VI. 



Notes 



on Genera and Speeies of Copridae. 



H. W. Bates, 



Pres. Ent. Soc. Lond., &c. 



1. Scarabaeus gigas Olivier. Ent. I. 3. p. 132. t. 14. f. 137. 



This maguiticent Copride is certainly not the Scarabaeus gigas 

 of Linnaeus, neither is it a variety of the feraale of S. Anterior, 

 as Olivier himself suggested, but an entirely distinct speeies from 

 Western Equatorial Africa, belongiug to the modern genus Hello- 

 copris. I have frequeutly examined the type in the Banksian col- 

 lection. It is a female and the British Museum has recently re- 

 ceived the male of the same speeies, of whieh I hope to be able 

 to give a description in a eontinuation of these notes. According 

 to the exeellent description of the Sc. gigas given in the Mus. 

 Lud. Ulr., Linnaeus must have had before him a female of what 

 is known in collections as Heliocopris Isidis. My exeellent friend 

 the Baron de Harold informs me in a letter that he believes H. 

 Midas Fabr. and H, Isidis L a t r. to be varieties of one and the 

 same widely - diffused speeies. According to the examples I have 

 examined, there appears to be a constant differenee between these 

 two in the $ , in the shape of the antero-lateral projeetions of the 

 prothorax; indeed I am inclined to admit a third speeies in indivi- 

 duals 1 have received from the vicinity of Lake N'Gami. 



