Xenochalepus (Neochalepus) nigriceps ( Blanchard, 1843 )

Sekerka, Lukáš, 2016, Taxonomic and nomenclatural changes in Cassidinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 56 (1), pp. 275-344 : 300

Xenochalepus (Neochalepus) nigriceps ( Blanchard, 1843)

Odontota nigriceps Blanchard, 1843 :pl.24, Fig. 9 (original illustration); BLANCHARD (1847):211 (original description). Chalepus aeneiceps Pic, 1937: 16 (original description), syn. nov.

Type localities. Odontota nigriceps : ‘Santa-Cruz ( Bolivia)’; Chalepus aeneiceps : ‘ Brésil: Uberaba’.

Type material examined. Chalepus aeneiceps : SYNTYPE: glued, ‘Uberaba | Brésil [w, hw by Pic, s] || Chalepus [w, hw by Pic, s] || Chalepus | aeneiceps | n sp [w, hw by Pic, s] || TYPE [r, p, cb] || Museum Paris | Coll. M.Pic [w, p, cb] || SYNTYPE [r, p, cb] || MNHN | EC2895 [w, p, cb]’ ( MNHN).

Remarks. Odontota nigriceps first appeared as figure on plate published in 1843 while the text description appeared in 1847 ( BLANCHARD 1843, 1847). Its type material is presumably deposited in the MNHN but I was unable to find it during my visit. WEISE (1913) studied additional specimens and transferred it to Xenochalepus Weise, 1910 and this is the generally accepted placement ( UHMANN 1957a, STAINES & RILEY 1994).

During my stay in the MNHN I examined the syntype of Chalepus aeneiceps and found it has a scutellar row of punctures, which is absent in Chalepus Thunberg, 1805 and in fact belongs to Xenochalepus . Moreover, it is identical to additional specimens identified and published as X. nigriceps and also agrees with the original illustration of that species, and I therefore synonymize C. aeneiceps with X. nigriceps .

Distribution. Bolivia: Santa Cruz ( BLANCHARD 1847, WEISE 1913, UHMANN 1957b), Brazil: Minas Gerais ( PIC 1937), Paraguay ( UHMANN 1938).