Microctenochira similata ( Boheman, 1855 )

Sekerka, Lukáš, 2016, Taxonomic and nomenclatural changes in Cassidinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 56 (1), pp. 275-344 : 295-296

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.5305725
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:E24F1028-C6AC-4323-9ED5-C9B7FF3434ACD
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6449995
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/677FCF20-FFCE-FFE4-FE6C-FA4BFB9FFC04
treatment provided by	Marcus
scientific name	Microctenochira similata ( Boheman, 1855 )
status

Treatment

Microctenochira similata ( Boheman, 1855) View in CoL

Coptocycla similata Boheman, 1855: 177 (original description).

Coptocycla sellata Boheman, 1855: 178 (original description); SPAETH (1926): 59 (synonymy), syn. confirm.

Coptocycla Napaea Boheman, 1862: 411 (original description), syn. nov.

Type localities. Coptocycla napaea : ‘Petropolis Brasiliae’; C. sellata : ‘S:t Paul Brasiliae’; C. similata : ‘Brasilia interior’.

Type material examined. Coptocycla napaea : SYNTYPES: 1 spec., glued, ‘Type [w, p, s, c, rf] || Coptocycla | Napaea Bhn | Type from Bhn [w, hw, cb] || 67·56 [w, p, s]’ ( BMNH); 1 spec., pinned (missing pronotum and head), ‘CONSTANC [w, p, cb] || Clark. [w, p, s] || Type. [w, p, s] || NHRS-JLKB | 000022329 [w, p, cb]’ ( NHRS).

Coptocycla sellata : SYNTYPE: pinned, ‘ Brasil [w, p, cb] || M. Wien [w, p, s] || Type. [w, p, s] || NHRS-JLKB | 000022358 [w, p, cb]’ ( NHRS).

Coptocycla similata : LECTOTYPE (designated by BOROWIEC 1999a): pinned, ‘ Brasil [w, p, cb] || Mhm. [w, p, cb] || Type. [w, p, s] || LECTOTYPE | des. L. Borowiec [r, p, cb] || NHRS-JLKB | 000022356 [w, p, cb]’ ( NHRS). PARALECTOTYPE: pinned,‘ Brasil [w, p, cb] || Bhn. [w, p, s] || PARALECTOTYPE | des.L.Borowiec [r, p, cb] || NHRS-JLKB | 000022357 [w, p, cb]’ ( NHRS).

Remarks. BOHEMAN (1862) described Coptocycla napaea and compared it with Coptocycla sellata . SPAETH (1926) synonymized the latter with Microctenochira similata and separated M. napaea by the basal spot on pronotum with red (uniformly black in M. similata ) and finer punctation of the central yellow spot on elytra. I have studied types of all three taxa and in my opinion all belong to a single species and represent only colour forms. Moreover, M. napaea was based on a teneral specimen and as a result the punctation of its elytra appears finer.

I was able to locate two specimens of M. napaea that belong to the type series. The BMNH specimen, however, does not have a locality label, but is glued and pinned in the same way, on a similar label as other material collected by Clark during his travels in Brazil. Only a small portion of the Cassidinae he collected is provided with original locality labels and if so, frequently only the first specimen in the original series had the label. Therefore I assume the specimen was collected in Petropolis as indicated by BOHEMAN (1862).

Distribution. Argentina: Missiones ( BOROWIEC 2002, 2009c); Brazil: Rio Grande do Sul (BOROWIEC 2009c), Rio de Janeiro ( BOHEMAN 1862, DONCKIER DE DONCEEL 1884), Santa Catarina ( BOROWIEC 2002), Sao Paulo ( BOHEMAN 1855, SPAETH 1926); Paraguay ( BOROWIEC 1996).