Apion atratum Gravenhorst, 1807 : 198

Giusto, Carlo, 2015, Neotype designations and nomenclatural actions for Apionidae described by Johann Ludwig Christian Carl Gravenhorst in 1807 (Coleoptera, Curculionoidea), Zootaxa 3986 (5), pp. 597-600 : 598

Apion atratum Gravenhorst, 1807: 198

This species is compared by Gravenhorst with Apion chalybaeum , a name apparently not referable to any species then known.

The examination of the original copy of the author’s book, with his handwritten notes, allows for attribution of this name to Curculio chalybeus , [ Gmelin], 1790, currently placed as a synonym of Aulacobaris coerulescens (Scopoli, 1763) . However, the description of the prothorax of Apion atratum given by Gravenhorst (1807: 198) —“... ohne allen Glanz und durch grobe Punkte rauh ist ... ”—does not fit our present concept of the baridine weevil described by Gmelin (1790: 1759). Despite this and despite the black colour mentioned by Gravenhorst, surely due to grease present on the integument (as sometimes happens), the description of the prothoracic punctation suggests A. atratum to be conspecific with Perapion hydrolapathi (Marsham, 1802) . Therefore, I have decided to designate a specimen of P. hydrolapathi as the neotype of A. atratum . It is a male (fig. 1) labelled: Neustrelitz Fasanerie, 24.7.75, Stäckel / NEOTYPE Apion atratum Gravenhorst, 1807 , C. Giusto des. 2015 / Perapion hydrolapathi (Marsham, 1802) , det. C. Giusto, 2015. Measurements: body length: 2.80 mm, Lr: 0.51 mm, Wmsr: 0.21 mm, Lp: 0.56 mm, Wp: 0.59 mm, Le: 1.99 mm, We: 1.15 mm.

The following new synonymy is proposed: Perapion hydrolapathi (Marsham, 1802) = Apion atratum Gravenhorst, 1807 , syn. n.

Since Wagner (1908) described another Apion atratum from Tanzania, currently placed in Pseudopiezotrachelus Wagner, 1907 , the new replacement name Pseudopiezotrachelus gravenhorsti nom. n., is here proposed for Apion atratum Wagner, 1908 (non Gravenhorst, 1807). The new name is dedicated to the German entomologist, herpetologist and zoologist Johann Ludwig Christian Carl Gravenhorst (Braunschweig, November 14, 1777 – Breslau, January 14, 1857).