Eleodes (Metablapylis) nevadensis Blaisdell, 1909

Johnston, M. Andrew, Fleming, David, Franz, Nico M. & Smith, Aaron D., 2015, Amphidorini Leconte (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) of Arizona: Keys and Species Accounts, The Coleopterists Bulletin (mo 14) 69, pp. 27-54 : 52

Eleodes (Metablapylis) nevadensis Blaisdell, 1909

Eleodes dissimilis nevadensis Blaisdell, 1909

This troublesome species is, by definition, from Arizona, with a syntype being collected in “Tucson, AZ.” The species was originally described as a subspecies of E. dissimilis , with two syntypes – one male specimen from Tucson and one female specimen from Palm Springs, California – and a distribution covering most of Arizona and southern Nevada. In revising the subgenus, Blaisdell (1929) listed E. nevadensis as only occurring in Nevada and described two new, quite similar species, E. delicatus from Douglas, Arizona and E. californicus from Palm Springs. In the specimens we have examined from Arizona, there appear to be two species, herein treated as E. dissimilis and E. delicatus . Until all the relevant types and specimens from the entire range of these species are examined, it will remain unclear where E. nevadensis belongs. Therefore, E. nevadensis is provisionally treated here as unrecognized. The presumably diagnostic character of E. nevadensis is the presence of erect, ferugineous setae arising from punctures on the venter of the abdomen. However, we have seen specimens pertaining to both the herein treated E. delicatus and E. dissimilis which display this character, which seems to be prevalent on teneral and less abraded specimens.