Leiopus nebulosus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Wallin, Henrik, Nylander, Ulf & Kvamme, Torstein, 2009, Two sibling species of Leiopus Audinet-Serville, 1835 (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) from Europe: L. nebulosus (Linnaeus, 1758) and L. linnei sp. nov., Zootaxa 2010, pp. 31-45 : 34-35

Leiopus nebulosus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Cerambyx nebulosus Linnaeus, 1758: 627 . The type is lost.

Designation of a neotype for Cerambyx nebulosus : A neotype (male with body length: 7.6 mm, width: 2.3 mm): Sweden, Gotland, Sproge, 1972-06-19, leg. Bengt Ehnström, was designated from the examined material and deposited in the type collection at UUZM with identity= UUZM Types No. 2823. The neotype is collected relatively near the type locality mentioned by Linnaeus (1745, 1758). The designation of a neotype is made due to loss of the original type of Cerambyx nebulosus Linnaeus, 1758 . Thunberg (1787) was unable to separate Cerambyx nebulosus from the new sibling species, and none of the preserved material is supplied with labelling data, or insect pins that could be identified as clearly originating from the Linnean collection. We have therefore designated a more recently collected specimen as the neotype of Cerambyx nebulosus .

Synonyms: Cerambyx bifasciatus Goeze, 1777: 464 (nec Linnaeus, 1767 according to Vives, 2000)

= Cerambyx taeniatus Gmelin, 1790: 1863

Cerambyx niger Geoffroy, 1762: 204

Cerambyx monilis Geoffroy, 1785: 75

Cerambyx fasciatus Villers, 1789: 239 (nec Scopoli, 1763, nec DeGeer, 1775, nec Fabricius, 1775, nec Geoffroy, 1785 according to Vives, 2000)

Unavaliable name: Cerambyx parvus tigriformis Voet, 1778: 7

Here considered as a trinomen and therefore outside zoological nomenclature.

Comments: No type(s) have been recovered of any of the synonyms, and we regard the type material as lost (cf. Horn & Kahle 1935, Horn et al., 1990). Both Goeze (1777) and Gmelin (1790) introduced binominal names by quoting the same description by Lepechin (1775). Cerambyx taeniatus is therefore a junior synonym of Cerambyx bifasciatus . The description of Cerambyx bifasciatus (e.g. antennae twice as long as the body) does not correspond to the original description of L. nebulosus , and the drawing in Lepechin (1775) is not detailed enough to confirm that it belongs to Leiopus . Cerambyx niger was considered to be a synonym by Olivier (1789 –1808) and Gmelin (1790), and C. monilis was considered to be a synonym by Breuning (1963) and Villiers (1978). However, C. monilis and C. niger are almost 3 times larger (3 ½ lig.) than C. nebulosus (1 ⅔ lig.) in the descriptions by Geoffroy (1762, 1785). The description of Cerambyx fasciatus is based on a drawing ( Villers, 1789), which is not detailed enough to confirm that it belongs to Leiopus . There is a detailed and accurate drawing in Voet (1778) that corresponds to L. nebulosus , and not L. sp. nov. However, we have not designated a neotype of Cerambyx parvus tigriformis , since we consider it to be an unavailable name (ICZN). The conclusion is that we do not find any published name to be available for Leiopus sp. nov.

New synonyms: Examination of colour photos of type material and the key presented by Villiers (1978), and the dissection of a male specimen (the type of L. nebulosus var. siculus Pic, 1924 ) indicate that the following are synonyms of L. nebulosus :

Leiopus nebulosus var. dissimilis Pic, 1889: 5 . syn. nov.

Leiopus nebulosus var. unifasciatus Pic, 1891: 23 . syn. nov.

Leiopus nebulosus var. siculus Pic, 1924:22 . syn. nov.

Type material examined: L. nebulosus var. siculus Pic ( Italy, Sicily, 1 male, Lectotype designated by Biscaccianti 2005, MNHNP).

Redescription: Moderate-sized body, subdepressed, similar in shape to L. linnei sp. nov. ( Fig. 1). Body length: 5.2–8.8 mm in males, and 5.9–9.0 mm in females. Elytra covered with whitish pubescence and irregular blackish spots on entire surface, forming an oblique or irregular blackish band near base and, most often, a distinct blackish, transversal band behind middle ( Fig. 1). The whitish area on the middle of elytra, between the anterior and posterior dark bands, often covered with a few small dark spots. Pronotum uniformly greyish with no apparent pattern of yellowish spots medially, narrow, flattened, and tubercles obligue or absent ( Fig. 3). Pronotal punctuation evenly scattered and relatively fine. Frons on head narrow ( Fig. 5). Posterior margin of last visible abdominal segment (ovipositor) of female with very fine and short pubescence ( Fig. 7). Aedeagus ( Fig. 9): approx. 1.2 mm long, relatively slender, narrowed and curved towards apex, ventral ridge forming a smoothly rounded apex or at most with an obsolete tip. Dorsal ridge with a rounded apex. Microscopic sclerites inside the internal sac forming a circular head and a “V-shaped” structure, and attached to a relatively long straight shaft with a “T-shaped” end, corresponding well to drawings in Sama (1985) and Biscaccianti (2005). Parameres ( Figs. 11 & 13): approx. 1.7 mm long, rounded dorso-ventrally, slightly separated medially along inner margin and rounded towards apex and often projecting inwards at apex. Apex evenly round along entire posterior margin, with fringes of relatively short, brownish hairs well concentrated at edge of apex, only scattered single hairs medially towards apex. No micro-reticulation on parameres. Base of tegmen, at lower part of lateral lobe, extended and slightly twisted dorso-ventrally on middle. Proctiger (the 8 th tergum; Fig. 15): approx. 0.8 mm long and covered with short, very fine yellowish or brownish hairs distally towards posterior margin, except for a more or less naked area or only with few scattered hairs medially and narrowing towards the posterior margin. Surface shining medially, with no distinct micro-reticulation. Only weak and scattered micro-reticulation laterally. Posterior margin rounded or only slightly elongated. Spermatheca ( Fig. 17): yellow to brown, relatively long and slender, not widened at base, and only slightly curved towards apex. Apex with an elongated head.