This dung beetle species belongs to the subfamily of the Coprinae. The Coprinae, as all the members of the subfamily of the Scarabaeinae, exhibit a pronounced parental care and are often sexually dimorphic. Typical examples of the sexual dimorphism are found within the Onthophagus genus, where the males of several species have single or double horn-like extensions on the head. The larvae of the Scarabaeinae develop in the soil in a brood ball made of dung and prepared by the parents.

Sisyphus schaefferi is a Ponto-Mediterranean thermophilous species, ocurring sporadically in larger steppe and forest-steppe areas, mainly on limlestone ground. Typical are the hindlegs of both sexes, which are very long and curved inwards.

Once the Sisyphus has found fresh dung, he starts to roll a dungball, which will serve as brood for the larvae. He uses his long hindlegs to move and transport the dungball towards a tunnels he has digged, and where the dung will serve as food inside the brood chamber.