Arma spinosa, (Arma)

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 : 79

spinosa (Arma) Dallas 1851: 98. [ Figs 191–192 ]

Original data: “ ♁”; “a. Trenton Falls . Presented by E. Doubleday, Esq.” [syntype (s)]

SYNTYPE ♁: blue-margined syntype disc; “ E. Doubleday. Trenton Falls , New York.”; “41. 5. 17. 86.”; “4. ARMA SPINOSA ,”; “NHMUK 010592454”. Left hemelytron, third to fifth right antennomeres, second to fifth left antennomeres, and right posterior leg missing ( Fig. 191 ) .

NON-TYPE [formerly considered as type] ♀: red-margined type disc; “N. America 63-90-”; “ maculiventris Say N. America.”; “NHMUK 010938717”. Left hemelytron, right antenna, and left fourth and fifth antennomeres missing. Head disjointed from pronotum ( Fig. 192 ).

Current status: Podisus maculiventris (Say, 1831) (synonymised by Uhler in Scudder 1899: 307; see Van Duzee 1904: 71; Schouteden 1907: 72).

Notes: From Dallas’s original description, we do not know whether Dallas had one or more specimens, only the sex: male. Walker (1867a: 134) listed only one specimen with the right data. We have found it. As we cannot be sure that it was the only one Dallas had when he described the species (although it is likely as Dallas stated only one measurement and noted: “Antennae with the two basal joints dusky ferrugineous, the rest wanting ” [emphasis ours]), we consider it a syntype. This, especially as Thomas (1992: 92) did not mention having examined any type for this species, although he thoroughly detailed those he did examine for other species. According to Burks (1975: 139), the specimens Doubleday collected at St John’s Bluff may be variously labelled: “St John’s Bluff”, “ East Florida, Doubleday” and “North America, Doubleday”. The species Arma spinosa is reported by Walker (1985: 11) as having been sent to Museum Victoria by Francis Walker. Therefore, the specimen (number 52829) of this species from N. America listed by Public Library, Museums and National Gallery (Vic.), et al. (1890: 52) may be from the type series. This needs to be further investigated.

Figures

FIGURES 185–192. Type and non-type specimens deposited in NHMUK. 185–187, Cazira similis; 188–189, Picromerus similis; 190, Podisus smithi; 191–192, Arma spinosa. Scale bars: 4 mm.