A new synonymy in Alitocoris Sailer (Hemiptera, Pentatomidae, Discocephalinae)

SHORT COMMUNICATION

A new synonymy in Alitocoris Sailer (Hemiptera, Pentatomidae, Discocephalinae)

Thereza de Almeida Garbelotto^I; Luiz Alexandre Campos^I; Jocélia Grazia^I,II

^IPrograma de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Animal, Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves 9500, 91501-970 Porto Alegre-RS, Brasil. [e-mail]; [e-mail]

^IICNPq fellow. [e-mail]

ABSTRACT

A new synonymy in Alitocoris Sailer (Hemiptera, Pentatomidae, Discocephalinae). Alitocoris manni Sailer is considered a junior synonym of Alitocoris brunneus Sailer after the comparison of the holotypes with specimens from Mexico, El Salvador and Honduras.

Keywords: Heteroptera; Ochlerini; stink bug; taxonomy.

RESUMO

Uma nova sinonímia em Alitocoris Sailer (Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Pentatomidae). Alitocoris manni Sailer é considerada sinônimo junior de Alitocoris brunneus Sailer após comparação dos holótipos com espécimes do México, El Salvador e Honduras.

Palavras-chave: Heteroptera; Ochlerini; percevejo-do-mato; taxonomia.

Sailer (1950) described Alitocoris based on five species from Central America: A. schraderi Sailer, 1950 (Guatemala and Costa Rica), A. maculosus Sailer, 1950 (Guatemala), A. brunneus Sailer, 1950 (Honduras), A. manni Sailer, 1950 (Guatemala), and Macropygium parvum Distant, 1880 (Panama); A. schraderi was designated as the type-species. Sailer (1950) considered A. manni very similar to A. brunneus in size, shape and structure, and compared both species to A. parvus (Distant), from which they were distinguished mainly by characteristics of genitalia. However, males were unknown for A. manni, while females were unknown for A. brunneus.

The genus and its species received little attention after the original descriptions. Rolston (1992) diagnosed Alitocoris without further considerations on the species. Campos & Grazia (2006) listed the species of Ochlerini known at that time, including those of Alitocoris.

The examination of additional specimens and comparison with photographs of the holotypes deposited in the National Museum of Natural History (USNM numbers 59344 and 59345), allowed us to confirm that males of A. brunneus (Figs. 1–4) and females of A. manni (Figs. 5–8) are, in fact, conspecific. Among the specimens studied are males and females collected at the same locality in El Salvador, and even at the same locality and date in Mexico.

Considering that precedence between the two names cannot be objectively determined and priority cannot be applied (article 23.1), A. manni is herein assigned as a junior synonym of A. brunneus,in accordance to the statement of the first reviser (article 24.2.2) of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN 1999). Alitocoris brunneus is chosen as senior synonym because it is represented by a male holotype, which bears a larger set of diagnostic characters when compared with the female holotype of A. manni. Characteristics of the male genitalia in pentatomids are often more diagnostic than those of female, and the correct identification of Discocephalinae species is frequently possible only by male characters, such as in Paralincus Rolston (Rolston 1983) and in Antiteuchus Dallas (Fernandes & Grazia 2006).

Alitocoris brunneus Sailer, 1950

Alitocoris brunneus Sailer, 1950: 74–75, plate 3 (figs. 6, 9, 19); Campos & Grazia, 2006: 153 (list).

Alitocoris manni Sailer, 1950: 75, plate 3 (figs. 7, 10, 15); Campos & Grazia, 2006: 153 (list) syn. nov.

Distribution. Mexico (new record), Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador (new record).

Material examined. Specimens used in this study (nine males and nine females) were loaned from the following collections, acronyms are according to Evenhuis (2010): American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), California Academy of Sciences (CAS), Donald B. Thomas Collection (DBTC), John E. Eger Collection (JEE), State Biological Survey of Kansas (KSBS), Florida State Collection of Arthropods (FSCA).

MEXICO, Tamaulipas: 1 female, El Encino (El Cielito), 28-30.VIII.1985, E. G. & T. J. Riley, [23.1333; -99.1167], collected at Mercury Vapor & Blacklight, Alitocoris manni Sailer Det. D. A. Rider 1987 (JEE); San Luis Potosi: 1 female, Tamazunchale, 19.IV.1963, W. J. Gertsch & W. Ivie, [21.2667; -98.7833], Alitocoris sp. LHR 1972, Alitocoris manni Sailer, 1950 Campos det. 1999 (AMNH); 1 male, Tamazunchale, 25.V.1974, C. W. O'Brien & G. B. Marshall, [21.2667; -98.7833], at light, Alitocoris manni Sailer det. J. E. Eger, 2004 (JEE); 3 females and 2 males, Tamazunchale, 25.V.1974, C. W. O'Brien & G. B. Marshall, [21.2667; -98.7833], at light (JEE); 1 male, El Salto (Rio Salto), 12.VI.1970, R. E. Beer & Party, [23.7333; -100.9167], Alitocoris manni Sailer det. D. A. Rider 1986 (KSBS); 1 male, El Salto (nr. Antíguo Morelos), 29.VI.1953, D. Rockefeller Mex. Exp. 1953 C. & P. Vaurie, [23.7333; -100.9167], Alitocoris brunneus Sailer det. H.R. (AMNH); Veracruz-Llave: 1 female, Coatzacoalcos, 11.VIII.1966, J. & W, Ivil, [18.1500; -94.4167], Alitocoris manni Sailer det. L. H. Rolston 1987 (AMNH); Chiapas: 1 male, (RD to Apic-Pac, 35km N Ocozocoautla), 13.V.1990, D. B. Thomas, [16.7667; -93.3667], Alitocoris brunneus Sailer, 1950 Campos det. 1999 (DBTC); 1 male, Ocozocoautla (853m), 20.V.1972, D. E. Breedlow, [16.7667; -93.3667], at black light, H. Brailovsky A. det. Alitocoris manni Sailer (CAS); 1 female and 1 male, Ocozocoautla (853m), 20.V.1972, D. E. Breedlow, [16.7667; -93.3667], at black light (CAS). HONDURAS, Francisco Morazán: 1 female, (6km SE El Zamorano, 850m), 17.V.1994, H. & A. Hawden, [14.0167; -87.0333], thorn scrub, at light, Alitocoris manni Sailer, 1950 Campos det. 1999 (DBTC). EL SALVADOR, La Libertad: 1 female, Santa Tecla (900m), 18.V.1971, S. & L. Steinhauser, [13.6769; -89.2797], No. B198, Alitocoris manni Sailer LHR 1984 (FSCA); 1 male, Santa Tecla (900m), 6.V.1972, S. & L. Steinhauser, [13.6769; 89.2797], No. B280 (FSCA).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors are thankful to Dr. T. J. Henry (National Museum of Natural History, USA) for the photographs of the types of A. brunneus and A. manni, and to the curators of the collections for the loan of specimens, especially to Dr. J. E. Eger (Dow Agro Sciences, USA).

Received 12/7/2010;

accepted 6/1/2011

Editor: Daniela Maeda Takiya

• Campos, L. A. & J. Grazia. 2006. Análise cladística e biogeografia de Ochlerini (Heteroptera, Pentatomidae, Discocephalinae). Iheringia, Série Zoologia 96: 147163.
• Evenhuis, N. L. 2010. The insect and spider collections of the world website. Available at: http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/codens/(accessed 12 June 2010).
• Fernandes, J. A. M. & J. Grazia. 2006. Revisão do gênero Antiteuchus Dallas (Heteroptera, Pentatomidae, Discocephalinae). Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 50: 165231.
• ICZN. 1999. International Code of Zoological Nomenclature 4ed., London, The Natural History Museum, xxix+306 p.
• Rolston, L. H. 1983. The genus Paralincus (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae). Journal of the New York Entomological Society 91: 183187.
• Rolston, L. H. 1992. Key and diagnoses for the genera of Ochlerini (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae: Discocephalinae). Journal of the New York Entomological Society 100: 141.
• Sailer, R. I. 1950. Alitocoris, a new genus of Pentatomidae (Hemiptera). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 52: 6976.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  02 May 2011
• Date of issue
  Mar 2011

History

• Accepted
  06 Jan 2011
• Received
  12 July 2010