Anisotoma obsoleta ( Horn, 1880 ), 2008

Majka, Christopher & Langor, David, 2008, The Leiodidae (Coleoptera) of Atlantic Canada: new records, faunal composition, and zoogeography, ZooKeys 2 (2), pp. 357-402 : 386-387

Anisotoma obsoleta ( Horn, 1880) – revalidated name

[syn. nov. Anisotoma horni Wheeler, 1979 ]

NEW BRUNSWICK: Charlotte Co.: St. George , 5.VII.1963, R.C. Clarke, window trap, (1, CFNL) ; Kent Co.: Kouchibouguac National Park , 16.IX.1977, A. Smetana, (1, CNC) ; Kouchibouguac National Park, 7.VI.1977, J.R. Vockeroth, (1, CNC). NEWFOUNDLAND: Baie Verte , 7.IX.1988, P. Dixon, malaise trap, (1, CFNL). NOVA SCOTIA: One hundred and sixty-five specimens from Colchester , Guysborough , Halifax , Inverness , Queens , Victoria , and Yarmouth counties were examined. The earliest record is from 1970 (Colchester Co.: Glenholm, 3.VI.1970, P. Doleman, (1, NSMC)) .

Anisotoma obsoleta is newly recorded from Newfoundland and Nova Scotia ( Fig. 8 ). It was listed as occurring in New Brunswick by Peck (1991). Adults have been found between April and December in stumps and forest litter. Slime mold hosts include Stemonitis axifera , S. fusca , S. splendens , Fuligo septica , and Comatricha nigra ( Wheeler 1979) . In Nova Scotia, it was collected in red spruce, hemlock, red maple/red oak/ birch, and mixed coastal forests.

Wheeler (1979) proposed the name Anisotoma horni for A. obsoleta (Horn) [described by Horn (1880) in the genus Leiodes and later transferred to Anisotoma by Brown (1937b)] in the belief that the name was preoccupied by “ Leiodes obsoletus ” ( Melsheimer, 1844) . Melsheimer (1844), however, described the species as Pallodes obsoletus [which was later transferred to Neocyrtusa by Brown (1937a) and then to Anogdus by Daffner (1988)]. Pallodes Melsheimer, 1844 , was in turn preoccupied by Pallodes Erichson 1843 , a genus in the Nitidulidae . Consequently, the two names were not then, and are not now, in the same genus, hence there is no need for a replacement name. Therefore the original name, Anisotoma obsoleta (Horn) , must be reinstated as per Article 59.4 of the Code of Zoological Nomenclature ( ICZN 1999). Consequently Anisotoma horni Wheeler is designated as a synonym of A. obsoleta .

Figures

Fig. 8. Distribution of Anisotoma basalis, Anisotoma errans, Anisotoma globososa, Anisotoma obsoleta, and Anisotoma inops in Atlantic Canada.