A revision of ths Scarabaeine dung beetles of Australia. III. Tribe Coprini*

Abstract

This third part of a revision of the Scarabaeinae covers the tribe Coprini, which in Australia is represented by the subtribes Dichotomina and Coprina.

Three genera and 26 species are described and keyed. One genus and 13 species are described as new, while one generic and three specific names are synonymized.

The new generic name is Notopedaria, to receive the Australian species formerly in the African genus Pedaria. The new specific names are Notopedaria occidentalis, N. tropicalis, N. sylvestris, N. eungella, N. scarpensis, N. pratensis and N. tuberculata; Thyregis relictus and T. monteithi; and Coptodactyla brooksi, C. rneridionalis and C. torresica. An eighth new species of Notopedaria, storeyi, is described in an appendix to the work.

The new synonymies are Arrowianella Paulian, 1933 = Thyregis Blackburn, 1904; Arrowianella pauliani Frey, 1970 = Thyregis kershawi Blackburn, 1904; Coptodactyla nitida Paulian, 1933 = subaenea Harold, 1877; and C. imitatrix Balthasar, 1965 = C. depressa Paulian, 1933.

No behavioural observations have been made on the Australian Coprini. Some notes are presented on biogeography and evolutionary trends in the group.

* Part II (Tribe Scarabaeini), Aust. J. Zool., Suppl. Ser., 1974, No. 24.