Milesiformis fallenii Rondani, 1845

Sforzi, Alessandra & Sommaggio, Daniele, 2021, Catalog of the Diptera types described by Camillo Rondani, Zootaxa 4989 (1), pp. 1-438 : 260

Milesiformis fallenii Rondani, 1845

ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION: 1845a: 454.

TYPE LOCALITY: “Karakås Esperöd [= Äsperöd?— Sweden]” ( Fallén 1817: 52) [type locality for Eristalis milesiformis Fallén, 1817 ].

TYPE MATERIAL: see Remarks.

CURRENT STATUS: junior synonym of Tropidia scita Harris, 1780 ( Peck 1988: 218) .

REMARKS: Rondani (1845a: 454) proposed the new genus name Milesiformis and identified Eristalis milesiformis Fallén, 1817 as the type species. Having used the species epithet for the new genus and thinking that the name Milesiformis milesiformis was incorrect, Rondani erroneously substituted it with Milesiformis fallenii . Milesiformis fallenii has always been considered as a synonym of Tropidia scita Harris, 1780 ( Kertész 1910: 283, Verrall 1901: 95, Bezzi & Stein 1907: 121, Sack 1932: 367, Peck 1988: 218), and never as a valid species. The type material for Milesiformis fallenii will be the same as for the name it was proposed to replace, i. e., Eristalis milesiformis . Four “possible types ” of this latter species are in the NHRS where Fallén’s collection is preserved ( Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet 2020). The subsequent spelling “ falleni ” has been used (e.g., Peck 1988: 218) but it is not in prevailing usage ( Kertész 1910: 283, Verrall 1901: 95, Bezzi & Stein 1907: 121, Sack 1932: 367, O’Hara et al. 2011: 209). Therefore, the original spelling “ fallenii ” is to be used and “ falleni ” is an incorrect subsequent spelling.