Plecomera thunbergii thunbergii ( Lacordaire, 1848 )

Bezděk, Jan, 2019, Annotated review of Cryptocephalinae (Clytrini), Synetinae and part of Galerucinae (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) described by Carl Peter Thunberg, European Journal of Taxonomy 499, pp. 1-42 : 18-20

Plecomera thunbergii thunbergii ( Lacordaire, 1848)

Fig. 9

Clythra (Plecomera) thunbergii Lacordaire, 1848: 104 (replacement name for Clythra macropus Thunberg, 1821 , not Clytra macropus Illiger, 1800 ).

Clythra macropus Thunberg, 1821: 184 (original description).

Clythra (Plecomera) quadraticollis Lacordaire, 1848: 105 (original description).

Clythra macropus – Forsberg 1821: 282 (redescription).

Miopristis macropus – Gemminger & Harold 1874: 3280 (catalogue).

Miopristis (Plecomera) macropus – Jacoby & Clavareau 1906: 14 (catalogue).

Miopristis (Plecomera) thunbergi – Clavareau 1913: 31 (catalogue).

Type localities

Clythra macropus : “Cap” [= from the publication title]. Clythra quadraticollis : “Cap de Bonne Espèrance”.

Material examined

SOUTH AFRICA • 1 ♂, syntype of Clythra macropus ; “Uppsala Univ. Zool. Mus. / Thunbergsaml. nr. 8245 / Clythra macropus / Cap. TYP [r, p] // macropus . / Cap. 24 [box label, w, h]”; UUZM • 1 ♂, syntype of Clythra macropus ; “Uppsala Univ. Zool. Mus. / Thunbergsaml. nr. 15375 / Clythra macropus / TYP [r, p] // macropus . / III [box label, w, h]”; UUZM • 1 ♂, syntype of Clythra quadraticollis ; “ E. Coll. / Chevt. [w, p] // cbs [w, h] // 240 [b, p] // SYN- / TYPE [round white label with blue collar] // Plecomera / quadraticollis / Lac. type [w, h] // brachialis / Ch. cbs [w, h] // 67-56 [w, p]”; BMNH • 1 ♂, syntype of Clythra quadraticollis ; “23098 [w, p] // Promont. / b. sp. / Lichtst. [b, h] // Plecomera / quadraticollis / Lacord * [w, h] // Captans / N. / Pr. b. Sp. Lichtenst. [b, h]”; ZMHB .

Distribution

RSA.

Comments

Given that Clythra macropus Thunberg, 1821 was a homonym of Clytra macropus Illiger, 1800 (now in Tituboea ), Lacordaire (1848) proposed the replacement name Clythra (Plecomera) thunbergii for Thunberg’s species.

Lacordaire (1848) proposed the subgenus Plecomera for two species from the Cape: Clythra thunbergii Lacordaire, 1848 and Clythra quadraticollis Lacordaire, 1848 . Recently, Plecomera was treated at genus level by Medvedev (1989b, 1992a, 1993b, 2008) and Medvedev & Regalin (1997) without any other comment. The type species Clythra quadraticollis was designated by Medvedev & Regalin (1997). Currently, Plecomera includes six species and one subspecies. However, the position of some species in Plecomera needs verification and the whole genus is in need of comprehensive revision.

Medvedev (2008) synonymized Plecomera thunbergii and P. quadraticollis arguing that the two taxa represent two extreme color variations of a single species, and he also described transitional forms.

Figures

Fig. 9. Plecomera thunbergii thunbergii (Lacordaire, 1848). A–E. Syntype of Clythra macropus Thunberg, 1821, ♂, 7.5 mm, UUZM. A. Dorsal view. B. Lateral view. C. Frontal view. D. Label. E. Box label. F–G. Syntype of Clythra quadraticollis Lacordaire, 1848, ♂, not measured, BMNH. F. Dorsal view. G. Labels.