Hyperaspis pantherina Fursch, 1975

Leeper, John R., 2014, Nomenclatural and Taxonomic Notes on Names of Hawaiian Coccinellidae (Coleoptera), Proceedings of the Hawaiian Entomological Society 46, pp. 1-7 : 3

Hyperaspis pantherina Fursch, 1975 .

The inclusion of Hyperaspis pantherina Fursch in this paper is to clarify any confusion that may exist over the use of this name in place of Hyperaspis jocosa (Mulsant) in Hawaiian literature. The species was first introduced into Hawaii from Mexico in 1908 as H. jocosa ( Mulsant 1850) ( Kotinsky 1909) . In 1948 the species was introduced to Kenya from Hawaii as H. jocosa (LePelley 1959) . Fursch (1975), in Kenya, determined that the species had been misidentified at the

time of its introduction into Hawaii and further determined that it was an entirely new species which he named Hyperaspis pantherina . First use of H. pantherina in Hawaiian literature appears to be by Nishida (2002: 51).

Justification: Booth et al. (1995) provided a detailed taxonomic history of the species that justifies its validity of H. pantherina . In summary, they state that studies “have shown that a history of misidentifications has prevailed” which included Gorham’s (1894) description and naming of the species under H. jocosa which they speculate contributed to the misidentification by early Hawaiian entomologists.

Names Used in Hawaii: Leeper (1976: 295) treated this species as Hyperaspis jocosa (Mulsant) . This was the only name found in Hawaiian literature prior to Nishida (2002: 51).