Andrena (Simandrena) rhypara Pérez, 1903

Wood, Thomas James, 2023, Revisions to the Andrena fauna of north-western Africa with a focus on Morocco (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 916 (1), pp. 1-85 : 22-24

Andrena (Simandrena) rhypara Pérez, 1903

Fig. 16

Andrena (Simandrena) rhypara Pérez, 1903: 83 , ♀ ( Algeria: MNHN, lectotype by present designation; Fig. 16A–D ).

Andrena (Simandrena) pleione Benoist, 1961: 93 , ♀ ( Morocco: MNHN).

Andrena (Simandrena) palumba Warncke, 1974: 47 , ♀ ( Tunisia: OÖLM). Syn. nov.

Material examined (illustrative)

ALGERIA • ♀, lectotype of A. rhypara ; Alger; MNHN .

ITALY • 1 ♀, paratype of A. palumba ; Siracusa , Sicily; 1–30 Jun. 1938; OÖLM .

MOROCCO • 7 ♂♂, 1330 ♀♀; 40 km S of Guercif ; 15 May 1995; Ma. Halada leg.; OÖLM • 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀; Drâa-Tafilalet, Ouarzazate , N9, Ighrem N’Ougdal ; 2000 m a.s.l.; 18 Apr. 2022; T.J. Wood leg.; TJWC • 1 ♀; High Atlas, 3 km N of Ouirgane ( Marrakech-Taroudant Rd ); 11 Apr. 1983; G.R. Else leg.; NHMUK .

TUNISIA • ♀, holotype of A. palumba ; Sfax environs; OÖLM • 1 ♀; Gabes, 10 km SW of Toujane ; 24 Apr. 2012; C. Sevidy and A. Müller leg.; AMC .

Remarks

Andrena rhypara is instantly recognisable in the female sex among the Simandrena due to the exceptionally broad facial foveae, which occupy the entirety of the space between the lateral ocelli and the compound eyes ( Fig. 16C ). Examination of Warncke’s type material of A. palumba (see https://www.zobodat.at/belege.php) clearly demonstrates conspecificity between the two species. It is surprising that A. palumba was described, as Warncke (1967) correctly associated A. pleione with A. rhypara , but then also wrote that he could not find the type of A. rhypara in Paris ( Warncke 1967: 193). He instead wrote that he inspected a female in the Lausanne collection which he considered to be representative of the species. However, inspection of the specimen in the MNHN collection shows a Warncke identification label along with a lectotype label. Either Warncke re-visited the MNHN collection after 1967 or he forgot that he had examined this specimen, or he examined it but did not recognise it as a syntype, and a subsequent worker added the lectotype label. The specimen itself may automatically be the holotype, as Pérez (1903) described only the female sex and gave ‘Alger’ as the collecting locality. In order to avoid doubt, this specimen is hereby designated as the lectotype, and A. palumba is formally synonymised with A. rhypara .

Distribution

Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Italy (Sicily) ( Gusenleitner & Schwarz 2002).

Figures

Fig. 16. Andrena (Simandrena) rhypara Pérez, 1903, lectotype, ♀ (MNHN). A. Label details. B. Lateral habitus. C. Head, dorsal view. D. Terga, dorsal view.