ZOOTAXA

ZOOTAXA 1899 Ganglbauer: 164 (descriptions, in German) >> as N. interruptus var. submaculatus651906 Heyden et al.: 247 (checklist) >> as N. interruptus var. submaculatus1910 Jakobson: 612 (checklist in Russian) >> as N. interruptus var. submaculatus1916 Pasquet: 153 (description of variation in French)1916 Schaufuss: 273 (checklist in German)1922 Everts: 1831924 Portevin: 290 (key, descriptions in French) >> as N. fossor ab. submaculatus1925 Winkler: 264 (catalog) >> as N. interruptus ab. submaculatus1926a Portevin: 229 (revision: key, descriptions & catalog in French) >> as N. fossorab. submaculatus1928 Hatch: 143 (catalog) >> as N. fossor ab. submaculatus1989 Núñez et al.: 439 (checklist in Spanish (English summary)) >> as N. interruptusvar. submaculatus= variolosus Portevin, 1924 NEW STATUS as absolute syn. of N. investigator ZetterstedtType locality: “Baberie?” [handwritten illegible label on type; not mentioned in orig.descrip.]Type depository: MNHN: Paris [!] holotype female1924 Portevin: 149 (key, descriptions in French) >> Orig. comb.: Necrophorus investigatorvar. variolosus [!N, S]1925 Winkler: 264 (catalog) >> as N. investigator ab. variolosus1926a Portevin: 222 (revision: key, descriptions & catalog in French) >> as N. investigatorvar. variolosus1927b Hatch: 358 (revision: key, descriptions & catalog) >> as N. investigator var. variolosus;specimens not seen by Hatch1928 Hatch: 141 (catalog) >> as N. investigator var. variolosus1933a Shchegoleva-Barovskaya: 187 (revision: key, descriptions & catalog in Russian)>> as N. investigator ab. variolosus1944 Arnett: 5 (morphology: female genitalia) >> as N. investigator subsp. investigatorvar. variolosus [‘ab.’ intended]Comments: N. interruptus var. submaculatus Reitter, 1895b has been considered a namesubordinate to N. interruptus/N. fossor since its original description. DSS studied the onlytype found of this name in the HNHM and it is a specimen of N. investigator, not N. interruptus.The metepimeral lobe is glabrous, the epipleuron is orange, there is no erect row ofsetae on the humerus, among other traits, all of which differentiate N. investigator from N.interruptus. There remains the possibility that the type specimen examined was not theoriginal, but given no additional evidence either way, we make this name a new synonymof N. investigator.With the sole exception of N. praedator all the names we synonymyze herein weretreated as synonyms or otherwise considered possibly invalid by silphid taxonomists. Weherein synonymyze N. praedator under N. investigator with minor reservation for the followingreasons: Reitter's (1887) original description of this name included the statement114 © 2002 Magnolia PressSIKES ET AL.