Eupholidoptera ledereri ( Fieber, 1861 ), 1951

Ciplak, Battal, Heller, Klaus-Gerhard & Willemse, Fer, 2009, 2156, Zootaxa 2156, pp. 1-75 : 22

Eupholidoptera ledereri ( Fieber, 1861)

( Figures 15, 60, 106, 152, 196, 237, Appendix)

Thamnotrizon ledereri Fieber, 1861: 196 .

Olynthoscelis ledereri ( Fieber, 1861) : Jacobson 1905: 404.

Pholidoptera ledereri ( Fieber, 1861) : Kirby, 1906:198.

Eupholidoptera ledereri ( Fieber, 1861) Ramme, 1951: 198 .

Type information: Syntypes 1M, 1F, LEBANON, Beirut (“ Aus Beirut in Herrn Lederer‘s Sammlung ”) ( NMW) .

Remarks: This species is only known from the type material from Beirut (though Ramme (1951) wrote Syria be the range) and two males from Lebanon and Israel ( Massa, 1999; see also Katbeh-Bader & Massa 2001). The differences between Eupholidoptera palaestinensis Ramme (1939) and E. ledereri are not distinct and E. ledereri hebraea was originally described by Uvarov (1939) using type material of E. palaestinensis . However, Ramme (1951) accepted both taxa as separate species. Based on specimens examined and data from previous studies it appears that both taxa are diagnosed by two characters: the location of the tooth of the cerci (prebasally in E. ledereri and basally in E. palaestinensis ) and the curvature of the unfused parts of the apical arms of the titillators (outward in E. ledereri and inward in E. palaestinensis ). However, examined material of E. palaestinensis showed that these characters may be variable; e.g. the cercal tooth is sometimes not located just at base (slightly backwards) and the apical arms of the titillators are not distinctly incurved as in the figures given in original description ( Ramme, 1939). Thus, there may be clinal variations in these characters and both taxa may in fact belong to a single species with Thamnotrizon ledereri Fieber, 1861 having priority. However, a proper decision requires further material from the type localities and the whole range of both species.