Stelidota nigrovaria (Fairmaire)

Lawrence, John F., 2019, Australian Nitidulinae: general review with descriptions of new genera and species (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), Zootaxa 4657 (2), pp. 261-290 : 278-279

Stelidota nigrovaria (Fairmaire)

Omosita nigrovaria Fairmaire 1849: 364 .

Stelidota orientalis Arrow 1900: 92 .

Aethinodes variabile Lea 1921: 187 . Syn. nov.

Jelínek (1965) clarified the limits of the genus Stelidota and later ( Jelínek 1984) revised the species occurring in Asia, Australia and the Pacific area. In this study Stelidota nigrovaria ( Fairmaire, 1849) , originally described from Tahiti as a species of Omosita Erichson , was considered to be a widely distributed and variable species occurring in India, Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Australia, Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia. Stelidota orientalis Arrow, 1900 from Christmas Island, Indian Ocean was also synonymised with the Fairmaire species. Specimens from continental Australia examined by Jelínek were from two localities in NSW.

Aethinodes variabile Lea, 1921 , was described based on specimens from Mt. Tamborine and the Cairns district, QLD and Ourimbah and National Park (Royal National Park), NSW. Examination of a Lea cotype (C/2276) from Cairns in the Queensland Museum, Brisbane, confirmed that this species belongs to the genus Stelidota and appears to be conspecific with the widespread Stelidota nigrovaria . This species is extremely common throughout Australia and may be particularly abundant in forest litter samples.