Cyclocephala octopunctata Burmeister, 1847

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 : 176

§ Cyclocephala octopunctata Burmeister, 1847

Cyclocephala 8-punctata Burmeister 1847: 65 ( Brazil - LECTOTYPE)

Distribution. French Guiana: Burmeister 1847: 65; Endrödi 1966a: 274, 1985a: 79, 136; Dechambre 1991: 124; Duranton 2011: 14 (?); Moore et al. 2018b: 224. “Guianas”: Arrow 1937b: 14; Blackwelder 1944: 252. Brazil: Endrödi 1966a: 274 (designation NEOTYPE Cyclocephala octopunctata ), 1985a: 79, 136; Dechambre 1991: 124 (designation LECTOTYPE Cyclocephala octopunctata ); Moore et al. 2018b: 224. Other: Endrödi 1966a: 274, 1985a: 79, 136; Moore et al. 2018b: 224.

Note 1. The neotype of Cyclocephala octopunctata designated in Endrödi (1966a: 274) was rendered invalid when type material from Burmeister was recovered and a lectotype was designated in Dechambre (1991: 124). It is unclear to us which reasoning is followed by Dechambre (1991) in designating the Brazilian lectotype, as Burmeister (1847: 65) only mentions French Guiana in the original description. The list of collections through which the lectotype has passed according to Dechambre (1991) does not include the one of Dupont, which contained the material that Burmeister (1847) used for his description. We consider the validity of the lectotype questionable. Regardless of the validity of the lectotype designated by Dechambre (1991), the neotype designated by Endrödi (1966a) remains invalid since it violates several demands of Article 75 of the ICZN (1964: 81), as mentioned by Moore et al. (2018b: 107).

Note 2. Burmeister (1847: 65) describes Cyclocephala octopunctata from French Guiana, and this record is copied in Arrow (1937b: 14), Blackwelder (1944: 252), Endrödi (1966a: 274, 1985a: 79, 136), Dechambre (1991: 124) and Moore et al. (2018b: 224). Duranton (2011: 14) apparently saw no definite specimens from French Guiana, and the species is not mentioned in the checklists for French Guiana by Ponchel (2011) and Dupuis (2016b). We are unaware of any recent reports from the Guianas. Given that this species is otherwise only known from southern Brazil, Bolivia and Peru, we assume that Burmeister’s type specimen was mislabeled and regard this species as not occurring in the research area.