Taxonomy of the Goliath beetle Goliathus orientalis Moser, 1909 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae)

Abstract

The 16 names proposed for the central and eastern African Goliath beetle Goliathus orientalis Moser, 1909, are reviewed and a complete synonymy is presented for the species. The earliest published name is Goliathus giganteus orientalis Moser, 1909, type locality Lindi, Deutsch-Ostafrika, and so the correct name for the species is Goliathus orientalis Moser, 1909. Goliathus meleagris Sjöstedt, 1927a, type locality Katanga, Congo Belge, is a synonym of G. orientalis. Populations of G. orientalis in the Usambara Mountains, Tanzania, may represent a distinct subspecies. The correct subspecific name for this form would be G. orientalis usambarensis Preiss, 1933; the widely used name G. orientalis preissi Endrödi, 1951, is a junior subjective synonym of G. o. usambarensis Preiss. Goliathus orientalis is re-described and characters are presented for separation of adults of G. orientalis from adults of the partially sympatric species Goliathus goliatus (L.), 1771 and Goliathus albosignatus Boheman, 1857.