Onthophagus clypeatus Blanchard, 1846

Hielkema, Auke J. & Hielkema, Meindert A., 2019, An annotated checklist of the Scarabaeoidea (Insecta: Coleoptera) of the Guianas, Insecta Mundi 732 (732), pp. 1-306 : 90-91

Onthophagus clypeatus Blanchard, 1846

Onthophagus clypeatus Blanchard 1846: 182 ( Bolivia)

Distribution. Guyana: Forsyth and Gill 1993: 70. Suriname: MHCN - NEW COUNTRY RECORD (Suriname, Sipaliwini, eastern bank Corantijn opposite Arapahu Resort, (3°27′N, 57°37.5′W). 15/ 21-II- 2011. A. J. Hielkema. In pitfall with human excrements in forest.); NZCS; RMNH. French Guiana:

Boucomont 1932: 322; Balthasar 1941c: 352; Price and Feer 2012: 327; MHCN. “Guianas”: Pulido Herrera and Zunino 2007: 99. Brazil: Pulido Herrera and Zunino 2007: 99. Venezuela: Pulido Herrera and Zunino 2007: 99. Other: Blanchard 1846: 182 (Bolivia); Gillet and Boucomont 1927: 205 (Bolivia); Boucomont 1932: 322 (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru); Balthasar 1941c: 352 (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru); Blackwelder 1944: 211 (Bolivia); Medina et al. 2001: 139 (Colombia - as O. clypeataus [sic]); Pulido Herrera and Zunino 2007: 99 (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador).

Note. Onthophagus clypeatus and O. xanthomerus are suspected to be different forms of the same species in Boucomont (1932: 299) (see the note at the bottom of that page) and in Balthasar (1941c: 352). In Blackwelder (1944: 211, 212) these forms were treated as separate species. According to Boucomont (1932: 299), the forms are distinguished by the pronotum being matte ( O. clypeatus ) or shiny ( O. xanthomerus ). We have collected a male Surinamese specimen in which the posterior half of the pronotum is matte and the anterior half shiny, which has led us to adopt the view of Boucomont (1932). We have thus placed all our specimens under the senior name O. clypeatus . Otherwise, we have entered both names separately on this checklist because they are distinct species according to Zunino (1981: 81). To our knowledge the matter has not been given attention since Zunino (1981).