Stiretrus ruficeps, (Stiretrus)

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 : 76

ruficeps (Stiretrus) Dallas 1851: 79–80. [ Fig. 172 ]

Original data: “ ♀ ”. “a. Honduras. From Mr. Dyson’s Collection. ” [syntype (s)]

LECTOTYPE ♀ (designated by Distant 1880: 27): purple-margined lectotype disc; red-margined type disc; “ Honduras / 45 123”; “13. STIRETRUS RUFICEPS ,”; “a”; “NHMUK 010592387”. Fourth and fifth right and left antennomeres, and legs (except the left anterior leg) missing. Abdomen partially disjointed from thorax ( Fig. 172 ).

Current status: Stiretrus anchorago ( Fabricius, 1775) (probably synonymised by Thomas 1992: 110, although there is no mention of a new synonymy.).

Note: From Dallas’s original description, we do not know whether Dallas had one or more specimens, only the sex: female. Walker (1867a: 115) listed one specimen from the same provenance and we have found only one specimen in the collection but cannot be sure it was the only one Dallas had. Distant (1880: 27) noted: “The specimen figured is from Mexico, and varies from the type in having only the apical halves of the fore tibiae bluish black.” [emphasis ours]. We accept Distant’s mention of “the type” as a valid lectotype designation before 2000 ( ICZN 1999: Art. 74.5); his marking the specimen by a red-margined “Type” disc as he arranged the 63 Pentatomidae drawers in 1899–1900 ( Hampson 1906: 627) confirms which specimen was meant. Thomas (1992: 110) also examined and detailed “the type”.

Figures

FIGURES 169–176. Type specimens deposited in NHMUK. 169, Strachia reciproca; 170–171, Picromerus robustus; 172, Stiretrus ruficeps; 173, Dolycoris rutherfordi; 174, Oplomus rutilus; 175, Strachia saturata; 176, Podisus sculptus. Scale bars: 4 mm.