Clytra (Clytraria) atraphaxidis atraphaxidis ( Pallas, 1773 )

Bezdċk, Jan & Regalin, Renato, 2015, Identity of species-group taxa of the Western Palaearctic Clytrini (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) described by Maurice Pic and Louis Kocher, Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae (suppl.) 55, pp. 1-114 : 7-8

Clytra (Clytraria) atraphaxidis atraphaxidis ( Pallas, 1773)

Chrysomela atraphaxidis Pallas, 1773: 725 (original description).

Clythra atraphascidis [sic!] var. delagrangei Pic, 1896a: 30 (nomen nudum).

Elythra [sic!] atraphaxidis var. delagrangei Pic, 1896b: 62 (original description).

Clytra atraphaxidis var. nigromaculata Pic, 1897a: 84 (original description), syn. nov.

Clytra atraphaxidis var. quinquemaculata Pic, 1920a: 7 (unavailable infrasubspeciħc name).

Clytra atraphaxidis var. milliati Pic, 1942b: 7 (original description).

Type localities. Chrysomela atraphaxidis : ‘Irtin’ [= western Siberia/ Kazakhstan, Irtysh river]. Clythra atraphaxidis var. delagrangei : ‘ Akbès’ [= Turkey near the city of ø skenderun]. Clytra atraphaxidis var. nigromaculata : ‘Bakou’ [= Azerbaijan, Baku]. Clytra atraphaxidis var. quinquemaculata : ‘Turkestan et environs de Smyrne’. Clytra atraphaxidis var. milliati : ‘Liban’ [= Lebanon].

Type material examined. Chrysomela atraphaxidis : not examined.

Clythra atraphaxidis var. delagrangei : SYNTYPE: 1 ♂, ‘301 [w, h] // type. [w, h] // Delagrangei [w, h] // Akbès / n sp.? [w, h] // Delagrangei Pic [w, h] // Titubaea / arabica / Akbes 94 [w, h] // TYPE [r, p] // v. Delagrangei Pic [grey label, h] // Museum Paris / Coll. M. Pic [w, p]’ ( MNHN – coll. generale).

Clytra atraphaxidis var. nigromaculata : SYNTYPES: 1♂, ‘type. [w, h] // atraphascidis / Baku [w, h] // v.nigromaculatus / Pic [w, h] // TYPE [r, p] // v. nigromaculata Pic [grey label, h] // Museum Paris / Coll. M. Pic [w, p]’ ( MNHN – coll. generale); 1 ♂, ‘type. [w, h] // Baku [w, h] // Clythra / atraphaxidis [w, h] // atrapascidis / v. nigromaculatus [w, h] // TYPE [r, p] // Museum Paris / Coll. M. Pic [w, p]’ ( MNHN – coll. generale).

Clytra atraphaxidis var. milliati : SYNTYPE: 1 ♀, ‘M… / Liban [partly illegible, w, h] // ex Milliat [w, h] // v. Milliati / mihi [w, h]’ ( MNHN – coll. Pic).

Original material of infrasubspeciħc entity. Clytra atraphaxidis var. quinquemaculata : 1 ♂, ‘ type [w, h] // v. 5 maculata / Pic [w, h] // Turkestan / Aulie-Ata / C. ARIS [w, p] // v. 5 maculata Pic [grey label, h] // TYPE [r, p] // Museum Paris / Coll. M. Pic [w, p]’ ( MNHN – coll. generale).

Distribution. South Europe, Caucasus, Near East, Central Asia (for details see REGALIN & MEDVEDEV 2010b).

Comments. PIC (1896b, 1897a, 1920a, 1942b) described four varieties of Clytra atraphaxidis . Two of them, var. delagrangei and var. milliati , are correctly treated as colour aberrations and synonyms of C. atraphaxidis atraphaxidis (e.g. REGALIN & MEDVEDEV 2010b). The additional two, var. nigromaculata and var. quinquemaculata , were listed as aberrations of C. atraphaxidis ssp. maculifrons Zubkov, 1833 by WINKLER (1929), which was followed also by REGALIN & MEDVEDEV (2010b). Clytra atraphaxidis ssp. maculifrons differs from the nominotypical subspecies in the head orange or orange with black spot on vertex and is distributed in Central Asia southernmost to Iran and Afghanistan and westernmost to Caucasus (REGALIN & MED- VEDEV 2010b). Because var. nigromaculata has head black as the nominotypical subspecies we transfer it as a new synonym of C. atraphaxidis atraphaxidis .

It is necessary to note that we have some doubts about the validity of ssp. maculifrons . Clytra atraphaxidis is a widely distributed species with very variable dorsal pattern. Nominotypical subspecies and ssp. maculifrons can be distinguished only by the colouration of the head, which, in view of colour variability throughout the whole range, seems to be an insufħcient character to separate the subspecies. However, we leave this problem for future studies.

Clytra atraphaxidis var. quinquemaculata was described in the paper containing also description of subspecies ( PIC 1920a), thus became infrasubspeciħc according to Article 45.6.4 of the Code ( ICZN 1999). The original specimen of this variety is conspeciħc with Clytra atraphaxidis atraphaxidis as it has a black head.

Clythra atraphaxidis var. delagrangei was ħrst mentioned by PIC (1896a) without a relevant description, and we treat it as a nomen nudum. The correct description was published by PIC (1896b).