Rhamphus kiesenwetteri Tournier, 1873

Caldara, Roberto, Toševski, Ivo, Mendel, Howard & Germann, Christoph, 2022, In search of some type-specimens of Rhamphus [Clairville], 1798 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), Zootaxa 5169 (4), pp. 371-380 : 377-378

Rhamphus kiesenwetteri Tournier, 1873

Rhamphus kiesenwetteri Tournier, 1873: 188

Rhamphus kiesenwetteri was described by Tournier (1873) based on specimens reported as collected in Sicily by the botanist brothers Huet de Pavillon, but never found subsequently on this island. Peyerimhoff (1931) pointed out that this species, which lives on Acacia , is widely distributed in northern Africa but is a stranger to the European fauna. This author believed that there was a confusion of locality in the original description. This opinion was accepted by Pesarini and Diotti (2012) and Germann and Colonnelli (2018), mainly on the basis of the host plant. However, whereas it is certain that this species is not indigenous to Sicily ( Baviera and Caldara 2020), it remains possible that a plant with immature stages, or R. kiesenwetteri itself, could have been transported from Africa to Sicilian gardens, where many species of Acacia have been present for many years ( Bazan et al. 2005) and where the brothers Huet de Pavillon could perhaps have collected them during travels in Calabria and Sicily as reported by Tournier (1873). It is noteworthy that until a few years ago, the recently described Sicilian taxon R. bavierai Diotti, Caldara, Toševski, 2021 , was erroneously named R. kiesenwetteri Tournier, 1873 (see Curculio Team 2009). At the end of his description, Tournier (1873) wrote “ Sicile: ma Collection. Je crois me rappeler l’avoir envoyée aux collection de M.M. de Kiesenwetter et Stierlin….” [I think to remember that I sent specimens to Kiesenwetter’s and Stierlin’s collections].

Currently there are no type specimens of R. kiesenwetteri in Tournier’s collection at the MNHN (H. Perrin, pers. comm.), but we found a syntype of it ( Fig. 3C ) in Stierlin’s collection at SDEI, already studied by Korotyaev (1994) and labelled “ Sicile [handwritten probably by Tournier]/coll. Stierlin [printed]/ Syntypus [printed on a red card] R. Kiesenwetteri Tourn. Tourn. [sic! The repetition of the name might signify “received by Tournier”] [handwritten by Stierlin on a card with blue edges]/DEI Müncheberg Col-03390”. These labels completely correspond with the original description. We designate it as the lectotype of this taxon adding the following red card with printed text “ LECTOTYPE Rhamphus kiesenwetteri Tournier Caldara & Toševski des.”

Figures

FIGURE 3. Habitus and labels of: (A). Curculio oxyacanthae Marsham, 1802, neotype; (B). Rhamphus flavicornis [Clairville], 1798, neotype; (C) Rhamphus kiesenwetteri Tournier, 1873, lectotype.