Lophornis melaniae Floericke, 1920 (Aves: Trochilidae), is a synonym of L. stictolophus Salvin & Elliot, 1873, not of L. delattrei (Lesson, 1839)

We re-evaluate the taxonomic status of a poorly known and largely ignored hummingbird taxon, Lophornis melaniae Floericke, 1920, which was described from two male syntypes. Reported to have been destroyed, these specimens survive in the Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart. None of the three commentators on this case inspected this material and only one read Floericke’s original description. Comparison of the syntypes with specimen material and photographs available online of Rufous-crested Coquette L. delattrei (Lesson, 1839) and Spangled Coquette L. stictolophus Salvin & Elliot, 1873, suggests that, on the basis of its crest feathers being relatively densely packed and bushy rather than spiky, wiry and splayed, and on the broader distribution and greater number of dark spots on the crest, L. melaniae is a synonym of L. stictolophus rather than of L. delattrei, as had been postulated previously