''Heliocopris'' (large dung beetles) is a genus of

Scarabaeidae The family Scarabaeidae, as currently defined, consists of over 35,000 species of beetles worldwide; they are often called scarabs or scarab beetles. The classification of this family has undergone significant change. Several groups formerly tre ...

or scarab beetles in the superfamily

Scarabaeoidea Scarabaeoidea is a superfamily of beetles, the only subgroup of the infraorder Scarabaeiformia. Around 35,000 species are placed in this superfamily and some 200 new species are described each year. Some of its constituent families are undergo ...

."''Heliocopris''"
Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) Forty-seven of the fifty-two known species are found in Africa, but a few are found in southern and southeast Asia. ''Heliocopris'' includes some of the world's largest

dung beetle Dung beetles are beetles that feed on feces. All species of dung beetle belong to the superfamily Scarabaeoidea, most of them to the subfamilies Scarabaeinae and Aphodiinae of the family Scarabaeidae (scarab beetles). As most species of Scara ...

s (their size only rivalled by certain '' Catharsius'' and '' Coprophanaeus''), with ''H. anderson'', ''H. colossus'', ''H. dilloni'', ''H. dominus'', ''H. gigas'' and ''H. tyrannus'' reaching up to about long, although a more typical size for the members of this genus is . They are generally black or dark brown beetles where males tend to have horns on their head or

pronotum The prothorax is the foremost of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the first pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the pronotum (dorsal), the prosternum (ventral), and the propleuron (lateral) on e ...

, which females lack. Some are associated with the dung of

elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

rhino A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...

s or

hippo The hippopotamus (''Hippopotamus amphibius;'' ; : hippopotamuses), often shortened to hippo (: hippos), further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus and river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic Mammal, mammal native to su ...

s, but there are large variations among the species in the genus and dung from other animals, like domestic cattle or monkeys, is also used. The female lays her eggs in a tunnel she digs under the excrement.

Species

The genus ''Heliocopris'' includes the following species:"''Heliocopris''"
''Encyclopedia of Life'' *'' Heliocopris alatus'' Felsche, 1910 *'' Heliocopris anadematus'' Gillet, 1908 *'' Heliocopris andersoni'' Bates, 1868 *''

Heliocopris anguliceps ''Heliocopris'' (large dung beetles) is a genus of Scarabaeidae or scarab beetles in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea.

'' Janssens, 1943 *''

Heliocopris antenor ''Heliocopris antenor'' is a species of beetles of the family Scarabaeidae. Description ''Heliocopris antenor'' reaches about in length. The body is glossy and the coloration varies from dark brown to black. Distribution This species occurs i ...

'' (Olivier, 1789) *''

Heliocopris ares ''Heliocopris'' (large dung beetles) is a genus of Scarabaeidae or scarab beetles in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea.

'' Philippe, Minetti, 2022 *''

Heliocopris atropos ''Heliocopris'' (large dung beetles) is a genus of Scarabaeidae or scarab beetles in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea.

'' Boheman, 1860 *''

Heliocopris beccarii ''Heliocopris'' (large dung beetles) is a genus of Scarabaeidae or scarab beetles in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea.

'' Harold, 1871 *''

Heliocopris biimpressus ''Heliocopris'' (large dung beetles) is a genus of Scarabaeidae or scarab beetles in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea.

'' Kolbe, 1893 *''

Heliocopris bucephalus ''Heliocopris bucephalus'', commonly known as the Elephant dung beetle, is a species of dung beetle found in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Malay Peninsula, Java, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Description This large, broad, globular, and ...

'' (Fabricius, 1775) *''

Heliocopris camerunus ''Heliocopris'' (large dung beetles) is a genus of Scarabaeidae or scarab beetles in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea.

'' Pokorny & Zidek, 2009 *''

Heliocopris colossus ''Heliocopris'' (large dung beetles) is a genus of Scarabaeidae or scarab beetles in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea.

'' Bates, 1868 *''

Heliocopris corniculatus ''Heliocopris'' (large dung beetles) is a genus of Scarabaeidae or scarab beetles in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea.

'' Janssens, 1939 *'' Heliocopris coronatus'' Felsche, 1901 *'' Heliocopris cuneifer'' Lesne, 1906 *'' Heliocopris densissa'' Roth, 1851 *'' Heliocopris dianae'' Hope, 1842 *'' Heliocopris dilloni'' Guérin-Méneville, 1847 *'' Heliocopris dolosus'' Janssens, 1939 *'' Heliocopris dominus'' Bates, 1868 *'' Heliocopris erycoides'' Felsche, 1907 *'' Heliocopris eryx'' (Fabricius, 1801) *'' Heliocopris faunus'' Boheman, 1857 *'' Heliocopris felschei'' Kolbe, 1904 *'' Heliocopris fonsecai'' Ferreira, 1967 *'' Heliocopris furcithorax'' Müller, 1941 *'' Heliocopris gigas'' (Linnaeus, 1758) *'' Heliocopris hamadryas'' (Fabricius, 1775) *''

Heliocopris hamifer ''Heliocopris'' (large dung beetles) is a genus of Scarabaeidae or scarab beetles in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea.

'' Harold, 1878 *'' Heliocopris haroldi'' Kolbe, 1893 *'' Heliocopris helleri'' Felsche, 1907 *'' Heliocopris hermes'' Gillet, 1911 *'' Heliocopris hunteri'' Waterhouse, 1891 *'' Heliocopris japetus'' Klug, 1855 *'' Heliocopris kolbei'' Felsche, 1901 *'' Heliocopris marshalli'' Péringuey, 1901 *'' Heliocopris midas'' (Fabricius, 1775) *'' Heliocopris mimus'' Janssens, 1939 *'' Heliocopris minos'' Gillet, 1907 *'' Heliocopris mutabilis'' Kolbe, 1893 *'' Heliocopris myrmidon'' Kolbe, 1893 *'' Heliocopris neptuniformis'' Felsche, 1907 *'' Heliocopris neptunoides'' Janssens, 1939 *'' Heliocopris neptunus'' Boheman, 1857 *'' Heliocopris pauliani'' Janssens, 1939 *'' Heliocopris pirmal'' (Fabricius, 1798) *'' Heliocopris quinqueangulatus'' Janssens, 1939 *'' Heliocopris samson'' Harold, 1878 *'' Heliocopris sirius'' Gillet, 1925 *'' Heliocopris solitarius'' Kolbe, 1893 *'' Heliocopris staudingeri'' Kolbe, 1893 *'' Heliocopris sylvanus'' Gillet, 1925 *'' Heliocopris tyrannus'' Thomson, 1859 File:Giant Dung Beetle (Heliocopris andersoni) big male (11621185084).jpg, '' Heliocopris andersoni'' File:Heliocopris colossus Bates, 1868 male (3052104815).jpg, ''

Heliocopris colossus ''Heliocopris'' (large dung beetles) is a genus of Scarabaeidae or scarab beetles in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea.

'' File:Heliocopris japetus Klug, 1855 male (3303706075) (2).jpg, '' Heliocopris japetus''

Species

Notes

Further reading