Menecleonus simplicirostris (Chevrolat, 1873)

transferred from synonymy with M. virgatus (Schoenherr, 1832) to synonymy with Menecleonus signaticollis (Gyllenhal, 1834) syn. n. (ST of M. simplicirostris examined, photograph in WCC).

Remarks. Menecleonus signaticollis and M. anxius were both described from Persia, whereas M. virgatus was described from Caucasus. All specimens examined from Caucasus differ from those from Persia in the key-characters cited by Faust (1904) for the distinction between the two species. It seems thus that the two taxa are geographical allopatric vicariants.