Tenebrio muricatus Linnaeus, 1767

Ferrer, Julio & Holston, Kevin, 2009, Identities of Tenebrio Linnaeus types at Uppsala, and the resulting changes in old darkling beetle names (Insecta: Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), Zootaxa 2308 (1), pp. 29-42 : 36-37

4. Tenebrio muricatus Linnaeus, 1767 .

HOLOTYPE, female, no labels, det. Adesmia muricata (L., 1767), comb. nov. ( Fig. 8 ). Linnaeus Coll., UUZM.

Original description. “17. T (enebrio) apterus, coleoptris obtusis striis muricatis, Mus. Lud. Ulr. 100. Pet. Gaz. II, tr. 92, f. 14. Habitat in Hispania. P. Osbeck. Corpus atro piceum obscurum, nec nitens majus & brevis. T. mortisago. Antennae piceae. Thorax punctis minimis adspersus. Elytra singula striis tribus quatorve longitudinalibus, ex punctis elevatis retrorsum spectantibus, scabra. Sutura elytrorum longitudinalis connata & marginis lateralis subtus contracti. Pedes picei.”

Name usage. The UUMZ type of Tenebrio muricatus L., 1767, is a darkling beetle in the genus Adesmia Fischer de Walheim, 1822 . Adesmia muricata (L., 1767), comb. nov., was re-described as Adesmia austera Baudi di Selve, 1881 , syn. nov. The valid name for this species, Adesmia muricata (L., 1767), refers to an Egyptian species although the original locality was given as “Hispania.” " Adesmia muricata ( Fabricius, 1798) ", and Pimelia muricata Fabricius, 1798 , are combinations for Physosterna muricata ( Fabricius, 1798) , proposed by Gebien (1906, 1937), that are unavailable, subsequent usages of Tenebrio muricatus L., 1767.

Remarks. Based on the specimens examined and original descriptions, the UUMZ type of Tenebrio muricatus L., 1767, represents a species of Adesmia Fischer de Walheim, 1822 , identical to Adesmia austera Baudi di Selve, 1881 . Adesmia muricata (L., 1767), comb. nov., is the valid name for this species, which was described subsequently as Adesmia austera Baudi di Selve, 1881 , syn. nov. Adesmia austera Baudi di Selve is known from the Yemen, and the locality “Hispania” given in the original description for Tenebrio muricatus L., 1767, is considered incorrect. The type specimen was likely collected by Peter Försskål, a student of Linnaeus who collected insects in “Arabia Felix” and Egypt ( Niebuhr 1775).

Examination of the UUMZ type and the the Fabrician specimen of Tenebrio muricatus L., 1767, housed at the Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen (ZMUC), identifies the appearance of Tenebrio muricatus L., 1767, in works by Fabricius and subsequent authors, as misidentifications. Fabricius (1792, 1801) classified this species within Pimelia , attributing “muricatus” to Linnaeus. Pallas (1781) identified Tenebrio muricatus L., 1767, as a Central Asian species of Sternodes “from the sable desert of Naryn,” and Olivier (1789: pl. 1, Fig. 1a–b ; pl. 4, Fig. 4 ), regarded Tenebrio muricatus L., 1767, as a synonym of a French Pimelia species , Pimelia bipunctata Fabricius. Pallas described and illustrated in detail, however, a South African darkling beetle species, “ Pimella torulosa ” ( Pallas 1781: tab. C, fig. 14), that is identical to the Fabrician specimen of Tenebrio muricatus L., 1767, housed at the ZMUC. Gebien (1910, 1937) recognized that Tenebrio muricatus L., 1767, sensu Fabricius, was identical to this South African species and listed “ muricatus Fabricius ” as a synonym of Physosterna torulosa ( Pallas, 1781) although Gebien (1937) incorrectly cited “1798” instead of “1792” as the date of the Fabricius work. The valid name of the ZMUC specimen is Physosterna torulosa ( Pallas, 1781) .

Figures

FIGURES 7–8. UUZM Linnean darkling beetle types. Fig. 7. HT, Tenebrio spinosus L., det. Akis spinosa (L.). Fig. 8. HT, Tenebrio muricatus L., det. Adesmia muricata (L.) comb. nov.

FIGURES 1–2. Heads of pins. Fig. 1. Concentric spiral head of Linnean pin, LT, Tenebrio gibbus L., NHRS. Fig. 2. Flat head of De Geer pin, non-type specimen, Tenebrio gibbus L., NHRS.

FIGURES 3–4. UUZM Linnean darkling beetle types of Tenebrio caraboides L. Fig. 3. PLT, det. Pachychila hispanica Solier. Fig. 4. PLT, det. Tentyria levis Solier.