1982] 
Peck & Miller — North American Silphidae 
153 
Necrophorus orbicollis Say 1825: 177. neotype (here designated), 
a male in LeConte collection with white label “N. orbicollis/ Say/ 
Hallii Kirby”, and our designation label, in MCZ. Published 
localities are from “the N. W. Territory” (which at the time meant 
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan), and “very rare 
in the Middle States”, and “one specimen from Dr. T. W. Harris 
of Milton, Massachusetts”. The Harris collection is preserved in 
the MCZ and was examined but no specimens of the species were 
found that would help to validate Say’s species concept. 
Nicrophorus hecate immaculosis Hatch 1957: 15. The name was 
validated by this use as a subspecies, not by its earlier use as an 
aberration (Hatch 1927: 362) according to Article 10b of the 
ICZN. The holotype, which we have not seen, is a specimen from 
“California” in the I nstitut fur Pflanzenschutzforschung Zweig- 
stelle Eberswalde, East Berlin (formerly Deutsches Entomolo- 
gisches Institut). Our examination of much west coast material 
(and unpublished data of R.S. Anderson) shows that immaculosis 
represents part of a range of variation in elytral patterning within 
N. hecate Bland 1865, and, furthermore, that hecate represents a 
portion of variation within N. guttu/a Motschoulsky 1845. We 
therefore propose immaculosis as a new synonym of hecate, 
and hecate as a new synonym of guttula. 
Necrophorus maritimus Eschscholtz, in Guerin-Meneville 1835, 
Iconographie, plate 17, fig. 8. This name was last used by Hatch 
(1957: 14) as Necrophorus investigator maritimus, for material 
mostly from coastal islands of British Columbia with reduced 
elytral fascia. It was originally described from Sitcha Island, 
Alaska, but we have not seen authentic type material. Our exami- 
nation (and unpublished data of R. S. Anderson) of much west 
coast material shows this to be one part of variation, which is not 
geographically coherent, of N. investigator Zetterstedt 1824, and 
we therefore propose maritimus as a new synonym. 
Necrophorus grandior Angell 1912: 307. lectotype (here 
designated), a male with labels “California”, “Janson”, “Original/ 
type”, “Necrophorus / grandior / Angell”, “Necrophorus / grandior / 
2917 Ang./Det. M. H. Hatch 1925”, “Necrophorus/germanicus/ 
ab. bipunctatus/<3 Kr./M. H. Hatch-1926” and our designation 
label, in USNM. Hatch (1927) cited this as the “type” (holotype), 
but it was published as a syntype. The species is a synonym of Nicro- 
