Opisthoscelis Shrader

Hodgson, Chris & Miller, Dug, 2010, A Review of the Eriococcid Genera (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Coccoidea) of South America 2459, Zootaxa 2459 (1), pp. 1-101 : 64

Opisthoscelis Shrader

Opisthoscelis Schrader 1863: 7

Type species: Opisthoscelis subrotunda Schrader 1863: 7 – by subsequent designatation by Fernald 1903: 46.

The only species in this genus currently known from South America is O. prosopidis Kieffer & Jorgensen ( Kieffer & Jorgensen, 1910) . Opisthoscelis currently contains 15 species, all of which are restricted to Australia apart from O. prosopidis , which is known only from the original description from Argentina (Aragon, Alto Pencoso, on Prosopis adesmiodes ). As pointed out by Lizer y Trelles (1939), the species was only placed in this genus tentatively by Kieffer & Jorgensen and, on the basis of the original description and on the distribution of the other species in the genus, Lizer y Trellis did not believe that this species belonged to Opisthoscelis . This was also the view of Hoy (1963). Miller & Gimpel (2000) state that the type status and type designation are unknown, and no depository is known. The original description does have an illustration of the gall and it may be possible in the future to clarify the identity of this species by finding similar galls on Prosopis species in the type locality. Until such time, it is felt best to assume that this species is unidentifiable and that it is unlikely to belong to Opisthoscelis Schrader.