Catharsius harpagus sensu Ferreira, 1960

Takano, Hitoshi, 2021, Taxonomic notes concerning the genus Catharsius Hope, 1837 (Scarabaeidae Scarabaeinae), Zootaxa 5052 (2), pp. 280-286 : 281-283

Catharsius harpagus sensu Ferreira, 1960 (nec Harold)

On studying the ZMHB collections leading up to her review of the genus Catharsius, Ferreira (1960) examined a male standing under C. harpagus and re-described the species based on that specimen. In later publications, she described the female (1964a) and included the description of both sexes in a work on the dung beetle fauna of Mozambique (1967).

In their work on the Catharsius species described by Harold, Génier & Josso (2016) studied three specimens standing under C. harpagus in ZMHB of which two had been collected after the date of description and designated the remaining male as a lectotype. This specimen was collected in Delagoa Bay and had likely belonged in the collection of Carl Felsche. One of the labels ([D.O. Africa / 36] refer to Fig. 10 in Génier & Josso (2016)) is handwritten in Felsche’s very distinctive hand. It is possible that this was the specimen studied by Ferreira in her 1960 publication, but nevertheless it cannot be a syntype and hence the lectotype designation is invalid.

The above synonymy leaves this taxon undescribed and its description as a new species follows: