Arma velata, (Arma), 1868

Roell, Talita, Lemaître, Valérie A., Webb, Michael D. & Campos, Luiz A., 2023, An annotated and illustrated Type Catalogue of the predacious Shieldbugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae: Asopinae) in the Collection of the Natural History Museum, London, Zootaxa 5232 (1), pp. 1-105 : 91

velata (Arma) Walker 1868: 532.

Original data: “Hindostan. In the National Museum at Melbourne.” [syntype (s)]

Current status: Arma velata Walker, 1868 .

Notes: Walker (1868: 532) had separated Arma velata from Arma turbida thus: “Allied to A. turbida , but the spines of the thorax are longer and more acute.” Under the following heading “Species the types of which are not to be found in the British Museum.”, Distant (1900a: 64) placed Arma velata Walker, 1868 , declaring that it should be treated as non existent. Distant (1902: 256), however, noted: “This species, described from Hindostan, is in the National Museum at Melbourne.” Walker (1985) did not list Arma velata in his “List of Hemiptera sent to the Museum of Victoria by F. Walker”.

Atkinson (1888: 183) listed the species as of uncertain position, merely reproducing Walker’s (1868: 532) description. Distant (1902: 256) also listed the species as of uncertain position, noting further: “It is certainly described in the wrong genus, probably does not belong to the Asopinae , and is very possibly a synonym of some other species.”

If the type (s) were to be found in Melbourne, Distant’s (1900a: 64) remark should, obviously, not apply and Distant’s (1902: 256) conclusions could be proved.