Galleruca avicenniae Fabricius, 1792

Roie, Martijn Van, Kuhlmann, Michael, Mack, Anne & Konstantinov, Alexander, 2024, Fabrician types of new world Oedionychina Chapuis, 1875 (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Alticini) deposited in the Zoological Museum of Kiel University collections with notes on Fabrician types of other collections and new combinations for species formerly placed in the subtribe, European Journal of Taxonomy 920 (1), pp. 1-60 : 19

Galleruca avicenniae Fabricius, 1792

Fig. 11

avicenniae Fabricius, 1792: 18 (Americae meridionalis Avicenniis).

Material examined

Syntype

COUNTRY NOT INDICATED ON SPECIMEN • ♀; “ avicenniae / TYPE”; Kiel.

Status in Zimsen (1964)

P. 109 No.1692. “in Americae meridionalis Avicenniis Dr. Isert” Kiel 1 specimen.

Original description

“G. ferruginea elytris cyaneis. Habitat in Americae meridionalis Avicenniis Dr. Isert. Parva. Antennae nigrae basi ferrugineae. Caput & thorax laevia, ferruginea, nitida, immaculata. Elytra laevia, cyanea, nitida. Corpus & pedes ferruginea.”

Current status avicenniae ( Fabricius, 1792) incertae sedis Galerucini Latreille, 1802 .

Measurements

Syntype ( Fig. 11 ): LB = 5.21 mm; WB = 2.82 mm.

Remarks

The syntype housed in Kiel corresponds with the original description. However, it is clearly not an Alticine and belongs to Galerucini based on the thin metafemora missing metafemoral spring. Why this species was included in Oedionychina is difficult to trace. Illiger (1807: 83) noted in a footnote that Galleruca avicenniae should be included in the genus Haltica Geoffroy, 1762 (now a synonym of Altica Geoffroy, 1762 ), after a comment from Count von Hoffmansegg while visiting the collection of Count von Hagens in Berlin. Heikertinger & Csiki (1940: 439) included this species as Oedionychus avicenniae , effectively including in Oedionychina . The rationale behind this decision is unknown, but potentially because the footnote in Illiger (1807) including Galleruca avicenniae was on the same page with three species obviously belonging in Oedionychina (current combinations: Ciguapanychis bicolor (Linnaeus, 1767) , Kuschelina thoracica (Fabricius, 1775) and Kuschelina vians ( Illiger, 1807)) .

Figures

Fig. 11. Galleruca avicenniae Fabricius, 1792, syntype, ♀ (Kiel). A. Dorsal view. B. Ventral view. C. Lateral view. D. Frontal view. E. Labels. Scale bars = 1 mm.