Lepidiota frenchi Blackburn, 1912

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 : 464

Lepidiota frenchi Blackburn, 1912

Lepidiota frenchi Blackburn, 1912: 58 .

Lectotype (here designated) male: aedeagus partially dissected out but still attached | Type H. T. (circular red ringed, typeset) | Cairns [16.93°S, 145.25°E] (typeset) | 7899 Cairns (handwritten in red) ♂ T (handwritten) | Black-burn coll. 1910-236 (typeset) | LEPIDIOTA Frenchi, Blackb. (handwritten) | my lectotype label; in NHML.

Paralectotypes. 1 male: Lepidiota frenchi Blackb cotype (handwritten) | my paralectotype label; 1 male: Cairns (typeset) | 13011 in cop. idiota Frenchi Blackb (handwritten) | Co-type (typeset) | 13011 Lepdidiota frenchi Blkb. Queensland (handwritten) Cotype (handwritten in red, at right angle) | my paralectotype label; 1 female: Lepidiota Frenchi, Blkb. Cotype (handwritten) | my paralectotype label; 1: Cairns (typeset) | Frenchi, Blackb. (handwritten) | ♀ (handwritten in blue) | I.817 Lepidiota frenchi Blackb. Queensland (handwritten) Cotype (handwritten in red, at right angle) | my paralectotype label; all in SAM; 1 female: Type H.T. (circular red ringed, typeset) | Cairns (typeset) | 7899 Cairns (handwritten in red) ♀ T (handwritten) | Blackburn coll. 1910-236 (typeset) | LEPIDIOTA Frenchi, Blackb. (handwritten) | my paralectotype label; in NHML.

Blackburn (1912) did not define the type series, seeing an unknown number of males and females (vide Articles 73.1.2, 72.1.1) from Cairns. Lea (1912) noted that the ‘type’ had been sent to NHML, and Britton (1978) referred to a “ holotype ” male in NHML and three paratypes in SAM, all from Cairns. Houston & Weir (1992) interpreted Britton’s (1978) incorrect reference to a holotype as a lectotype designation; this was followed by Miller & Allsopp (2000). As Britton (1978), Houston & Weir (1992), and Miller & Allsopp (2000) provided no discussion and did not label any specimen in NHML, none of these mentions of a holotype constitutes a valid lectotype designation (vide Article 74.5). To stabilise nomenclature, I designate the male in NHML the lectotype. The female in NHML and the three males in SAM become paralectotypes.