Tachyancistrocerus komarowi (Morawitz, 1885)

(Fig. 12)

Ancistrocerus komarowi Morawitz 1885: 175, ♀ —[Turkmenistan] “ In territorio transcaspico. Asschabad ” (ZIN).

Pseudonortonia bushirensis Giordani Soika 1943: 1, fig. 1 (1-4), ♂ —“ Persia: Bushire ” (MSNVE).

Pseudonortonia pretiosissima Giordani Soika 1943: 4, fig. 2 (1–3), ♀ —“ N. Assam: Dschaipur ” (MSNVE). Syn. nov.

Tachyancistrocerus komarowi derufata Gusenleitner in Bytinksi-Salz & Gusenleitner 1971: 239, 271, 294, ♀, ♂ —“ Israel … En Gedi ” (holotype female ZMB).

Material examined. HOLOTYPE OF PSEUDONORTONIA PRETIOSISSIMA: ♀, labeled: “Dschaipur / 30.X.-2.XI.29 / Dr. Enslin // ♀ // HOLOTYPUS / Pseudonortonia / pretiosissima / n. sp. / A.Giordani Soika [red label]” (MSNVE). IRAN: Khuzestan, Haft Tapeh, 300 km N of Abadan, Dez river, 29.VI-1.VII.1965, leg. A. Giordani Soika, 1♀ (MSVI). ISRAEL: 2 km SW of Jerucham, 30°58’N 34°54’E, 470 m, 18.IV.2018, leg. A. Kudrna jr., 1♂ (MSVI). PAKISTAN: Karachi, leg. W.D. Cumming, 1♀ (MSVI).

Distribution. Afghanistan, India (Rajasthan), Iran, Israel, Kazakhstan, Oman, Pakistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan (Blüthgen 1955, 1961; Bytinksi-Salz & Gusenleitner 1971; Fateryga et al. 2023; Giordani Soika 1943, 1970; Gusenleitner 1973, 1988, 2006b; Kostylev 1940; Morawitz 1885, 1895; Schmid-Egger et al. 2021).

Notes. Giordani Soika (1943) described Pseudonortonia bushirensis and Pseudonortonia pretiosissima in the same paper, comparing them with the African species of the genus, in particular with P. aegyptiaca (de Saussure) . Later, Blüthgen (1955) synonymized P. bushirensis under Tachyancistrocerus komarowi and stated that the type of P. pretiosissima was probably in Zürich, in the von Schulthess collection. The holotype of P. pretiosissima is found in MSNVE in the Giordani Soika collection, as reported in the original description, and its examination revealed that this species is also actually a synonym of Tachyancistrocerus komarowi . The locality reported on the label is “Dschaipur”, which Giordani Soika (1943) reports to be Jaipur in northern Assam, but which Blüthgen (1955) reports to be in Rajputana based on information obtained from the collector of the specimen, Eduard Enslin. Given the known distribution of the species, the collection locality is undoubtedly that reported by Blüthgen and Enslin, today in the state of Rajasthan.