Checking the checkered taxonomy of Ploetz's checkered skippers (Hesperiidae: Pyrgini)

We present an analysis of the names proposed by Carl Ploetz in 1884 for the New World species in the genus Pyrgus Huebner, [1819] facilitated by the genomic sequencing of extant primary type specimens comparatively with a larger sample of more recently collected specimens of these species and their relatives. The changes to nomenclature suggested here are only caused by the identity of primary type specimens as revealed by their phenotypes or though genomic sequencing. All neotypes are designated to stabilize nomenclature in agreement with the current usage of these names, which in unison agrees best with the information available about them. Lectotypes are designated for the following 5 taxa: Pyrgus (Scelothrix [sic]) bellatrix Ploetz, 1884 (type locality Argentina: Buenos Aires), Pyrgus (Pyrgus) willi Ploetz, 1884 (type locality in Brazil: Minas Gerais), Pyrgus (Pyrgus) albescens Ploetz, 1884 (type locality in Mexico), Pyrgus (Syrichthus [sic]) lycurgus Ploetz, 1884 (type locality in "Central America", likely southern Mexico), and Pyrgus occidentalis Skinner, 1906 (type locality USA: Texas, San Antonio). Neotypes are designated for the following 4 taxa: Pyrgus (Pyrgus) adepta Ploetz, 1884 (Herrich-Schaeffer in litt.) (type locality Colombia: Bogota), Pyrgus (Scelothrix [sic]) dion Ploetz, 1884 (type locality Colombia: Bogota), Pyrgus (Scelothrix [sic]) adjutrix Ploetz, 1884 (Herrich-Schaeffer in litt.) (type locality in Mexico: Nuevo Leon), Pyrgus (Pyrgus) insolatrix Ploetz, 1884 (Herrich-Schaeffer in litt.) (type locality in "Central America", likely southern Mexico). As a result, P. lycurgus and P. insolatrix are objective synonyms. The following are junior subjective synonyms: P. dion of Burnsius adepta (Ploetz, 1884), Pyrgus (Syrichthus [sic]) varus Ploetz, 1884 of Burnsius orcus (Stoll, 1780) and P. adjutrix of Burnsius oileus (Linnaeus, 1767). Heliopetes (Heliopyrgus) willi (Ploetz, 1884) is a species-level taxon and not a subspecies of Heliopetes (Heliopyrgus) domicella (Erichson, [1849])). Genomic analysis of the lectotypes of P. albescens, P. lycurgus, and P. occidentalis establishes them as conspecific with Burnsius communis (Grote, 1872), thus depriving a distinct species currently identified as Burnsius albescens from its name, that becomes a name for Burnsius communis albescens (Ploetz, 1884) in accord with its lectotype identity; P. lycurgus and P. insolatrix are its junior subjective synonyms, but P. occidentalis is a junior subjective synonym of B. communis communis. A new name Burnsius albezens Grishin sp. n. (type locality USA: Arizona, Cochise Co., Portal) is proposed for the species misidentified as B. albescens. Furthermore, genomic comparisons reveal two other new species and one new subspecies of Burnsius Grishin, 2019: B. burnsi Grishin sp. n. (type locality Mexico: Veracruz, Huatusco), B. adepta inepta Grishin ssp. n. (type locality Ecuador: Pichincha, Tandapi), and B. orcynus Grishin sp. n. (type locality Curacao: Hato Field) that are cryptic and can be confidently identified only by their genotype.