Sphixapata pygmea Rondani, 1859

Sforzi, Alessandra & Sommaggio, Daniele, 2021, Catalog of the Diptera types described by Camillo Rondani, Zootaxa 4989 (1), pp. 1-438 : 211

Sphixapata pygmea Rondani, 1859

ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION: 1859b: 223 (key), 227 (description).

TYPE LOCALITY: “ in collibus agri parmensis [ Parmese hills ( Italy)]” .

TYPE MATERIAL: 1 ♂, holotype (missing right mid-leg) ( MZUF: Box 14): Sphixapata Rndn. / pygmaea [sic!] Rnd., ♂ / 723 / holotype ♂ Sphixapata pygmaea [sic!] Rndn., T. Pape det. , 1986 / Senotainia albifrons (R.), T. Pape det., 1986.

CURRENT STATUS: valid species, as Senotainia pygmea ( Verves 1986: 66) ; junior synonym of Senotainia albifrons (Rondani, 1859) ( Pape 1988: 14, 1996: 134).

REMARKS: Rondani (1859b: 227) described Sphixapata pygmea from just the male sex, without specifying the exact number of specimens, but giving a single measurement of length: “ Rarissimo marem inveni [I found the male very rarely]”. He named the species as “ pigmea ” in his key (p. 223) and description (p. 227) but as “ pygmea ” in the index (p. 242). Acting as First Reviser (according to I.C.Z.N. 1999: Article 24.2.4), Rondani (1868d: 586) determined the correct original spelling as “ pygmea ”. Pape (1988: 14) considered the single male in the MZUF as the holotype.