Pterydrias debilis Reitter, 1895

Batelka, Jan & Hájek, Jiŕí, 2010, Taxonomy and distribution of the genus Pterydrias Reitter and confirmation of its synonymy with Eorhipidius Iablokoff-Khnzorian (Coleoptera: Ripiphoridae: Ripidiinae), Zootaxa 2566 (1), pp. 64-68 : 65-67

Pterydrias debilis Reitter, 1895

( Figs. 1–4 )

Pterydrias debilis Reitter, 1895: 202 (original description); Pic 1927: 68 (distribution); Winkler 1925: 524 (catalogue); Batelka 2007: 169 (systematics, distribution); Batelka 2008: 74 (catalogue); Batelka & Hájek 2009: 769–770 (note).

Type locality. “Akbes, in Syrien” [currently in Hatay province, Turkey], see Remarks below .

Type material. Holotype: ♂ (coll. M. Pic, MNHN), “ Syrien / Haifa / Reitter [white label with black frame, printed] // coll. Reitter [Pic’s handwriting] // Type [Pic’s handwriting] // Pterydrias / m. 1895. debilis / m. Akbes. [Reitter’s handwriting] // TYPE [red label, printed]”.

Additional material examined. ISRAEL: 1♂, Palestine ; 2♂♂, Palestina , Gehatha [= probably Dschebâtâ, ca. 25 km SEE of Haifa], 17.vii.[19]27 (all NHMB) ; 1♂, Ben Shemen , 16.vi.[19]26, S. Tenenbaum leg. ; 1♂, Ben Shemen , 9.viii.[19]26, S. Tenenbaum leg. ; 2♂♂, Ben Shemen , no date, S. Tenenbaum leg. (all coll. M. Pic, MNHN) .

Diagnosis (male). A smaller species, body length 2.4–2.5 mm. Head including mandibles 2.45× as long as high, occiput shortly projected over pronotum, rounded. Distance between posterior margin of compound eye and occipital edge in lateral view 2.0× as long as distance between anterior margin of eye and base of maxillary palp. Antennal cavity narrowly separated from eye. Length of antennomeres vary in different specimens, antennomere II always shortest, antennomeres I and III equal in size, antennomere V always the longest, except for the ultimate antennomere. Maxillary palpomere IV 1.4–1. 5× as long as palpomeres II and III combined. Head notably darker than pronotum, Posterior angles of pronotum obtuse, not acute. Elytra 2.6– 2.9× as long as pronotum 1.

Remarks. Reitter (1895: 203) mentioned a single damaged specimen available for description. Therefore, we consider it to be the holotype. Although Reitter (1895) stated the type locality in the original description to be “Akbes, in Syrien ”, the holotype bears the locality label “ Syrien, Haifa ” [currently in Israel], which was also mentioned by Pic (1927). Because of Reitter’s original handwritten identification label, we have no doubts about the authenticity of the type specimen. We assume that Reitter most probably confused the locality in the description and on the identification label. Moreover, the attached label with locality “ Haifa ” is in accordance with additional Pterydrias material so far collected in Israel / Palestine while no other specimens are available from neighbouring countries. Therefore, we hereby emend the type locality of P. debilis from Akbes, Turkey to Haifa, Israel.

Collection circumstances. Unknown for the type specimen. However, because the specimens from Ben Shemen are covered with numerous scales from lepidopterous wings, we assume them to be collected at light, which is in accordance with information presented by Iablokoff-Khnzorian (1986) for P. januschevi .

Distribution. Known only from several localities in Israel.

Figures

FIGURES 1–4. Details of Pterydrias debilis. 1. Holotype, habitus (2.3 mm) and labels; 2–4. Specimens from Ben Shemen. 2. Habitus, lateral (2.3 mm); 3. Head, lateral; 4. head and pronotum, dorsal. Scale bar = 0.5 mm.