Polyphaga syriaca, Saussure, 1864 a: 346

Hollier, John, Marshall, Judith & Legendre, Frédéric, 2020, An annotated list of the Blattodea (Insecta) described by Henri de Saussure. Part 1: the Corydiidae, Revue suisse de Zoologie 127 (2), pp. 341-348 : 347

syriaca Saussure, 1864a: 346 [ Polyphaga ]

Syria. Unspecified number of ♂.

There is one ♂ specimen in the MHNG collection (MHNG- ARTO-20595) with labels: “ Syrie, ♂ ” [handwritten on ruled white card]; “ Arenivaga Africana Africana (L.)” [handwritten on blue paper]: “Possible syntype of P. syriaca Saussure Hollier 2019 ” [handwritten on red paper]. The specimen is directly pinned, with the wings folded. There is insect feeding damage to the base of the abdomen and the femur of the left hind leg. Four tarsal segments of the left front leg and the entire right hind leg are missing. This specimen was placed with many others in the MHNG collection under the name Arenivaga africana africana (L.). The only other ♂ among them has a data label with an acquisition number showing that it entered the collection as “ Heterogamia ursina Burm. ” from the collection of Guérin-Méneville. The very simple data label of specimen MHNG-ARTO-20595 suggests that it may be a syntype of Polyphaga syriaca Saussure. Box Blattodea 61.

A junior synonym of Hemelytroblatta africana africana ( Linnaeus, 1758)