Lithurgus Berthold, 1827

Gonzalez, Victor H., Engel, Michael S. & Griswold, Terry L., 2013, The lithurgine bees of Australia (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae), with a note on Megachile rotundipennis, Journal of Melittology 2013 (11), pp. 1-19 : 9

Genus Lithurgus Berthold

Lithurge Latreille, 1825: 463 [French vernacular name]. Type species: Andrena cornuta Fabricius, 1787 , monobasic.

Lithurgus Berthold, 1827: 467 , nomen emendatum pro Lithurge Latreille, 1825 . Type species: Andrena cornuta Fabricius, 1787 , autobasic [ Michener (1997) listed this as a subsequent designation].

Liturgus Ashmead, 1899: 77 , lapsus calami pro Lithurgus Berthold, 1827 .

COMMENTS: We have removed Lithurgopsis from Lithurgus , thereby not recognizing subgenera within this genus (as was done by Moure & Melo, 2007), and consider the two to be generically distinct (refer also to the key to genera: vide infra). This action accords with past and current studies indicating that the former composition of Lithurgus in a broader sense was paraphyletic ( Engel, 2001; Michener, 2007). As it is, the restriction of Lithurgus as such may not resolve all issues pertaining to its paraphyly. However, we believe that this is a necessary first step toward eventually achieving a stable and useful classification of Lithurgini .