Macrodactylus nigrinus Philippi, 1864: 443

Smith, Andrew B. T., 2008, South American Melolonthinae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) classification and nomenclature: some problems and solutions, Insecta Mundi 2008 (60), pp. 1-28 : 13

Synonym. Macrodactylus nigrinus Philippi, 1864: 443 (new synonym).

Type locality. Chile: VII Región del Maule: Linares: Estero Leiva (based on the neotype). The original type locality was “ Chile.”

Type series. Neotype male (Fig. 10) at MNNC, same specimen as the neotype for Macrodactylus farinosus (see label data above) . Neotype here designated.

Distribution (Fig. 24). Chile: IV Región de Coquimbo, Región Metropolitana, VII Región del Maule, VIII Región del Biobío. One specimen examined was labeled from Aysen km 50, Coyhaique. This locality should be considered dubious as it is far outside the known range for this commonly encountered species.

Remark. Color variation, variation in setal pattern, and incomplete specimens seem to have led Philippi (1864) to believe that Macrodactylus farinosus , M. crassipes , and M. nigrinus were different species. I have examined over 170 specimens of Macrodactylus farinosus and found the variation within this species to encompass Philippi’s (1864) original descriptions of all three species mentioned above. Because I found no evidence to suggest that more than one species is represented within the series I examined, I here synonymize the three Philippi names. I selected a single specimen as the neotype for each of the three names to make them objective synonyms and avoid further confusion over these names.