Arma pallipes, (Arma), 1851

Roell, Talita, Lemaître, Valérie A., Webb, Michael D. & Campos, Luiz A., 2023, An annotated and illustrated Type Catalogue of the predacious Shieldbugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae: Asopinae) in the Collection of the Natural History Museum, London, Zootaxa 5232 (1), pp. 1-105 : 66-67

pallipes (Arma) Dallas 1851: 101. [ Figs 143–144 ]

Original data: “ ♁”; “a. Venezuela. From Mr. Dyson’s Collection. ” [syntype (s)]

SYNTYPE ♁: blue-margined syntype disc; “29. ARMA CRASSIMARGO ”; “a”; “ Venezuela / 47 26”; “ Podisus sp. 1 - 198”; “BRIT. MUS .”; “NHMUK 010938912”. Right third to fifth antennomeres are missing ( Fig. 143 ) .

NEOTYPE [set aside by Roell et al. 2021b: 571] ♁: red-margined neotype disc; “ VENEZUELA: Mérida Las Cruces 9 July 1986 R.S. Miller colr.”; “B.M. 1991-55”; “J. E. Eger collection”; “ NEOTYPE ARMA PALLIPES ( DALLAS 1851) Desig. D. B. Thomas. ”; “NHMUK 010592332”. Specimen well preserved ( Fig. 144 ). (see also the entry for “ thomasi (Podisus) ”)

Current status: Podisus ventralis ( Dallas, 1851) (see Roell et al. 2021b: 571).

Notes: Dallas did not state the number of specimens from which he described the species, only the sex: male. Walker (1867a: 137) listed one specimen and it is likely that there was just one, but we cannot be sure. Thomas (1992: 101–102) could not find any specimens matching the original description and designated a neotype (see above).

Dallas’s typical material of A. pallipes was collected in Venezuela by Dyson. Specimens of only three Arma species (now in Podisus ) were listed both by Dallas (1851) and Walker (1867a) as collected in Venezuela by Dyson, i.e., Arma ventralis Dallas , Arma pallipes Dallas and Arma didyma Stål (now Podisus sagitta (Fabricius, 1794)) ; Walker (1867a) listed one specimen for each of these species and it is likely that these were all that were originally recorded by Dallas and Walker. For each of these species, we have found a specimen from Venezuela collected by Dyson, i.e., a female type of Arma ventralis , a male non-type of Podisus sagitta (bearing the determination label: “8. ARMA DIDYMA. ”) and a putative type of A. pallipes . Indeed, although the last-mentioned specimen has a printed determination label reading: “29. ARMA CRASSIMARGO ”, it perfectly matches the original description of A. pallipes , including the colours on the back of the abdomen and the underside of the hemelytra as its wings are elevated. The colours of the antennae, labium, anterolateral margins of the pronotum, hemelytra, legs, and abdomen also match Dallas’s original description. In addition, Thomas (1992: 99) used a cordate ivory spot to separate Podisus pallipes (Dallas) from the four other species of Podisus in the ventralis group. This feature was not noted in Dallas’s description of A. pallipes but as his description is so detailed, had the specimen had that spot, he would undoubtedly have mentioned it and the spot is absent in our specimen. Furthermore, Walker (1867a: 137) reported no specimens of Arma crassimargo (Stål) in his catalogue. We therefore believe that Distant made an error in using the label “29. ARMA CRASSIMARGO. ” (it may also have been Walker who had determined it as such after his catalogue had been published and shifted it without recording this shift, as he was wont (see Material and methods—Early type labels). Based on the above findings, we consider that the specimen labelled as Arma crassimargo is a type of Dallas’s Arma pallipes , presumed lost by Thomas. As a consequence to our discovery, Roell et al. (2021b) set aside Thomas’s neotype ( ICZN 1999: Art. 75.8) and from it and other material, described a new species: Podisus thomasi Lemaître, Roell & Brugnera, 2021 . Additionally, Roell et al. (2021b) synonymised Arma pallipe s Dallas to Podisus ventralis (Dallas) and redescribed the species.

Figures

FIGURES 137–144. Type specimens deposited in NHMUK. 137, Neoglypsus opulentus; 138–140, Anasida orientalis; 141, Canthecona ornatula; 142, Stiretrus ornatus; 143–144, Arma pallipes. Scale bars: 4 mm.