Polistes shirakii Sonan 1943

Kojima, Jun-Ichi, Saito, Fuki & Nguyen, Lien Thi Phuong, 2011, On the species-group taxa of Taiwanese social wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) described and / or treated by J. Sonan, Zootaxa 2920, pp. 42-64 : 49-50

Polistes shirakii Sonan 1943 [ Polistes (Polistella) shirakii Sonan 1943 ]

Sonan (1943) described Polistes shirakii based on 19 Ƥ and 3 3 from Heitou, Hori, Kanshirei, Musha, Rokki and Taihoku, but he did not designate the holotype. Starr (1992) referred to type materials housed in TARI as “ types examined: holotype Ƥ, 2 paratype Ƥ, 4 paratype 3”, but he did not give any data that specify the specimen that he referred to as “ holotype ” and thus this does not constitute valid lectotype designation (Article 74.5 of the Code). In TARI, we located the following 3 Ƥ and 4 3 collected in Taihoku, which seem to be those referred to by Starr (1992). Although the number of the male specimens (four) is larger than that Sonan gave (three), judging from their label data, these specimens are highly probably from the type series.

The specimens examined are as follows, and the first-listed specimen is here designated as the lectotype of Polistes shirakii Sonan, 1943 . Other specimens are paralectotypes.

Type material. LECTOTYPE (designated here): Ƥ labeled “Taihoku / 6 IX 1925 / Col. J. Sonan”, “ Polistes Ƥ / shirakii Sonan / DET. J. SONAN ”, Paratype label, and “135”. PARALECTOTYPES: 1 3, “Taihoku / 8 VIII 1925 / Col. J. Sonan”, “No Polistes / 10”, “ Polistes 3 / shirakii Sonan / DET. J. SONAN ”, Paratype label, and “138”; 1 3, “Taihoku / 10 IX 1929 / Y. Horikawa”, “ Polistes 3 / shirakii Sonan / DET. J. SONAN ”, Paratype label, and “140”; 2 3, “Taihoku / 8 VIII 1925 / Col. J. Sonan”, “No Polistes / 10”, “ Polistes 3 / shirakii Sonan / DET. J. SONAN ”, and Allotype label and “137” [or Paratype label and “139”]; 2 Ƥ, “Taihoku / 8 VIII 1925 / Col. J. Sonan”, “No Polistes / 10”, “ Polistes Ƥ / shirakii Sonan / DET. J. SONAN ”, and Type label and “134” [or Paratype label and “136”].