Mordellistena picipes Costa, 1854: 18, stat. restit.

(Fig. 9)

Type locality. “Adiacenze di Napoli” [adjacency of Naples], Italy.

Material examined. Lectotype by present designation (Fig. 9), male (?), MZFN: new box, labelled: “42.3982 | Mordellistena picipes, n. Napoli [original Costa’s label] | LECTOTYPE Mordellistena picipes Costa, 1854 D. Selnekovič des. 2019 [red label]”; pinned.

Diagnostic description of lectotype. Integument black; head with somewhat paler anterior portions; antennomeres 1–4, front legs, middle legs and terminal spines of metatibiae yellowish; hind legs reddish brown; pubescence yellowish. Antennomeres 5–10 ca. 1.50× as long as wide. Lateral carinae of pronotum concave in lateral aspect. Metatibiae with two long oblique lateral ridges. Metatarsomere 1 with two ridges; metatarsomere 2 with one ridge. Outer terminal spine of metatibiae short, ca. 2/3 of width of metatarsomere 1.

Current status. Valid species (stat. restit.).

Remarks. Emery (1876) and all subsequent authors considered Mordellistena picipes as a junior synonym of Mordellistena parvula (Gyllenhal, 1827) . However, a recent re-examination of the lectotype revealed significant differences between M. picipes and M. parvula (type specimen examined, UUZM) in the form of lateral carinae of pronotum and colouration of the legs. Such differences lead us to consider M. (s. str.) picipes a valid species.

Mulsant (1856) listed M. picipes as a variety of M. inaequalis Mulsant, 1856 disregarding the earlier description date of the former. According to the rules of ICZN (1999), M. inaequalis should be treated as a junior synonym of M. picipes . However, we cannot confirm the status here because most of the Mulsant’s Mordellidae types, including those of M. inaequalis, have not yet been found.

The lectotype of M. picipes closely resembles M. pseudoparvula Ermisch, 1956, M. inexpectata Ermisch, 1967 and M. parvuliformis Shchegoleva-Barovskaya, 1930 . Therefore, the validity of these species must be reconsidered in the future.