Coelioxys (Coelioxys) quadridentatus (Linnaeus, 1758) and Coelioxys (Coelioxys) conicus (Linnaeus, 1758)

(Fig. 13)

In the initial checklist of Ghisbain & Rosa et al. (2023), the name Coelioxys quadridentatus was used. This is the result of a long running argument surrounding the two names C. quadridentatus and C. conicus, which were both described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae (Linnaeus 1758). Currently, some European works and workers use C. quadridentatus, for example in Britain, Belgium, Spain, and in the European checklist (Else & Edwards 2018; Drossart et al. 2019; Ortiz-Sánchez 2020; Ghisbain & Rosa et al. 2023), whereas others have used C. conicus, for example in Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland (Peeters et al. 2012; Scheuchl et al. 2023; Praz et al. 2023).

The origin of this confusion comes from conflicting interpretations. Kirby (1802) was the first to realise that the two names referred to the same species and decided to use C. conicus . Later, Dalla Torre (1896) selected C. quadridentatus as the senior name based on the page of publication (one page before the description of C. conicus), which is not a valid argument. Schwarz et al. (1996) and Schwarz & Gusenleitner (1997) also used the name C. quadridentatus based on its established use. However, Scheuchl et al. (2023) argue that as first reviser, Kirby should be followed (see also Day 1979). We follow the argument presented by Scheuchl et al. (2023 and use the name C. conicus; we hope that this will allow consistency at a European and national level going forwards.