Geron barbatus Bezzi, 1921

Greathead, David J. & Evenhuis, Neal L., 2004, New species of Bombylioidea in Mario Bezzi’s Unpublished Hungarian Museum Manuscript, Zootaxa 773, pp. 1-56 : 16-17

Geron barbatus Bezzi, 1921

( Fig. 6–7)

34. Geron barbatus 1Ψ, South Africa (Eastern Cape): Willowmore, 20.xi.1906 (H. Brauns). MS page 34.

Bezzi, 1921a: 99 – key and diagnosis; specimens from Cape, O’okiep [1ɗ] & Knysna, x.1916 (L. Péringuey) [2ɗ] in SAMC (numbers of specimens and sexes not specified in this paper but determined from notes in Hesse (1938) – see below).

Bezzi, 1922: 78 – diagnosis; 1 specimen, “Willowmore, 21. Febr. 1905 in Museo Budapestini”.

Bezzi, 1924: 115 – key and description 1ɗ Simonstown, x.1894 (P. de la Garde) the partially exposed genitalia of this specimen resemble those of G. meromelanus (Hesse) .

Hesse, 1938: 952 – description as Amictogeron barbatus from O’okiep male; description (p. 950) of Amictogeron peringueyi Hesse from two males from Knysna – part of Bezzi’s (1921) original type series.

Evenhuis & Greathead, 1999: 38 – treated (in error) Bezzi’s (1921a) and (1924) use of G. barbatus as two separate proposals with separate types and type localities; listed an undetermined number of syntypes in SAMC and two syntypes in MSNM for the 1921 proposal and one syntype in BMNH for the 1924 proposal.

Types: Known from at least six syntypes: SAMC (at least 3), HNHM (1; destroyed), MSNM (1ɗ, Knysna, x.1916 (L. Péringuey); 1Ψ, Caledon, x.1918 (L. Péringuey) but one doubtful) and BMNH (1). The male from O’okiep in SAMC is here designated lectotype.

Remarks: This species was established by Bezzi (1921a) in his key and diagnosis based on specimens from O’okiep and Knysna in SAMC. However, he does not provide the numbers of specimens or their sexes believing that the type specimen was in BMNH. Unfortunately, this type was not published until 1924 and based on different material. The specimens in SAMC mentioned in his 1921 publication are syntypes. Hesse (1938) provided a full redescription (as Amictogeron barbatus ) with figures of the genitalia of the single male from O’okiep. He also described a distinct species, Amictogeron peringueyi , on two males from Knysna, which were the specimens referred to G. barbatus by Bezzi (1921a). Since Amictogeron Hesse has been synonymised with Geron Meigen in which Hesse also proposed a species, Geron peringueyi Hesse, the species described in Amictogeron was renamed Geron hessei Bowden (1974) . The listing of an unspecified number of syntypes in SAMC by Evenhuis & Greathead (1999) requires amending to three syntypes [here = lectotype and 2 paralectotypes] in SAMC.

The syntypes in MSNM are not mentioned in any of Bezzi’s publications. However, the male from Knysna bears the same date as the two males in SAMC and must have been part of the same series and its status is confirmed. The genitalia are exposed and can be seen to be those of G. peringueyi , which Hesse (1938) described from the two specimens from Knysna in SAMC. The female from Caledon cannot be allocated with certainty to either G. barbatus or G. peringueyi , as there are no associated male specimens. Since no specimens from Caledon are mentioned in Bezzi’s publications, the status of the female as a syntype cannot be confirmed.

For stability in the nomenclature the male specimen from O’okiep in SAMC that Hesse (1938) described as A. barbatus (Bezzi) is designated lectotype.