Gromphas Dejean, 1836

Cupello, Mario, 2024, The genus Gromphas Dejean, 1836 (Coleoptera, Scarabaeinae): nomenclature, distribution, and conservation, including a contribution to the debate on electronic publications in zoology, Zoosystema 46 (2), pp. 23-59 : 32

Gromphas Dejean, 1836

Gromphas Dejean, 1836: 159 [30th July 1836].

TYPE SPECIES. — Coprobius lacordairii Oken, 1834 , by original monotypy.

ETYMOLOGY. — From the Latinisation of the Ancient Greek noun ΓΡΟμΦΆς (gromfás), meaning ‘an old sow’, feminine in gender ( Brullé 1838; Harold 1869a; Bailly 1895; Liddell & Scott 1897; Brown 1954; Cupello & Vaz-de-Mello 2013). The name likely draws a parallel between the stout, hornless body shape of both pigs and the only species originally included in the genus, G. lacordairii , while also making a probable reference to the ‘filthy’ coprophagous habits of these dung beetles.