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Published May 17, 2021 | Version v1
Taxonomic treatment Open

Acheron Lefebvre 1842

  • 1. Department of Entomology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China

Description

Genus Acheron Lefèbvre, 1842

Acheron Lefèbvre, 1842: 6. Type species: Ascalaphus longus Walker, 1853: 435. Designated by McLachlan, 1873a: 265.

Diagnosis. The presence of distinct lateral spines on the basal antennal segments in the male and the larger forewing length (c. 45 mm) are diagnostic characters for distinguishing this genus from all known genera in the tribe Ascalaphini except Glyptobasis McLachlan, 1873 in Pakistan. It can be distinguished from Glyptobasis by lack of distinct triangular projection on the anal area of forewing (Fig. 2), which is well-developed in Glyptobasis (Fig. 8). Apart from other differences, considerable variation in wing coloration has been noticed in this genus.

Note. McLachlan (1873a) speculated about the stages of maturity in four species described by Walker (1853) belonging to the genus Ascalaphus, i.e., A. anticus and A. longus from Bengal, A. loquax from Brazil [misprint for Bengal], and A. trux without label data. These species were described based on the variability of color patterns. Later, McLachlan attempted to correlate the color patterns to the maturity of individuals within the species, i.e., the older the specimens, the darker the coloration. Thus, he treated A. anticus, A. loquax and A. trux as the junior synonyms of A. longus and transferred them to Acheron. Since the coloration in owlflies is known to change after preservation (Michel & Mansell 2018), the two subspecies, viz. A. trux trux (Walker) and A. trux loquax (Walker) proposed by Ghosh (1988) based on variations in wing markings, have been considered as synonyms (van der Weele 1909).

Tauber et al. (2019) reported that the type depository of Acheron longus comprised three female specimens at Oxford University Museum of Natural History (OUMNH), United Kingdom; two of them have label data as Silhet, Bangladesh (previously known as East Bengal). Instead of following McLachlan’s work (1873a), van der Weele (1909) synonymized A. anticus, A. loquax and A. longus under A. trux. Following van der Weele (1909), later taxonomists used A. trux as a valid species name (Fraser 1922; Ghosh & Sen 1977; Ghosh 1988, 2000; Michel 2005; Wang et al. 2018), a practice that was recently corrected by Tauber et al. (2019) in accordance to ICZN Article 24, since the first reviser “was justified in establishing precedence among the simultaneously published names”. Thus, A. longus, which is the name the authors selected as the senior synonym, has priority over the other three names. The distributional range of this monotypic genus is widespread in the Oriental region.

Notes

Published as part of Hassan, Muhammad Asghar & Liu, Xingyue, 2021, Taxonomic notes on owlflies from Pakistan (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae Ascalaphinae), pp. 401-452 in Zootaxa 4970 (3) on pages 403-404, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4970.3.1, http://zenodo.org/record/4766543

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Linked records

Additional details

Biodiversity

Family
Ascalaphidae
Genus
Acheron
Kingdom
Animalia
Order
Neuroptera
Phylum
Arthropoda
Scientific name authorship
Lefebvre
Taxon rank
genus
Taxonomic concept label
Acheron Lefebvre, 1842 sec. Hassan & Liu, 2021

References

  • Lefebvre, A. (1842) Le genre Ascalaphus Fabr. Guerin-Meneville, 4, 1 - 10. [BotN ref # 3666]
  • Walker, F. (1853) Catalogue of the specimens of neuropterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. Part II (Sialidae- Nemopterides). Newman, London, 284 pp. [pp. 193 - 476, BotN ref # 6194]
  • McLachlan, R. (1873 a) An attempt towards a systematic classification of the family Ascalaphidae. Journal of the Linnean Society of London, Zoology, 11, 219 - 276. [BotN ref # 353] https: // doi. org / 10.1111 / j. 1096 - 3642.1871. tb 02588. x
  • Michel, B. & Mansell, M. W. (2018) A new genus and species of owlfly from eastern and southern Africa (Neuroptera: Ascalaphidae). European Journal of Taxonomy, 413, 1 - 12. [BotN ref # 16345] https: // doi. org / 10.5852 / ejt. 2018.413
  • Ghosh, S. K. (1988) Contribution to the taxonomical studies of Neuroptera (suborder Planipennia) from eastern India. II. Family Ascalaphidae. Records of the Zoological Survey of India, 85, 163 - 191. [BotN ref # 9656]
  • van der Weele, H. W. (1909) Ascalaphiden. Collections Zoologiques du Baron Edm. de Selys Longchamps, Catalogue Systematique et Descriptif, 8, 1 - 326. [BotN ref # 420]
  • Tauber, C. A., Simmons, Z. & Tauber, A. J. (2019) Type specimens of Neuropterida in the Hope Entomological Collection, Oxford University Museum of Natural History. ZooKeys, 823, 1 - 126. [BotN ref # 18513] https: // doi. org / 10.3897 / zookeys. 823.30231
  • Fraser, F. C. (1922) Some oriental Ascalaphidae in the Indian Museum. Records of the Indian Museum, Calcutta, 24, 511 - 520. [BotN ref # 2382]
  • Ghosh, S. K. & Sen, S. (1977) Check-list of Indian Planipennia (Order Neuroptera). Records of the Zoological Survey of India, 73, 277 - 326. [BotN ref # 2592]
  • Ghosh, S. K. (2000) Neuroptera fauna of North-East India. Records of the Zoological Survey of India, Occasional Paper, 184, i - xiii + 1 - 179. [BotN ref # 11664]
  • Michel, B. (2005) A contribution to knowledge of the owlflies of Thailand (Neuroptera: Ascalaphidae). Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift, Berlin, 52, 217 - 223. [BotN ref # 11675] https: // doi. org / 10.1002 / mmnd. 200410013
  • Wang, X. L., Zhan, Q. B. & Wang, A. Q. (2018) Fauna Sinica. Insecta Vol. 68. Neuroptera, Myrmeleontoidea. Science Press, Beijing, [viii] + x + 285 pp. [BotN ref # 18130]