Taxonomical and systematic status of the species of Contipus Marseul, 1854 was analyzed. The following new synonyms have been established: Contipus digitatus Marseul, 1854 = C. sudanicus Mazur, 1979 syn. nov., C. flexuosus Schmidt, 1889 = C. tardus Bickhardt, 1919 syn. nov., C. oblongus Lewis, 1906 = C. tristriatus Thérond, 1965 syn. nov., Hister tropicus Paykull, 1811 = Contipus pavani Vienna, 1980 syn. nov. and Hister paganus Schmidt, 1889 = Contipus semiopacus Müller, 1939 syn. nov. Contipus pycnurus Müller, 1942 has been transferred to Afrohister Mazur, 2006. Lectotypes for Contipus tardus and Hister kristenseni Bickhardt, 1911 are designated. All the species of Contipus are keyed and catalogued.