Caenis oophora F.-J. Pictet, 1843

Caenis oophora F.-J. Pictet, 1843 -1845: 284-285, pl. 45, fig. 4.

Caenis macrura (Stephens, 1836) . – Ulmer, 1921: 248 (synonymization).

Accepted name: Caenis oophora F.-J. Pictet, 1843 nom. dub.

Locus typicus: “… originaire de Sardaigne ”.

Type material: NMW; holotype [by monotypy], ♀ [subimago]; Caenis macrura Stephens, female subimago / Dhl. a. c. [= Dahl, alte collection?] / Pictet vidit .

Remarks: The type specimen, denoted “femelle imago” by F.-J. Pictet, corresponds with his description and illustration. It had presumably been collected by Georg Dahl (1769-1832), naturalist and dealer in natural history specimens, who collected in Sardinia and whose respective material was acquired by the NMW in 1826. Ulmer (1921: 248) mentioned two female specimens with F.-J. Pictet’s label, originating from Sardinia, but Pictet (1843) expressly mentionned that he examined only one specimen: “L’individu que j’ai eu à ma disposition...”. The second specimen, with protruding eggs and labelled “Pictet vidit” (but without collector’s label or locality) which corresponds with Ulmer’s description, was doubtfully identified as “ C.? luctuosa (Burm.) det. Malzacher 1983”. Another female specimen, labelled “ C. oophora Pict. Sardinien (Mann) [probably Kollar’s handwriting] / Pictet vidit” does not correspond with F.-J. Pictet’s description and was probably subsequently identified by Kollar, but it had not been examined by F.-J. Pictet. It had either been obtained from or collected by Josef Johann Mann (1804-1889), who travelled Corsica in 1855 and Sicily in 1858 (Rogenhofer, 1889). In the light of this poor and contradictory evidence, the name C. oophora Pictet, 1843 is probably best considered a nomen dubium.