Pyrrhosphodrus militaris Stal 1866

Pyrrhosphodrus militaris Stål, 1866

Pyrrhosphodrus militaris Stål (1866: 298) (new species); Stål (1872: 87) (diagnosis, distribution); Wygodzinsky (1949: 44) (checklist); Forattini & Serra (1950: 229) (redescription, biology); Putshkov & Putshkov (1988: 154) (catalog); Maldonado Capriles (1990: 269) (catalog).

Heniartes theresina Berg (1879: 156) (new species), syn. nov.

Pyrrhosphodrus theresina: Wygodzinsky (1947: 13) (new generic placement, photos of type); Wygodzinsky (1949: 44) (checklist); Putshkov & Putshkov (1988: 154) (catalog); Maldonado Capriles (1990: 269) (catalog), syn. nov.

Material studied: 1 ♂ BRAZIL, São Paulo, Ipiranga, 02/VII/1907, H. Luideswaldt leg., MZSP 72800, Pyrrhosphodrus sp. C. Campaner det 2002; 1 ♀ Rio Grande do Sul, São Francisco de Paula (Pro-Mata), 26/I/1998, C. Weirauch leg., Pyrrhosphodrus theresina C. Weirauch det. III/1993, MCTP 13724; 1 ♀ same locality as above, 8/III/1998, C. Weirauch leg., Pyrrhosphodrus theresina C. Weirauch det. III/1993, MCTP 13 665. Photo of a female syntype of P. militaris, housed at NHRS, collection number 0 359.

Distribution. Pyrrhosphodrus militaris was described from Brazil (Stål 1866) and later recorded from the state of São Paulo (Forattini & Serra 1950), now has its distribution broadened to south Brazil and Argentina.

Discussion of the systematic decision. Stål (1866) described P. militaris as pale yellow with multiple annuli on the legs, and the abdomen with black and yellowish bands, but without indicating the relative width between the two. Berg (1879) described a very similar coloration pattern in P. theresina, without indicating the color of the abdomen. The examined specimen (photo) of the syntype series of P. militaris (Figs 16–18) has a mostly black abdomen with very faint pale yellowish areas. We tried to study the holotype of Heniartes theresina from “ Corrientes ” (Argentina) that is deposited at La Plata museum, but recent inquiries show that only the original labels are left, with no trace of the specimen described by Berg (P. M. Dellapé, pers. communication). Nonetheless, Wygodzinsky (1947) reproduced a photo of the holotype. With these photographs, in addition to some examined specimens that fit both descriptions, we conclude that the two names represent the same species. Both have characteristic leg color patterns, a mostly black abdomen, and an apically broad, pale yellow, upcurved scutellum. This combination of characters is not present in any of the known species of Pyrrhosphodrus; therefore, we consider these two names as synonyms, and P. militaris has priority.