Andrena (incertae sedis) meripes Friese, 1922

WOOD, T. J., 2024, Further revisions to the Palaearctic Andrena fauna (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae), Zootaxa 5483 (1), pp. 1-150 : 65-67

Andrena (incertae sedis) meripes Friese, 1922

Andrena nigripes Friese, 1914 (nec. Andrena nigripes Provancher, 1895 ): 225, ♀ [ Russia: Siberia , ZMHB, lectotype by present designation] ( Figures 43A–H )

Andrena meripes Friese, 1922: 217 , nom. nov. for A. nigripes Friese, 1914

Andrena (Tarsandrena) palliata Wood, 2023a: 46 , ♀ ♂ [ Mongolia, OÖLM, examined] syn. nov.

Remarks. Andrena meripes has proved an obscure taxon; it was treated as a member of the subgenus Euandrena by Gusenleitner & Schwarz (2002), but not by Osytshnjuk et al. (2008). Surprisingly, this species has long been overlooked as part of the Russian bee fauna (not listed until 2023, Proshchalykin et al. 2017; 2023), despite the fact that it was described from eastern Siberia (Irkutsk) and also eastern Kazakhstan (Djarkent = Zharkent) ( Friese 1914). Examination of material in the ZMHB and DEI revealed three specimens from Irkutsk ( Figure 43 ), and revealed that A. meripes is the senior synonym of A. palliata syn. nov. Wood (2023a) placed A. palliata in the subgenus Tarsandrena Osytshnjuk, 1984 , but provisional data from ultra-conserved element analysis (S. Bossert, T.J. Wood, G. Pisanty, unpublished data) strongly suggest that A. meripes is part of an undescribed subgenus which requires additional characterisation. Andrena meripes therefore has a broader distribution in eastern Siberia, Mongolia, western China, and eastern Kazakhstan. No specimens from Zharkent could be found in either the ZMHB or DEI collections, but the listing of Friese is considered to be accurate.

Material examined. RUSSIA: Irkutsk, 1897, 1♀, leg. Staudinger, ZMHB (lectotype by present designation) ; Irkutsk, 1898, 2♀, leg. Staudinger, DEI (syntypes) (see Wood 2023a for additional examined material under the name A. palliata ) .

Distribution. Kazakhstan, Russia (Eastern Siberia), Mongolia, China (Xinjiang) ( Friese 1914; Wood 2023a).

7) Taxa newly elevated to species status

Figures

FIGURE 43. Andrena (Tarsandrena) nigripes Friese, 1914 nec. Provancher = A. meripes Friese, 1922 lectotype female. A. Label details; B. Habitus, lateral view; C. Face, frontal view; D. Process of labrum, ventral view; E. Head, dorsal view; F. Scutum, dorsolateral view; G. Propodeum, dorsal view; H. Terga, dorsal view.