Lygaeus simla Distant

Kondorosy, El Ő D, Lyal, Christopher Henry Coutts & Webb, Michael Donald, 2006, Nomenclatorial changes in Oriental Lygaeinae seed bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Lygaeidae), Zootaxa 1383, pp. 45-56 : 53

Lygaeus simla Distant

L. simla Distant, 1909: 319 ; Slater, 1964: 100.

New placement: junior synonym of T. leucopterus ( Goeze, 1778) , syn. nov.

Material examined. Syntype ɗ Lygaeus simla Distant , with the following labels: 1. Museum circular red-margined type label, with “ TYPE ” pr; 2. “ Lygaeus simla Dist. type ” hwr; 3. “N. A. Matiana 8000 ft. Simla Hills” pr; 4. “Distant Coll. 1911 – 383.” pr.

Remarks. Originally described from an unspecified number of specimens from “ Simla Hills; Matiana (Annandale).”. The type of this species very clearly belongs to the genus Tropidothorax , because of the structure of its pronotum and scutellum (median ridges on the anterior lobe of pronotum and on scutellum without a transverse elevation on scutellum forming a “T” with the ridge). As there is no substantial difference between L. simla and the wide-spread species T. leucopterus (Goeze) , the two are here synonymised. The type of leucopterus has not been studied, but as it is the only species of the genus in the West Palaearctic subregion its identity is not in question.