On the date of original description and the type locality of Zygaena ampellophaga (Lepidoptera: Zygaenidae: Procridinae)
Author
Efetov, K. A.
Author
Tarmann, G. M.
Author
Gorbunov, O. G.
text
Zoosystematica Rossica
2023
2023-05-27
32
1
43
49
http://dx.doi.org/10.31610/zsr/2023.32.1.43
journal article
57390
10.31610/zsr/2023.32.1.43
5a56c3b5-138b-42a5-9e67-992831d0f222
2410-0226
10124272
08554B5D-4448-4DD0-B4FC-111BFE89B9EA
Theresimima ampellophaga
(Bayle-Barelle, 1809)
Zygaena ampellophaga
Bayle-Barelle, 1809a: 2
, figs.
[“
Zygaena ampellophaga
(mihi).”].
Type
locality: “...in
Piemonte
... la strada Romera de Broni a Casteggio...” [
Italy
:
Lombardy
,
Province of Pavia
, hills
between Broni and Casteggio
].
Type
material: not mentioned and not selected.
2
Zygaena ampellophaga
:
Bayle-Barelle, 1809b: 40
, tav. I, fig. IIa–e
[“
Zygaena ampellophaga
(mihi).”].
Sphinx vitis
Freyer, 1829: 69
, Taf. LXVIII,
Fig. 3
(“
Sp.
[
hinx
]
Vitis
.”).
Type
locality: not given.
Type
material: not traced.
A junior primary homonym of
Sphinx vitis
Linnaeus, 1758: 491
(
Lepidoptera
:
Sphingidae
).
Moreover, there is also plenty of confusion about the
type
locality (see above), based on a comment by
Treitschke (1834)
who mentioned that this species was first found by E.F. Germar during his trip to Dalmatia. However, in his work about that journey
Germar (1817)
does not mention a word about that species.
Reading
Treitschke’s comment in detail we can see that he wrote on page 101: “Der Schmetterling wurde, so viel mir bekannt, von Herrn Professor Germar auf seiner Reise nach Dalmatien zuerst entdeckt und benannt, von Hrn. Bayle-Barelle beschrieben, und von D. Passerini nach den ersten Ständen aufgefunden und abgebildet, so, dass die Benennung Aller [sic],
Ampelophaga
[sic], und nicht die spätere, von Bonelli: –
Vitis
, – zu gelten hat”. From this sentence we see that Treitschke only “thought to remember” that Germar had taken this species in Dalmatia and this was an error, as is explained correctly in a footnote by
Issekutz (1957: 35)
. However, several entomologists have fallen into the same trap believing that Germar had first found this species in Dalmatia and that this must be the
type
locality. They obviously did not clearly understand Treitschke’s German words: “so viel mir bekannt”, meaning that he only thought he remembered and obviously, Treitschke was wrong.