Sarcophaga (Heteronychia) shnitnikovi (Rohdendorf, 1937)

(Figs 74–75)

Pierretia (Eupierretia) shnitnikovi Rohdendorf, 1937: 365 .

Heteronychia (Eupierretia) peckae Verves, 1977: 267, syn. nov.

Heteronychia (Eupierretia) tenupenialis Chao & Zhang, 1988: 77, syn. nov.

Type material examined. Pierretia (Eupierretia) shnitnikovi: Holotype 3: [transliterated from Cyrillic] lesnoj kordon [= strip of forest?], B. / Almatinka Semir. [= Almaty, nr. Bolshaya Almaatinka River] / Shnitnikov 25.VII.28 // Pierretia / shnitnikovi Typus / Rohdendorf det. // Heteronychia / shnitnikovi m. // [blank red label] // [red label] HOLOTYPE 3 / Pierretia / (Eupierretia) / shnitnikovi / Rohdendorf, 1937 / det. D. Whitmore 2007 (ZIN) [holotype in good condition, with terminalia still attached to the abdomen and fully extended]. Paratype 3: Kyrgyzstan, Belovodsk, Sretenka, 31.V.1931, Zimin leg. (ZIN) [terminalia dissected and mounted on slide 18 / 11 (ZIN)].

Heteronychia (Eupierretia) peckae: Holotype 3: [transliterated from Cyrillic] R. Inyl’chek [= Inylchek river] / dol. r. Sary-Djaz / Tjan’ Shan’ [= Tien Shan, Kyrgyzstan] h = 2700 m / Pek 27.VI.1973 // [red label] Holotypus / Heteronychia (Eupierretia) / peckae Verves (ZIN) [holotype in not very good condition, with left hind leg and left tibia and tarsi missing; terminalia detached from abdomen and placed in glycerin in a microvial beneath the source specimen].

Additional material examined. Kyrgyzstan: Ananjevo, Chon-Oluk valley, 1800m, 16.VI.1993, Milko leg., 1 3 (ZMUC); Issyk-kul, 10 km E of Kadzhi-Saj, S. Issyk Kul lake, 1675m, 5.VII.1999, C. Young leg., 1 3 (NHRS); Tien Shan, Kaindy, Naryn, Gorodkov leg., 8.VIII.1969, 2 3 (ZIN, as “ Heteronychia peckae det. Verves”); Talas, Kara Buura, 2300m, 17.VI.1999, C. Young leg., 1 3 (NHRS).

Remarks. Direct comparison of the holotypes allowed me to assess that Heteronychia peckae is a junior synonym of Sarcophaga (H.) shnitnikovi .

Chao and Zhang (1988: 79) based their description of Heteronychia tenupenialis upon a single male from Zhaosu (Xinjiang, China), deposited at IZCAS, which they compared to S. (H.) recta (Rohdendorf, 1937) and S. (H.) porrecta in their differential diagnosis. Even though I did not examine the holotype, their detailed illustration (Chao & Zhang 1988: 77, fig. 3) shows that the terminalia of the new species are identical to those of S. (H.) shnitnikovi (Figs 74–75), hence the synonymy proposed above.

Sarcophaga (H.) shnitnikovi has been confused, in collections, with S. (H.) lejlekensis sp. nov. It is so far recorded with certainty only from Kyrgyzstan and China (Xinjiang).