Merodon varius Rondani, 1845

Sforzi, Alessandra & Sommaggio, Daniele, 2021, Catalog of the Diptera types described by Camillo Rondani, Zootaxa 4989 (1), pp. 1-438 : 258-259

Merodon varius Rondani, 1845

ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION: 1845f: 258 (key), 262 (description).

TYPE LOCALITY: “ nei colli dell’Italia centrale [in the hills of central Italy]” .

TYPE MATERIAL: 1 ♂, lectotype (terminalia in a microvial pinned below specimen) ( MZUF: Box 2): Merodon Fb. Latr. / varius Rndn. , ♂ / 66 / lectotype [not designated] of Merodon varius Rondani elected 1987 W. Hurkmans / Merodon albifrons Mg. var. varius Rnd. , det. Hurkmans, 1987; 1 ♂, paralectotype (missing head and right hind-leg, terminalia in a microvial pinned below specimen) ( MZUF: Box 2): Merodon Fb. Latr. / varius Rndn. , ♂ / 66 / M. varius Rnd. , det. Hurkmans, 1987 / Merodon albifrons var. varius Rnd. , det. Hurkmans, 1987; 1 ♂, paralectotype (missing head, terminalia in a microvial pinned below specimen) ( MZUF: Box 2): Merodon Fb. Latr. / varius Rndn. , ♂ / 66 / Merodon albifrons Mg. , det. Hurkmans, 1987 / M. albifrons Mg. , des. Hurkmans 1987, non varius ; 1 ♂, paralectotype (missing left fore- and mid-legs, terminalia in a microvial pinned below specimen) ( MZUF: Box 2): Merodon Fb. Latr. / varius Rndn. , ♂ / 66 / Merodon albifrons Mg. , det. Hurkmans, 1987 / M. albifrons Mg. , des. Hurkmans 1987; 3 ♀♀, paralectotypes (one missing right mid-leg) ( MZUF: Box 2): Merodon Fb. Latr. / varius Rndn. , ♀ / 66; 1 ♂, 1 ♀, paralectotypes ( MZUF: Box A): Merodon varius Rndn. , 28, ♂ ♀, Apenn. [= Apennines] / 393 28; 2 ♂♂, paralectotypes ( MRSN): Merodon F. varius Rond. , ♂, Parma; 1 ♂, paralectotype ( MSNC: Box DIPTERA Ex collezione Rondani - I): Merodon varius Rndn. ♂ ♀ Parma / Coll. Rondani, scatola n° 3, posiz. D-4 / Museo di Storia Naturale Università di Pisa, Calci ( PI) ex collezione Rondani; 1 ♀, paralectotype ( MSNC: Box DIPTERA Ex collezione Rondani - I): Merodon varius Rndn. ♀ Parm. / Coll. Rondani, scatola n° 3, posiz. D-5 / Museo di Storia Naturale Università di Pisa, Calci ( PI) ex collezione Rondani; 1 ♀, paralectotype ( MSNPV: Box 99): Merodon varius Rndn. , ♂ ♀, Parma; 1 ♂, paralectotype ( MZUB: Box 320): 20 01 / Merodon varius Rond. , ex a. parmensi / varius Rndn. , ♂, Parma; 1 ♀, paralectotype ( MZUB: Box 320): 20 02 / Merodon varius Rond. , ex a. parmensi. 1 ♂, paralectotype ( OUMNH General Collection: Box 191.9): Type / syntype / M. varius Coll. Big. / Merodon albifrons, Meigen, 1822 , det. Vujić, 2016. 1 ♀, paralectotype ( OUMNH General Collection: Box 191.9): Type / syntype / M. varius Coll. Big. / Merodon albifrons, Meigen, 1822 , det. Vujić, 2016. 1 ♂, 1 ♀, paralectotypes ( OUMNH General Collection: Box 191.9): syntype / M. varius Rdi t. [= typus] Kow. / Rondani typ. / sec. typ. Rondanii / Merodon albifrons, Meigen, 1822 , det. Vujić, 2016;

CURRENT STATUS: junior synonym of Merodon albifrons Meigen, 1822 ( Peck 1988: 166, Belcari et al. 1995a: 16).

REMARKS: Rondani (1845f: 262) described both sexes of Merodon varius without specifying the exact number of specimens and not giving a range of lengths, but presumably from more than one specimen, because he indicated: “ piuttosto comune [quite common]”. Willem Hurkmans examined the type material in 1987, adding the label “ lectotype ” under one male in the MZUF, without publishing any lectotype designation. Ante Vujić examined the type material in the OUMNH in 2016. In order to promote nomenclatural stability, we give credit to W. Hurkmans and here designate as a lectotype for Merodon varius Rondani, 1845 the MZUF male labeled as such by him. We located 20 syntypes in this study: five males and four females in the MZUF, two males in the MRSN, one male and one female in the MSNC, one female in the MSNPV and one male and one female in the MZUB, two males and two females in the OUMNH. Not included in the type series is an additional female in the MZUF dated “22.9.[18]62”, which is subsequent to the original description .