Zodion carceli

Stuke, Jens-Hermann & Clements, David K., 2005, The interpretation of some Conopidae (Diptera) described by Robineau­Desvoidy, Zootaxa 886, pp. 1-12 : 9

" Zodion carceli R. D."

A female of Zodion cinereum (Fabricius, 1794) . The antennae are missing, but otherwise the specimen is well preserved.

The separation of Zodion cinereum and Zodion notatum (Meigen, 1804) is only possible by means of the antennal colouring, and it may well be that the presently accepted recognition of these two taxa as separate species is erroneous. In any event, this characteristic cannot be used in this case and the specimen is therefore assigned to the much more frequently recorded taxon, Zodion cinereum .

The specimen bears the following labels: (1) "Z. / carceli / coll. Big." [round, white label]; (2) " Zodion / carceli R. D." [light­blue label].

This specimen was determined and labelled by Robineau­Desvoidy, and can therefore be interpreted as a syntype of Zodion carceli Robineau­Desvoidy, 1830: 251 . Since this specimen appears to be the only known syntype of Zodion carceli it is herewith designated lectotype and the following label has been added: " Lectotypus / Zodion carceli / Robineau­Desvoidy, 1853 / des. Stuke & Clements, 2005" [red label, printed].

Zodion carceli Robineau­Desvoidy, 1853 was previously considered to be a valid species but is herewith placed as a junior synonym of Zodion cinereum (Fabricius, 1794) [syn. nov.]. As a result, this name is no longer available for the species previously interpreted as Zodion carceli by later workers, and as shown in the checklist of Chvála & Smith (1988), and that species therefore requires a new name.

The description of Zodion rufipes Chen, 1939 corresponds with that of Zodion carceli auct. in all particulars and clearly describes the key identification characteristics usually ascribed to the latter. Chen (1939) does not mention Zodion carceli in his work on the Chinese Conopidae , although Zodion carceli auct. is reported from Mongolia and southern Siberia by Zimina (1988) and its occurrence in northern China could therefore well be expected. On the other hand, Zodion rufipes has thus far only been recorded from China. We believe it is very likely that Zodion rufipes Chen, 1939 is identical with Zodion carceli auct. However, the use of this name for Zodion carceli auct. is not recommended at this time because the type material of Zodion rufipes has not been examined and no material of this species from China has been available to date.

Szilády (1926) described " Zodion cinereum var. kröberi m." with the statement [in translation] "distinguished from the usual type by the fine and even speckling of the abdomen" — a description which could just as readily be applied to Zodion carceli auct. The inconspicuousness or absence of black spots at the bases of the upstanding hairs of the abdomen is an important diagnostic characteristic of Zodion carceli auct., the concept of which is thus not contradicted by Szilády’s brief description of kroeberi . An examination of the type material is no longer possible because the collection of Szilády was destroyed (Papp in litt.). The taxon was not discussed by Kröber to our knowledge, and it was listed by Chvála & Smith (1988) as a synonym of Zodion cinereum (Fabricius, 1794) . We therefore propose to consider Zodion kroeberi Szilády, 1926 as a valid species [stat. rev.] and to introduce this name for Zodion carceli auct.