Leptobium nigricolle nigricolle (WOLLASTON 1862)

Assing, V., 2010, A revision of Leptobium CASEY. VI. A revalidation, a new synonymy, and additional records (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Paederinae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 42 (1), pp. 499-506 : 501-502

Leptobium nigricolle nigricolle (WOLLASTON 1862)

Dolicaon canariensis FAUVEL 1898: 97 ; nov.syn.

Dolicaon wollastoni COIFFAIT 1954: 98 .

M a t e r i a l e x a m i n e d: Canary Islands: F u e r t e v e n t u r a: 1 ex., S Vega de Rio de las Palmas, Risco Blanco , 450 m, 5.I.1990, leg. Báez & Enghoff ( NHMD) ; 2 exs., Jandia: N Morro Jable, Morro de Cavedero , 700 m, 4.I.1990, leg. Báez & Enghoff ( NHMD, cAss). G r a n C a n a r i a: 3 exs., Bco. de Mogán , below Roque Pernal , 350 m, 29.XII.1989, leg. Báez & Enghoff ( NHMD, cAss) ; 1 ex., Bco. de Veneguera , 320 m, 29.XII.1989, leg. Báez & Enghoff ( NHMD) ; 1 ex., 3 km E Guia , 175 m, 2.I.1990, leg. Báez & Enghoff (cAss) .

C o m m e n t: Leptobium canariense was previously treated as a subspecies of L. nigricolle , despite some occasional overlap in the characters distinguishing it from the nominate subspecies ( ASSING 1999). Material studied in the meantime, however, revealed that this overlap is enormous, frequent, and not confined to exceptional cases. Therefore, the previous hypothesis that L. canariense should be distinct on the subspecific level can no longer hold, at least not based on morphological evidence, and L. canariense is placed in synonymy with L. nigricolle nigricolle, together with its junior synonym L. wollastoni .