342 Transactions South African Philosophical Society, [vol. xii. 



Gex. COPRIS, GeoftV., 



Plate XXXIX., fig. 25. 



Insect. Envir. Paris, i., 1762, p. 87. 



Litocopris, Waterh., Annals and Mag. Nat. Hist., 1891, p. 53. 



Buccal organs of Catharsins ; the basal joint of the labial palpi is, 

 however, generally more slender, being more than twice as long as 

 broad ; the general facies is the same, liut the eighth stria on the 

 elytra is not carinate in the basal part, and occasionally becomes 

 obsolete in the posterior part ; the intermediate and posterior tibiae 

 are also bi-carinate, but the intermediate ones, the carinae of which 

 are generally denticulate, have no large teeth ; it does happen, how- 

 ever, that the inner upper carina in some species forming a somewhat 

 homogeneous group, G. bootes, polliix, fidius, cornifrons, is hardly 

 indicated; this occurs also in the genus Catliarsius, but in the latter 

 the carina is obsolete in both the intermediate and posterior legs ; 

 the posterior tibiae have only one supra-apical tooth instead of 

 two ; the fore tibias slant inwardly at tip, but occasionally they are 

 truncate or nearly so, and the apical spur of anterior tibiae is either 

 elono-ate and curving slightly outwardly, or a little thickened and 

 curving more or less abruptly inwardly. 



Waterhouse has separated from the genus, under the name of 

 Litocopris, two species which are distinguished by the absence of 

 cephahc horns, and also by the more truncate form of the anterior 

 tibige. These characters appear to me very slight. I may add 

 that the basal joint of labial palpi of L. mnticus is broad and sub- 

 quadrate as in Catharsins, Init the shape of the lal^ial palpi is often 

 specifically different. 



The o-enus is numerously represented in Africa, and the range of 

 some of the species is very great. I am inclined to believe that 

 many so-called species will prove to be different stages of develop- 

 ment of a much smaller number of forms. 



The o-enus is represented in Europe, Asia, Japan, and Ceylon. 



The normal shape of the valves of the penis is that of G. cjlobuli- 

 p)ennis (plate xxxix., fig. 35), and although it varies a little in the 

 greater or lesser lateral sinuation, this difference is too slight to 

 help in determining the species, but in two of them, G. miscllus and 

 G. cassius, the upper edge of the valve is sen-ate at tip with very 

 distinct, hamate teeth, and in a third species, G. amyntor, there 

 is at the base of the valve underneath a membranous vesicular 



prominence. 



Taken as a whole, the South African species have the general facies 



