Podisus fuscescens, (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 : 41

fuscescens (Arma) Dallas 1851: 102. [ Fig. 69 ]

Original data: “ ♀ ”; “a. MeXico.” [syntype (s)]

LECTOTYPE ♀ (designated by Distant 1880: 38): purple-margined lectotype disc; red-margined type disc; “ Mexico / 48 11”; “7. ARMA FUSCESCENS ,”; “a”; “NHMUK 010592323”. Right fore wing, fourth and fifth right and left antennomeres, left legs, and posterior right leg missing ( Fig. 69 ).

Current status: Podisus fuscescens ( Dallas, 1851) ( Thomas (1992: 87) had synonymised Arma fuscescens Dallas to Podisus sagitta (Fabricius, 1794) , Brugnera et al. (2020a: 550) revalidated the species).

Note: From Dallas’s original description, we do not know whether Dallas had one or more specimens, only the sex: female. Walker (1867a: 134) listed one specimen from Mexico, from Mr. Argent’s collection, Dallas had not mentioned the donor. We have found only one specimen in the collection but cannot be sure it was the only one Dallas had (although it is likely as Dallas had stated only one measurement and noted: “Antennae slender, testaceous, with apex of the fourth joint dusky (fifth wanting).” [emphasis ours]). Distant (1880: 38) stated: “The figure [Tab. IV. fig. 20] is from the type in the collection of the British Museum.” [emphasis ours]. We accept Distant’s mention of “the type”, together with the associated figure, 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: 88) also examined and detailed “the type”.

Figures

FIGURES 65–72. Type and non-type specimens deposited in NHMUK. 65–67, Strachia frontalis; 68, Anasida funebris; 69, Arma fuscescens; 70, Podisus gaumeri; 71–72, Arma grandis. Scale bars: 4 mm.