Natirrica meridionalis Costa, 1854: 19–20

Selnekovič, Dávid & Improta, Roberta, 2020, The type material of Mordellidae described by Achille Costa (Coleoptera Tenebrionoidea), Zootaxa 4803 (1), pp. 42-50 : 48-49

Natirrica meridionalis Costa, 1854: 19–20

( Fig. 12 )

Type locality. “ Calabrie ” and “ Sicilia ”, Italy .

Material examined. Lectotype by present designation ( Fig. 12 ), female (?), MZFN: original box, labelled: “ Natirrica meridionalis A. Cos. [original Costa’s label] | Mordella humeralis var. brunnea [Mulsant’s handwriting] | LECTOTYPUS Mordellistena meridionalis Costa, 1854 D. Selnekovič des. 2019 [red label] | Mordellistena (s. str.) humeralis (Linnaeus, 1758) D. Selnekovič det. 2019”; pinned; antennae and hind legs missing; covered in dirt.

Current status. New junior subjective synonym of Mordellistena humeralis (Linnaeus, 1758) .

Remarks. Natirrica meridionalis was considered as a variety of Mordellistena humeralis by Mulsant (1856), who had seen the type specimen. Later Emery (1876), who had probably also seen the type, listed N. meridionalis as a synonym of Mordellistena neuwaldeggiana ( Panzer, 1796) and this opinion was then followed by all subsequent authors. Re-examination of the lectotype revealed that N. meridionalis is conspecific with M. humeralis (photograph of the type examined, LSUK), and not with M. neuwaldeggiana ( Panzer 1796) .

Figures

FIGURES 1–13. Lectotype labels. 1, Tomoxia bucephala Costa, 1854. 2, Mordella coronata Costa, 1854. 3, Mordella inter- rupta Costa, 1854. 4, Mordella basalis Costa, 1854. 5, Mordella brevicauda Costa, 1854. 6, Mordella perspicillata Costa, 1854. 7, Mordellistena stricta Costa, 1854. 8, Mordellistena purpurascens Costa, 1854. 9, Mordellistena picipes Costa, 1854. 10, Mordellistena confinis Costa, 1854. 11, Mordellistena minima Costa, 1854. 12, Natirrica meridionalis Costa, 1854. 13, Mordella viridescens Costa, 1859.