Nebraspis aureomarginata ( Boheman, 1857 ), 2016

Sekerka, Lukáš, 2016, Taxonomic and nomenclatural changes in Cassidinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 56 (1), pp. 275-344 : 329-330

Nebraspis aureomarginata ( Boheman, 1857) stat. restit. & comb. nov.

Mesomphalia aureomarginata Boheman, 1857: 58 (original description).

Nebraspis viridimetallica Borowiec, 1999b: 427 (original description), syn. nov.

Type localities. Mesomphalia aureomarginata : ‘Montevideo’; Nebraspis viridimetallica : Argentina: Entre Rios.

Type material examined. Mesomphalia aureomarginata : LECTOTYPE (present designation), pinned (right antenna partly broken), ‘Mvid [g, hw, s] || Type [w, p, s, c, rf] || Monte Video [hw] | ex Deyrolle [hw] | Baly Coll. | 1905—54. [w, p, cb] || Mesomphalia | aureomarginata | Boh | Monte Video [w, hw by Baly, cb] || Type Boh | Col: Deyrolle [hw by Baly on underside of preceding label]’ ( BMNH).

Nebraspis viridimetallica : HOLOTYPE: examined, but labels not recorded ( DBET).

Remarks. BOHEMAN (1857) described Mesomphalia aureomarginata from the material of Deyrolle, which latter purchased by J. S. Baly. This taxon was enigmatic to subsequent authors and SPAETH (1914) informally synonymized it with Stolas festiva (Klug, 1829) as he considered M. aureomarginata an aberration of the latter species. However, he most likely based his act on primary description only as the actual type specimen of M. aureomarginata was unknown to subsequent authors and the taxon was listed only in catalogues (see BOROWIEC 1999a). BOHEMAN (1857) did not mention how many specimens he had at his disposal. However, he presumably had just a singleton, as he gave a single length measurement and did not keep a duplicate. Nevertheless, Deyrolle was a famous insect dealer and it is possible that he actually had more specimens. I therefore designate the BMNH specimen as lectotype in order to conserve its identity for the purpose of the new synonymy.

BOROWIEC (1999b) described Nebraspis viridimetallica Borowiec, 1999 as a third species of that genus distinctly separated from its two congeners by the metallic elytra and noted its superficial similarity in colouration to the species of S. festiva species-group. However, this taxon is identical to M. aureomarginata . Therefore I restore species status of the latter, transfer it to the genus Nebraspis Spaeth, 1913 and synonymize N. viridimetallica with it.

Distribution. Argentina: Entre Rios ( BOROWIEC 1999b, 2009c) and Uruguay ( BOHEMAN 1857).