SCARAB BEETLES — CARTWRIGHT 517 



Kirby. He specifically designated Geotrupes cuniculus as type of the 

 genus, gave a description, but did not mention a type locality. Casey 

 (1915) designated Cortjnoscelis quadridens Taschenberg as type of the 

 genus, overlooking Hope's previous designation. 



Burmeister (1847) was unable to place G. cuniculus Fabricius but 

 thought it was likely a small Podalgus. 



Lacordau'e (1856) stated that Hope had made Geotrupes cuniculus 

 Fabricius the type of Bothynus but said the species coidd not be deter- 

 mined, that he did not recognize it any more than did Bm'meister, and 

 suggested S. ascamus Kirby as the type of the genus. 



Bates (1888) did not mention cuniculus Fabricius in either Geotrupes 

 or Bothynus but placed iumulosus Burmeister (a synonym) in Ligyrus. 



Prell (1936) noted that Hope had designated Geotrupes cuniculus 

 Fabricius as type of the genus Bothynus and that the Fabrician species 

 was identical with Ligyrus tumulosus Burmeister. However, he stated 

 that Hope's description of the genus Bothynus did not fit this species, 

 that Hope very evidently had before him a species from the group 

 which is limited in distribution to the Continent and which was 

 designated by Burmeister as Podalgus (or ScatopJi,ilus). Prell then 

 decided that B. cuniculus Hope, 1837 (not Fabricius 1801), was an 

 undescribed species, the name Bothynus Hope, 1837, lost its validity, 

 and that Bothy mis Burmeister, 1847, with the type species Geotrupes 

 medon Germar, 1824 ( = i?. ascanius Burmeister, 1847, nee Kirby, 

 1818), took its place. 



Even though Hope described in his genus Bothynus a species which 

 he mistakenly thought was cuniculus Fabricius, and which in reality 

 was therefore without a valid name, perhaps not even congeneric with 

 cuniculus Fabricius, he nevertheless first specifically stated the type 

 of Bothynus to be Geotrupes cuniculus Fabricius, and I accept that 

 species as the type. It might be pointed out that it is generally agreed 

 the designation of a species as type of a genus is not to be rejected on 

 the ground that the original author of the generic name misidentified 

 that species. 



Since Bothynus cuniculus (Fabricius) is congeneric with Ligyrus 

 gibbosus (DeGeer), type of the geims Ligyrus, all of our species of 

 Ligyrus should be placed in Bothynus. The name Scatophilus Bur- 

 meister, 1847, remains available for those species recently assigned to 

 Bothynus. 



Lectotype Designations 



Two specimens in the original Fabricius collection in the Kiel 

 Museum in Kiel, Germany, were examined for me by Dr. Bengt-Olof 

 Laridin, and the male bearing an old label, "cuniculus," written in an 

 old handwriting, probably FabriciiLs' own, was selected to be desig- 

 nated lectotype of the species. Dr. Landin has attached the following 



