§ Oxysternon (Oxysternon) ebeninum (Nevinson, 1890)

Phanaeus ebeninus Nevinson 1890: 315 (French Guiana)

Distribution. French Guiana: Nevinson 1890: 315; Olsoufieff 1924: 115; Arnaud 2002c: 67 (?). “Guianas”: Gillet 1911b: 87; Blackwelder 1944: 210. Brazil (NA): Vaz-de-Mello 2000: 194; Arnaud 2002c: 67 (NA); Edmonds and Zídek 2004: 25 (NA); Pacheco and Vaz-de-Mello 2015: 2 (NA). Venezuela (EO): Arnaud 2002c: 67 (EO); Edmonds and Zídek 2004: 25 (EO). Other: Medina et al. 2001: 140 (Colombia).

Note. According to Edmonds and Zídek (2004: 25), Oxysternon ebeninum is restricted to the upper Rio Negro watershed in northwestern Brazil, southern Venezuela and probably eastern Colombia. This means that the type locality French Guiana in Nevinson (1890: 315) and the subsequent inclusion of the Guianas in the distribution of this species in Gillet (1911b: 87), Olsoufieff (1924: 115), Blackwelder (1944: 210) and Arnaud (2002c: 67) are likely the result of a mislabeled specimen. Although the species could possibly occur in southern Guyana, this needs further investigation. Very limited collecting had been done in the research area prior to the publication of Edmonds and Zídek (2004), and the situation still leaves much to be desired. We therefore do not fully exclude the possibility that the species will eventually be found in French Guiana, but for now consider the record by Nevinson (1890) erroneous.