Abstract
We revise the type specimens of 132 nominal species of worldwide Triphoridae stored in the Natural History Museum of the United Kingdom (NHMUK), London. We provide the species name in its original combination, followed by bibliographic details of the original description, the location of the known type material, the original description (and its translation when in Latin), a diagnosis and curatorial or nomenclatural notes. We illustrated most specimens in the type series in colour and with SEM imaging and we have added the original figure whenever possible. The specimens of Triphorisalveolatus, T.granulatus, T.suturalis and T.verrucosus, all A. Adams & Reeve, 1850, T.pfeifferi Crosse & Fischer, 1865 and T.cucullatus de Folin, 1867, previously considered type material, are not considered here belonging to the type series. Adams & Reeve’s taxa should be considered nomina dubia. The name Triphorainsularum is a manuscript name by H.E.J. Biggs who deposited “types” in the NHMUK but refrained from introducing the name due to the lack of apex of the studied material. We selected lectotypes for six species (T.concors Hinds, 1843, T.maxillaris Hinds, 1843, T.fuscomaculata E.A. Smith, 1904, T.shepstonensis E.A. Smith, 1906, T.eupunctata G.B. Sowerby III, 1907, and T.rufula Watson, 1886) to stabilize the nomenclature. Finally, we illustrate original specimens (although not types) of three species described by Turton, whose type material is lost.
Subject
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics