Rhopaea australis (Blackburn, 1888)

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 : 478-479

Rhopaea australis (Blackburn, 1888)

Holophylla australis Blackburn, 1888a: 212 .

Rhopaea australis: Blackburn 1911: 183 .

Lectotype (here designated) male: Type H. T. (circular red ringed, typeset) | 2223 (red, handwritten) T (handwritten) | Blackburn coll. 1910-236 (typeset) | Holophylla australis, Blackb. (handwritten) | aedeagus dissected out and mounted on card | my lectotype label; in NHML.

Paralectotypes: 1 male: Co-type (typeset) | HOLOPHYLLA Australis Blackb. (handwritten with red underlining of words 2 and 3) | I8224 Rhopaea australis Bl. S Australia (handwritten) Co-type (handwritten in red, at right angle) | my paralectotype label; 1 male: Rhopaea (Holophylla) australis, Blackb. (handwritten by Blackburn) | I.4533 Rhopaea australis Bl. S. Australia (handwritten) Cotype (handwritten in red, at right angle) | my paralectotype label; 1 male: Holophylla australis cotype (handwritten) | my paralectotype label | aedeagus on card; all in SAM.

Blackburn (1888a) did not define the type series, seeing an unknown number of males and one female (vide Articles 73.1.2, 72.1.1) from an unstated locality and knew that there were two additional specimens in SAM from Kangaroo Island and Port Victor [Victor Harbour]. Lea (1912) noted that the ‘type’ had been sent to NHML. Britton (1978) referred to a “ holotype ” male from Kangaroo Island in SAM and a male paratype with the same data in SAM but did not list any specimens from Victor Harbour. Houston & Weir (1992) listed a male “ holotype ” from Kangaroo Island in NHML and a male paratype in SAM. As Britton (1978) and Houston & Weir (1992) provided no discussion and did not label any specimen in NHML or SAM and the specimen in NHML is not labelled as from Kangaroo Island, neither mention of a holotype constitutes a valid lectotype designation (vide Article 74.5). To stabilise nomenclature, I designate the specimen in NHML the lectotype. The three males in SAM are paralectotypes.

SAM also has one male from Kangaroo Island but with no indication that it is part of the type series .