Pyrellia nigriceps, Macquart, 1851

Pont, Adrian C., 2012, Muscoidea (Fanniidae, Anthomyiidae, Muscidae) described by P. J. M. Macquart (Insecta, Diptera), Zoosystema 34 (1), pp. 39-111 : 75

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.5252/z2012n1a3
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/0387879B-FF89-FFF5-D3D0-FE3CFDED9009
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Pyrellia nigriceps
status

Treatment

nigriceps Macquart, 1851 View in CoL , Pyrellia

Pyrellia nigriceps Macquart, 1851b: 225 ( 1851d: 252) View in CoL . Syntype (s) ♀ (♀), “de l’Océanie” (Oceania), not in MNHN or MHNL, and presumed destroyed.

MATERIAL. — Described from an unspecified number of ♀♀, with no statement as to the depository. No syntypes have been located, nor were any found by Aubertin (1932: 142; 1933: 429).

Under no. 1859 of the Macquart collection in MNHN, there is a ♀ from Brazil that has a Macquart label “ Pyrellia / nigriceps / ♀. Macq. n. sp.”. This has an accession no. 9.43, which refers to a collection made in the Minas Gerais state of Brazil by Claussen. This ♀ cannot be a syntype because the locality is wrong and also because it disagrees fundamentally with Macquart’s description. Macquart writes: “Palpes noirs […] cuillerons blancs […] ailes claires”, whereas this ♀ has orange palpi, outer half of calypters infuscated, and wings with conspicuous dark spots. It has been correctly identified by Albuquerque as Morellia violacea (Fabricius, 1805) (for which the correct name is now Morellia maculipennis (Macquart, 1851)) .

CURRENT IDENTITY. — I have previously discussed this name ( Pont 1973b: 202-204) and have synonymized it with the Australasian Neomyia australis (Macquart, 1848) . This synonymy was first suggested by Aubertin (1933: 142, as Orthellia maronea (Walker, 1849)) . As I pointed out (loc. cit.), the actual specific identity of this name is unimportant as there are older available names for all the Australian muscid greenbottles.