Rhopaea nigricollis Lea, 1919

Allsopp, Peter G., 2020, Clarification of the status of the types of Australian Melolonthini (Coleoptera Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) described before 1950, Zootaxa 4885 (4), pp. 451-486 : 481

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4885.4.1
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:2E69687C-74B4-4087-9BF6-039F5FE14A9E
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4340875
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/C264702F-4524-3500-2BE7-9897FE6CFB30
treatment provided by	Plazi (2020-11-29 20:44:19, last updated 2024-11-26 00:56:59)
scientific name	Rhopaea nigricollis Lea, 1919
status

Treatment

Rhopaea nigricollis Lea, 1919: 184 .

Holotype (by original designation) male ( Figs. 69–71 View FIGURES 63–74. 63–65 ): nigricollis (handwritten) Lea, TYPE (typeset) Beverley (handwritten) | I.10792 Rhopaea nigricollis Lea W. Australia (handwritten) TYPE (handwritten in red, at right angle) | SAMA Database No. 25-035286 | my holotype label; in SAM.

Paratype: 1 male: Beverley W.A., E.F. du Boulay (handwritten) | Rhopaea nigricollis Lea (written by Britton) | my paratype label; in SAM .

Lea (1919) did not define the type series, seeing an unknown number of males (vide Articles 73.1.2, 72.1.1). However, in that paper he unequivocally designated a “Type” with the SAM registration number I.10792 (vide Article 73.1.1). It is presumably the specimen considered as the holotype by Britton (1978) and is the one noted as the holotype by Houston & Weir (1992). Britton (1978) also noted a male paratype with the same data in SAM; this was followed by Houston & Weir (1992).

The placement of the type locality in Western Australia is doubtful as the species is otherwise known only from northeastern New South Wales and the genus is not known from Western Australia ( Britton 1978). I suspect that it should be Beverley, New South Wales (31.10°S 151.01°E). Edgar Francis du Boulay, who collected the specimens, was the son of Francis du Boulay who originally worked in Western Australia but later collected in northern New South Wales ( Musgrave 1932).

References

Britton, E. B. (1978) A revision of the Australian chafers (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae). Vol. 2. Tribe Melolonthini. Australian Journal of Zoology, Supplementary Series, 60, 1 - 150. https: // doi. org / 10.1071 / AJZS 060

Houston, W. W. K. & Weir, T. A. (1992) Melolonthinae. In: Houston, W. W. K. (Ed.), Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea. Vol. 9. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, pp. 174 - 358.

Lea, A. M. (1919) Notes on some miscellaneous Coleoptera with descriptions of new species. - Part V. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 43, 166 - 261.

Musgrave, A. (1932) Bibliography of Australian Entomology 1775 - 1930 with Biographical Notes on Authors and Collectors. Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, Sydney, 380 pp.

Figures

FIGURES 63–74. 63–65, Holotype male of Rhopaea decipiens Lea, 1919. 63, dorsal; 64, lateral; 65, labels. 66–68, Lectotype male of Rhopaea magnicornis Blackburn, 1888. 66, dorsal; 67, lateral; 68, labels. 69–71, Holotype male of Rhopaea nigricollis Lea, 1919. 69, dorsal; 70, lateral; 71, labels. 72–74, Lectotype male of Zietzia geologa Blackburn, 1894. 72, dorsal; 73, lateral; 74, labels. Photographs courtesy of the South Australian Museum Board.