moving millipede carcass

• Contenido multimedia relacionado con los esceliages en Wikimedia Commons
• Datos relacionados con los esceliages en Wikispecies
• "Actas de la Sociedad Zoológica de Londres" 5: 11-12