Micropalpus lythosiophagus Rondani, 1859

Sforzi, Alessandra & Sommaggio, Daniele, 2021, Catalog of the Diptera types described by Camillo Rondani, Zootaxa 4989 (1), pp. 1-438 : 333-334

Micropalpus lythosiophagus Rondani, 1859

ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION: 1859b: 64 (key), 66 (description).

TYPE LOCALITY: “ Firenze [Florence ( Italy)]” (Passerini 1845: 119) [locality for Musca larvarum Linnaeus, 1758 sensu Passerini ; “ in agro parmensi [Parmese territory ( Italy)]” (Rondani 1859: 66) [type locality for Micropalpus lythosiophagus Rondani, 1859 ].

TYPE MATERIAL: 4 ♂♂, syntypes (one partially eaten by dermestids, missing right mid-leg; one missing right mid- and hind-legs; one missing mid-legs) ( MZUF: Box 10): Micropalpus Mcq. / lithosiophagus [sic!] Rnd., ♂ / 508; 4 ♀♀, syntypes (one missing left fore- and right mid-legs; one missing right fore-leg; one missing right midleg) ( MZUF: Box 10): Micropalpus Mcq. / lithosiophagus [sic!] Rnd., ♀ / 508; 1 ♂, 1 ♀, syntypes (slightly covered with mold, missing right mid-leg) ( MZUF: Box E): Micropalpus Mcq. lythosiophagus R., 180, ♂ ♀, Parma / 393 180; 1 specimen, syntype (sex not determinable, missing abdomen), ( MRSN: Box 1756): 19 7 / Parma / Micropalpus lithosiophagus [sic!] Rnd. / Museo di Zoologia della Università Torino, Italia; 1 ♂, syntype ( MSNC: Box DIPTERA Ex collezione Rondani - I): Micropalpus Mcq. lythosiophagus R., 9 ♂ ♀ Parma / Coll. Rondani, scatola n° 1, posiz. A-13 / Museo di Storia Naturale Università di Pisa, Calci ( PI) ex collezione Rondani; 1 ♀, syntype (missing left mid- and both hind-legs, abdomen eaten by dermestids) ( MSNC: Box DIPTERA Ex collezione Rondani - I): Micropalpus lythosiophagus R., ♀ Parm. / Coll. Rondani, scatola n° 1, posiz. A-14 / Museo di Storia Naturale Università di Pisa, Calci ( PI) ex collezione Rondani; 1 ♂, syntype ( MSNPV: Box 97): Micropalpus [sic!] Mcq. lithosiophagus [sic!] R., 61, ♂ ♀, Parma; 1 ♀, syntype ( MZUB: Box 324): 22 21 / Micropalpus [sic!] lithosiophagus [sic!] Rond., ex a. parmensi / lithosiophagus [sic!] Rndn., Parma; 1 ♂, syntype (missing right fore- and mid- legs), 1 ♀, syntype (missing left fore-leg) ( OUMNH General Collection: Box 166.7): syntype / Rondani Type / sec. typ. Rondanii / M. lythosiophagus Ex. Coll. Kow. / Linnaemya lithosiophaga [sic!] (Rondani, 1859) / Verrall-Collin Palaearctic coll. Ox. Uni. Mus. Nat. Hist. ( OUMNH) OUMNH –1967–018 / Tachinidae : Tachininae Linnaemya lithosiophaga (Rondani, 1859) , Palaearctic.

CURRENT STATUS: valid species, as Linnaemya lithosiophaga ( Herting & Dely-Draskovits 1993: 289, Pape et al. 1995: 25, Cerretti 2010: 320); valid species as Linnaemya (Homoeonychia) lithosiophaga ( O’Hara et al. 2020: 635) .

REMARKS: Rondani (1859b: 66) proposed Micropalpus lythosiophagus for Musca larvarum Linnaeus, 1758 sensu Passerini (1845: 131) , which he considered a new species. Carlo Passerini never redescribed the larvae of Musca larvarum , thus Rondani referred to Passerini’s specimens (larvae) and to an unspecified number of specimens of both sexes in his collection. Therefore, the type material should be in the collections of Passerini and Rondani. We found 17 syntypes under the name Micropalpus lythosiophagus in this study (MZUF, MRSN, MSNC, MSNPV, MZUB, OUMNH). No specimen under the name Musca larvarum was found by us in the MSNC where Passserini’s collection is preserved. Rondani described this species as “ lythosiophagus ” but subsequent authors have spelled the name “ lithosiophagus ” ( Brauer & Bergenstamm 1889: 133, Pandellé 1895: 351, Bezzi 1900: 100, Bezzi & Stein 1907: 206, Herting 1974: 4, Herting & Dely-Draskovits 1993: 289, Pape et al. 1995: 25, Cerretti 2010: 320, O’Hara et al. 2020: 635). The spelling “ lithosiophagus ” is in prevailing usage, and thus considered as correct (I.C.Z.N. 1999: Article 33.3.1). Rondani described this nominal species under the generic name “ Micropalpus ”, which is an “incorrect subsequent spelling of Micropalpis Macquart, 1834 ” ( Evenhuis et al. 2016: 85).