Omorgus (Afromorgus) desertorum (Harold, 1872), valid species

(Figs. 12–16)

Trox desertorum Harold, 1872: 77 (original description).

Trox desertorum: Arrow 1912: 55 (catalogue); Balthasar 1936: 435 (diagnosis).

Trox niloticus desertorum: Haaf 1954: 347 (lectotype designation, description, key, illustrations).

Trox (Omorgus) niloticus desertorum: Scholtz 1980a: 140 (specimens of Saudi Arabia); Scholtz 1980b: 56 (paralectotype designation, redescription, distribution, key, illustration); Scholtz 1982: 12 (catalogue).

Afromorgus niloticus desertorum: Pittino 2006: 26, 79 (new combination, catalogue); Pittino & Bezdĕk 2016: 54 (catalogue); Král & Batelka 2017: 81 (specimens of United Arab Emirates, distribution).

Omorgus niloticus desertorum: Abdel-Dayem et al. 2020: 62 (country record).

Omorgus (Afromorgus) niloticus desertorum: Zidek 2013: 14 (checklist); Zidek 2017: 105 (checklist).

Trox phylbi Paulian, 1948: 143 (original description). Type locality: “Hejaz, Mecca ”. Type depository: Holotype (male) reportedly at MNHN, but could not be located [Olivier Montreuil, curator at MNHN, personal communication, 2023]. One paratype (male) at MNHN (Figs. 17–18). Synonymised by Haaf 1954: 347.

Type depository. Lectotype (female) at MNHN (Figs. 12–13), one paralectotype at RBINS.

Type locality. “ Aegyptus [Egypt]” .

Distribution. Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen (Scholtz 1980b; Král & Batelka 2017; Abdel-Dayem et al. 2020). Omorgus (A.) desertorum has been recorded from the Arabian Peninsula, and the deserts of northeast Africa (Scholtz 1980a, b). However, records of Omorgus (A.) desertorum cited from north-east Africa lack clear or precise locality information (Alfieri 1976; Haaf 1954; Pittino 2006; Scholtz 1980a, b, 1982; Král & Batelka 2017). Additional sampling is needed in the region to delineate its distribution boundaries.