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Issue: Vol. 3949 No. 3: 28 Apr. 2015
Type: Article
Published: 2015-04-29
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3949.3.8
Page range: 431–438
Abstract views: 27
PDF downloaded: 3

A new synonymy in the fidius group of Copris Müller 1764 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) and a new species from the highland grasslands of South Africa

Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
Scarabaeidae Scarabaeinae New species Copris crassus fidius bihamatus endemic New synonym

Abstract

The fidius group constitutes the basal clade in a phylogeny of the Afrotropical members of the genus, Copris Müller, 1764. In this paper we describe Copris crassus Deschodt and Davis as a new species in this group. We also demonstrate that the distributional function between two body dimensions (lateral horn length and mid-line elytron length) differs between Copris fidius (Olivier 1789) and C. crassus. Copris bihamatus Balthasar, 1965 is also a member of the fidius group. Nguyen-Phung (1988) suspected that it was a synonym of C. fidius (Olivier) so we compare specimens of similar body size and use the distributional function between body dimensions to demonstrate that C. bihamatus is indeed a synonym of C. fidius. We provide a key for all known valid species in the fidius group, except C. serius Nguyen-Phung, 1987.