title: 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.
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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa; Email: cdeschodt@zoology.up.ac.za.
authors.forename: Christian M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Deschodt
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa; Email: unknown.
authors.forename: Adrian L V
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa; Email: unknown.
authors.forename: Clarke H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Scholtz
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution; D000825:Animal Structures / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development; D000818:Animals; D049628:Body Size; D001517:Coleoptera / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification* / Q000254:growth & development; D005260:Female; D065948:Grassland; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D013019:South Africa