Eleodes latiusculus Walker

Thomas, Donald B., Smith, Aaron D., Triplehorn, Charles A. & Aalbu, Rolf A., 2014, Walker’s Eleodes (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), Zootaxa 3835 (4), pp. 583-592 : 586

Eleodes latiusculus Walker ( Fig. 3)

Eleodes latiuscula Walker, 1866 , vol. 2, p. 329.

Original Description: “Black, broad, somewhat dull. Head and thorax thickly and minutely punctured. Head with an indistinct transverse impressed line in front of the eyes; clypeus somewhat shining. Thorax much broader than the head; sides convex in front. Elytra elliptical, very thickly punctured, with slight striae, much broader than the thorax, and nearly thrice its length; sides convex. Length of the body, 9 lines.”

Type Material. HOLOTYPE by monotypy.

Labels: (a) [circular, margined in red, printed] “ Type H.T.” (b) [circular, blue, hand-script] “Brit Colum” (c) [hand-script] “ latiuscula ” (d) [hand-script] “ E. humeralis (named by LeConte).” (e) [circular, hand-script] “64 18.”

This species appears as a synonym of Eleodes humeralis LeConte 1857 on page 247 of Gebiens’s (1910) catalogue and we confirm this synonymy. This species occurs along the Pacific coast from California to British Columbia. The determination on the specimen as E. humeralis may have been added by George Champion, a coleopterist with the British Museum, a tenebrionid specialist, describer of many Eleodes species, and contemporary of Hans Gebien. Max Barclay informs us that the hand writing however is not that of Champion, but likely that of someone employed by the museum for labeling. Interestingly, none of Walker’s names were included in Champion’s (1895) checklist. Perhaps there was correspondence between the two men during the preparation of Gebien’s catalog. Perhaps it was Champion who attached the type labels as well. Our concept of E. humeralis follows the revision of the subgenus Melaneleodes Blaisdell by Triplehorn & Thomas (2011).