Platynopus scutellatus, (Platynopus)

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 : 77

scutellatus (Platynopus) Distant 1900a: 57. [ Fig. 179 ]

Original data: “ Hab. Upper Congo, Bopoto (Coll. Dist).” [syntype (s)]

SYNTYPE ♀: blue-margined syntype disc; “Bopoto Upper Congo ”; “ scutellatus Dist. [Distant’s handwriting]; “Distant Coll. 1911–383.”; “NHMUK 010592436”. Fifth right and left antennomeres missing ( Fig. 179 ) .

Current status: Platynopiellus scutellatus (Distant, 1900) (see Thomas 1994: 194–195).

Notes: Thomas (1994: 195) did not mention any type in his material examined. This may be because the specimen was not marked as type prior to this study and possibly because Distant had not distinguished it as such by writing the word “type” on its label, as was his usual practice. This urged us to query at what point Distant had added this indication on his determination labels (see Material and methods—Early type labels). The implications of this study being that when Distant has mentioned the type in the original description and given a specimen a type label in the collection, it may be claimed that Distant has designated a holotype in the original description.

Figures

FIGURES 177–184. Type and non-type specimens deposited in NHMUK. 177, Podisus sculptus; 178, Bodetria scutellaris; 179, Platynopus scutellatus; 180–181, Mormidea semialba; 182–183, Platynopus semiscitus; 184, Platynopus silvaticus. Scale bars: 4 mm.