Chrysis assimilis Dahlbom, 1854

Rosa, Paolo & Xu, Zai-fu, 2015, Annotated type catalogue of the Chrysididae (Insecta, Hymenoptera) deposited in the collection of Maximilian Spinola (1780 - 1857), Turin, ZooKeys 471, pp. 1-96 : 6-8

Taxon classification Animalia Hymenoptera Chrysididae

Chrysis assimilis Dahlbom, 1854 Plate 3

Chrysis assimilis : Dahlbom 1854: 201.

Type locality.

"Habitat in Sicilia et Aegypto. Tria specimina lustravi: unum a D. Grohmann in Sicilia lectum, Mus. Vienn. teste D. Kollar; alterum e Stansnio a D. Loew communicatum, tertium ex Aegypto D. Walt, Mus. D. Spinola".

Material.

Lectotype (here designated) ♀. Chrysis assimilis Spin. D. Waltl. Égypte.

Catalogue Casolari & Casolari Moreno. Chrysis assimilis , 1, 23, 95, 1 (box 51).

Remarks.

Dahlbom (1854) described Chrysis assimilis based on three syntypes. The Egyptian syntype is still in Spinola’s collection. The second syntype is apparently lost. The third syntype from Sicily is housed in NHMW. Chrysis assimilis was considered as a valid species by different authors: Abeille (1879: 41), Gogorza (1887: 51), De Stefani (1888: 138), du Buysson (in André), 1893: 233). However, after publication of Mocsáry’s seminal monograph on cuckoo wasps ( 1889: 183), Chrysis assimilis was considered by most authors as a synonym of Chrysis pumila Klug, 1845.

Mocsáry (1889) placed all the known species relating to the genus Chrysidea Bischoff in synonym with Chrysis pumila ( Chrysis assimilis Dahlbom, Chrysis virgo Abeille, Chrysis tarsata Tournier, and Chrysis persica Radoszkowski), and most authors followed this interpretation ( Dalla Torre 1892: 37; Bischoff 1913: 35; Trautmann 1927: 102; Berland and Bernard 1938: 70; Linsenmaier 1951: 62; Balthasar 1953: 170).

Linsenmaier (1959: 171) recognized different species and subspecies of Chrysidea in Europe and the Mediterranean region and he listed characteristics to identify them. He treated Chrysidea Bischoff as a subgenus of Chrysis Linnaeus and considered Chrysis pumila Klug and Chrysis persica Radoszkowski as valid species, speculated about Chrysis assimilis Dahlbom, 1854, possibly being a synonym of Chrysis persica , and he described a new subspecies Chrysis pumila: ssp. disclusa. A few years later, Linsenmaier (1987: 155) stated that Chrysis pumila sensu auctorum does not occur at the species’ typical locality and consequently suggested synonymizing Chrysis persica and Chrysis pumila . He described the species previously named Chrysis pumila as Chrysis (Trichrysis) pumilionis n. sp. Linsenmaier (1987: 155) and also assigned it the subspecies disclusa Linsenmaier, 1959. This combination is erroneous for nomenclatural reasons, and the name Chrysis disclusa obviously has date priority over Chrysis pumilionis , as already stated by Niehuis (2001: 122). Currently, the species belonging to the Chrysis pumila group are included in the genus Chrysidea Bischoff, 1910 ( Kimsey and Bohart 1991).

We examined both available syntypes of Chrysis assimilis Dahlbom. They belong to two different species: the Egyptian specimen housed in MRSN is a female of Chrysis persica (sensu Linsenmaier 1959 = Chrysis pumila sensu Linsenmaier 1987); the Sicilian specimen housed in the NHMW is a male of Chrysis pumila disclusa (sensu Linsenmaier 1959 = Chrysis pumilionis disclusa sensu Linsenmaier 1987).

Since there is no stability in the species names of the genus Chrysidea , we propose to designate a neotype of Chrysis pumila Klug, 1845 and a lectotype of Chrysis assimilis Dahlbom, 1854.

As neotype of Chrysis pumila Klug, 1845, we designate a male housed in Linsenmaier’s collection. The type locality of Chrysis pumila is Ambukhol, once being in Egypt, nowadays in North Sudan. Since there are no available specimens from the type locality in any visited European museum, the specimen selected as neotype was collected in the closest locality to Ambukhol know to us. Specifically, it was collected in Egypt and bears the following locality label: Aegypten Fayoum H. Suster 9.1948 Coll. Linsenmaier. The designation of this specimen as neotype of Chrysis pumila retains Linsenmaier’s interpretation ( 1987 and following papers) of the species and that most European Hymenopterists adopted. We agree with Linsenmaier’s interpretation of the species, since Chrysis pumila sensu Linsenmaier (1959) seems to be restricted in its occurrence to central and southern Europe. Mocsáry (1909: 406) was the last author to examine Klug’s type of Chrysis pumila in MNHU. We searched for this type together the curator, Dr. Frank Koch, and his assistant, Viola Richter, at the MNHU, but in vain. All taxa deposited at MNHU are registered with an index card that includes information on the type status of each specimen. Klug’s types are registered with a red "T" [Type], except in the case of pumila , which is marked with a "T" written with drawing pencil. The type possibly had been lost already during compilation of the index cards.

As lectotype of Chrysis assimilis Dahlbom, 1854, we designate a specimen housed in the Spinola collection labelled: Chrysis assimilis Spin. D. Waltl Égypte. This designation retains the synonymy of Chrysis assimilis Dahlbom, 1854 and Chrysis pumila Klug, 1845. In fact, a lectotype designation based on the Sicilian type specimen housed at NHMW would have caused nomenclatorial stability in the genus Chrysidea since Chrysis assimilis is the second available name described.

In Europe and in the Mediterranean region, there are currently four known species and one subspecies of Chrysidea : Chrysis asensioi Mingo, 1985 (distribution: Spain, south France, north Italy, Greece); Chrysis disclusa Linsenmaier, 1959 (Spain, south France, Italy, Sicily, north Africa); Chrysis pumila Klug, 1845 (Transpalaearctic: from the Iberian peninsula and northern Africa to China; Afrotropical); Chrysis disclusa pumilionis Linsenmaier, 1987 (Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Macedonia, Morocco, Spain, Switzerland); Chrysis rebecca Morice, 1909 (Palestine, Syria).

Current status.

Chrysidea pumila (Klug, 1845) (synonymised by Mocsary 1887: 13; and transferred by Kimsey and Bohart 1991: 314).