Omorgus (Afromorgus) melancholicus ( Fåhraeus, 1857 ),

Kalawate, Aparna S. & Strümpher, Werner P., 2024, Catalogue of species of the subgenus Afromorgus Scholtz, 1986 (Coleoptera: Trogidae: Omorginae) known from the Oriental and Palaearctic Regions, including a description of one new species from the Deccan Plateau in India, Zootaxa 5437 (1), pp. 21-63 : 43-45

Omorgus (Afromorgus) melancholicus ( Fåhraeus, 1857)

( Figs. 47–48 )

Trox melancholicus Fåhraeus, 1857: 378 (original description).

Trox melancholicus : Gemminger & Harold 1869: 1089 (catalogue); Harold 1872: 108 (diagnosis); Kolbe 1904: 294 (specimens of East Africa, diagnoses); Arrow 1912: 58 (catalogue); Paulian 1936: 4 (checklist, specimens of Madagascar); Paulian 1944: 8 (checklist, key, illustrations); Haaf 1954: 379 (description, illustrations); Haaf 1955a: 48 (checklist); Haaf 1955b: 87 (checklist); Haaf 1959: 42 (checklist); Brivio 1959: 378 (specimens of Portuguese Guinea [now Guinea-Bissau]); Endrödi 1976: 155 (specimens of Ghana); Scholtz 1978: 87 (distribution); Scholtz 1979: 187 (lectotype designation, distribution); Paulian 1981: 9 (specimens of Madagascar).

Trox (Omorgus) melancholicus : Péringuey 1900: 465 (diagnosis); Scholtz 1980b: 31 (redescription, key, distribution, illustrations); Scholtz 1982: 11 (catalogue).

Afromorgus melancholicus : Pittino 2006: 26, 79 (new combination, catalogue); Pittino 2011: 399 (redescription, distribution, illustrations); Pittino & Bezdĕk 2016: 54 (catalogue).

Omorgus (Afromorgus) melancholicus : Scholtz 1993: 4 (description of larva); Zidek 2013: 13 (checklist); Zidek 2017: 104 (checklist).

Trox madagascariensis Fairmaire, 1871: 34 (original description). Type locality: “Nossi-Bé [Nosy Bé, 13°19′S 48°16′E], Madagascar ” . Type depository: Type (female) in MNHN ( Figs. 49–50 ). Synonymised by Harold 1872: 108 .

Trox madagascariensis : Künckel d’Herculais 1887: 244 (specimens of Madacascar, illustration); Fairmaire 1893: 523 (checklist); Arrow 1912: 57 (as a synonym of Trox incultus ).

Trox (Omorgus) larvatus Gerstäcker, 1873: 309 (original description). Type locality: “…von der Insel Sansibar […from the island of Zanzibar]”. Type depository: Lectotype (male) at MNHB ( Figs. 51–52 ). Synonymised by Haaf 1954: 379.

Trox larvatus : Kolbe 1897: 157 (checklist); Arrow 1912: 57 (checklist).

Type depository. Lectotype (male), and two paralectotypes at NHRS ( Figs. 47–48 ). Type locality. “ Caffraria ” [inexact locality, presumably SE South Africa].

Distribution. Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros Archipelago, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Italy (Sicily) [introduced], Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Republic Democratic Congo, Republic South Africa, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Yemen ( Scholtz 1980b; Schoolmeesters 2023).

Figures

FIGURES 47–48. Omorgus (Afromorgus) melancholicus (Fåhraeus, 1857), lectotype (NHRS). 47, habitus, dorsal view; 48, labels. Photos by Anna Jerve, copyright NHRS.

FIGURES 49–50. Trox madagascariensis Fairmaire, 1871 (= junior synonym of Omorgus (Afromorgus) melancholicus (Fåhraeus, 1857)), type (MNHN). 49, habitus, dorsal view; 50, labels. Photos by Olivier Montreuil, copyright MNHN.

FIGURES 51–52. Trox larvatus Gerstäcker, 1873 (= junior synonym of Omorgus (Afromorgus) melancholicus (Fåhraeus, 1857)), lectotype (MNHB). 51, habitus, dorsal view; 52, labels. Photos by Bernd Jaeger, copyright MNHB.