An annotated and illustrated Type Catalogue of the predacious Shieldbugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae: Asopinae) in the Collection of the Natural History Museum, London
Author
Roell, Talita
Author
Lemaître, Valérie A.
0000-0003-4802-2711
v.lemaitre@nhm.ac.uk
Author
Webb, Michael D.
0000-0002-1312-6142
m.webb@nhm.ac.uk
Author
Campos, Luiz A.
0000-0001-5414-8746
luiz.campos@ufrgs.br
text
Zootaxa
2023
2023-02-03
5232
1
1
105
http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5232.1.1
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.5232.1.1
1175-5326
7609794
E7B67882-2148-49C5-9F09-D5CAA95A21D1
coeruleus
(
Hoploxys
)
Dallas 1851: 103
. [
Fig. 34
]
Original data
: “
♀
”. “a.
Congo
.
Presented
by Sir John Richardson, M. D.” [
syntype
(s)]
SYNTYPE
♀
: blue-margined
syntype
disc; red-margined type disc; “
Congo
/ 43 56”; “1.
HOPLOXYS
CAERULEUS,”; “a”; “NHMUK 010592440”.
Antennae
and legs (except the left middle leg and a part of the left anterior leg) missing.
The
specimen is also missing its right wing, while its abdomen is partially disconnected from its thorax (
Fig. 34
)
.
FIGURES 33–40.
Type and non-type specimens deposited in NHMUK. 33,
Oplomus chrysomelas
; 34,
Hoploxys coeruleus
; 35,
Canthecona cognata
; 36–39,
Arma colorata
; 40,
Canthecona concinna
. Scale bars: 4 mm.
Current status
:
Hoploxys coeruleus
Dallas, 1851
.
Notes
: As
Dallas (1851: 103)
noted “Antennae with the two basal joints black (
rest wanting
[emphasis ours])”, it is likely that he had only
one specimen
.
Walker (1867a: 141)
listed only
one specimen
and we have found only
one female
specimen in the collection. Still, we cannot be sure Dallas just described the species from
one specimen
, we therefore consider it a
syntype
. This specimen was not examined by
Thomas (1994: 181)
who only mentioned having examined specimens from
the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(as
Zaire
),
Gabon
and
Cameroon
and not the type.
David & Dickinson (2016: 15)
remarked: “Names that in their original form used ligatures are incorrect original spellings (Art. 27) but when the ligature is resolved and two letters replace it the names become correct original spellings (Art. 32.2.2.).” and later, p. 20, “Article 58.1 (I.C.Z.N., 1999) states that species-group names that contain -ae- and -oe-, but are otherwise identical, are deemed to be homonyms when included in the same genus (Art. 58); indeed, classical Latin dictionaries list coerul- as a variant of caerul- (
Gaffiot, 1934
).”
Dallas (1851: 79)
had originally named the species “
HOPLOXYS COERULEUS
”; this was an incorrect original spelling. The correct original spelling should be “coeruleus”, as in our entry and current status.
Walker’s (1867a: 141)
heading (and thus label) reads “
HOPLOXYS
CAERULEUS”; this is an incorrect subsequent spelling.