A generic replacement name and new adult host record in Buprestidae

Short Communications
A generic replacement name and new adult host record in Buprestidae (Coleoptera)
C.L. Bellamy
Coleoptera Department, Transvaal Museunl, P.O. Box 413, Pretoria, 0001 South Africa
The buprestid genus Evagora Gory & Laporte relatives by Bellamy & Holm (1986).
A new genus name must now be proposed
(1839) has been an enigma since its original
description. In that work, eight species were because Ezlagora has been found to be preoccupied.
described under the new generic name Evagora According to Neave (1939), the name Evagora has
and two others were transferred from Buprestis been used four times, with the oldest dating to the
Linnaeus. Gory (1841) added two more. This led description of a hydrozoan coelenterate by Pkron &
Kerremans (1893) to conclude that Evagora had Lesueur (1810); the other subsequent uses were by
originally been misdiagnosed, and Obenberger Philippi (1842) for an anthozoan coelenterate and
(1926b) later cited Kerremans as the author of the Clemens (1860) for a lepidopteran. The new
genus, a mistake perpetuated by Bellamy (1985). feminine generic name of Westcottia for t h e
As outlined by Nelson & Bellamy (1994),all but one preoccupied buprestid name, with the type
of the species originally assigned to Ezlagora have species designated here as Evagora amorpha Gory &
been transferred to three other genera: Sphenoptera Laporte, is proposed to honour my colleague,
Dejean (1833),ChalcogeniaSaunders (1871)or Cy p - friend and frequent collecting partner, Richard L.
todactylus Deyrolle (1864). Since Ezlagora w a s Westcott, who also noted the preoccupation. This
characterized in a brief description before the ten name also recognizes his contributions to our
species included below it, authorship should knowledge of Buprestidae, and that he is the most
remain with Gory & Laporte, with the type species recent collector of this species during a field trip in
subsequently designated as E. amorpha Gory & 1995. Three specimens were collected by beating
Laporte by Obenberger (1926a).
branches of Rlzus longispina Echk. & Zeyh. (AnaThe unusual shape of E. ainorpha clearly distin- cardiaceae): Eastern Cape, Baviaanskloof Nature
guishes it from the forms found within the large Reserve, Doornkraal, 33.39s 24.22E, 165 m, 5genus Sphenoptera. Owing to its strongly convex 6.xii.1995 (new adult host record).
lateral profile, E , amorpha is more similar to the
Australasian chalcophorine genus Paracupta
Deyrolle, although this should not imply any close Genus Westcottia nomen novum
relationship with that taxon. Kerremans (1893) did
Evagora Gory & Laporte, 1839: 1 (name preocnot consider Evagora in his key to buprestid genera
cupied by Evagora Peron & Lesueur, 1810
but included it within Sphenoptera and later in that
(Coelenterata: Hydrozoa)); Kerremans 1893:
122; 1903: 109; 1913: 2; Obenberger 1926a: 6;
work discussed the confusion surrounding the
1926b: 303; Bellamy 1985: 418; Bellamy &
identity of Evagora. Kerremans (1903, 1913)
Holm 1986: 313.
subsequently considered the genus valid and cited
Type species: Evagora amorpha Gory &
the authors as Gory & Laporte. Evagora has most
Laporte (designated here).
recently been discussed relative to its African
REFERENCES
BELLAMY, C.L. 1985. A catalogue of the higher taxa of
the family Buprestidae (Coleoptera). Navorsinge van
die Nasionale Museum, Bloerrzfontein 4: 405472.
BELLAMY, C.L. & HOLM, E. 1986. A revision of the
genus Genestia (Coleoptera, Buprestidae, Sphenopterinae). Revue de Zoologique Africailze 100: 313-327.
CLEMENS, B. 1860. Contributions to American lepidopterology. Proceedings of the Academy ofNatural Sciences
African Entomology 5(2): 353-365 (1997)
354
African Entomology Vol. 5, No. 2, 1997
of Philadelphia 1860: 156-174.
DETEAN, P.F.M.A. 1833. Catalogue des Col4optPres de la
collectio~zde M . le comte Dejean 1: 1-96, Paris.
DEYROLLE, H. 1864. Description des Buprestides de la
Malaisie recueilles par M. Wallace. Annales de la Sociiti
Entomologiqzle de Belgique 8: 1-312.
GORY, H.L. 1841. Histoire naturelle et lconographie des
insectes Colioptires. Monographie des buprestides,
Supplement, Paris. 4: 299-301.
GORY, H.L. & LAPORTE, F.L. 1839. Histoire ~zaturelleet
iconographie des insectes Colioptires. Monographie des
Buprestides. 2: 1-7. Paris. (genera paginated separately).
KERREMANS, C. 1893.Essai de groupement des Buprestides. Annales de la Soci4t4 Eiztomologzque de Belgzqzle 37:
94-122.
KERREMANS, C. 1903.Coleoptera,Fam. Buprestidae, In:
Wytsman, P. (Ed.) Genera Insectorurn, Fasc. 12b; 12c;
12d, 49-338. Verteneuil & Desmet, Bruxelles.
KERREMANS, C. 1913. Monographie des Buprestides 7:
1-32.
NEAVE, S.A. 1939. Nolnenclator Zoologicus. 4 volumes.
Zoological Society of London.
NELSON, G.H. & BELLAMY, C.L. 1994. A clarification of
authors and publication dates for "Histoire naturelle
et iconographie des insectes coleopteres" by F.L. de
Laporte & H.L. Gory (Coleoptera: Buprestidae).
Giornale Italiano di Entomologia 6: 297-308.
OBENBERGER, J. 1926a. Sphenopterinorum revisionis
prodromus: de Sphenopterinorum speciebus exoticis
(Col. Buprestidea). Exoticke druhy pod eledi Sphenopterini (Col. Buprestidae). Acta Entolnologica Musei
Natioizalis Prague 4: 3-79.
OBENBERGER, J. 1926b. Buprestidae 1. In: Junk, W. &
Schenkling, S. (Eds) Coleopterorum Catalogus 84:
1-212.
PERON,F. & LESUEUR, C.A. 1810.Des caracteres gkneriques et spkcifiques de toutes les especes de Meduses
connues jusqu'a ce jour. Annales du Museum National
dlHistoire Naturelle, Paris 14 (1809):325-366.
PHILIPPI, A. 1842. Zoologische Beobachtungen. Archiv
fiir Naturgeschichte 8: 3345.
SAUNDERS, E. 1871. Catalogus Buprestidarum
Synonymicus et Systematicus. Janson, London.
Accepted 29 May 1997
Clarification and correction of the authorship of Buprestidae (Coleoptera) in
lnsecta Caffrariae
C.L. Bellamy*
Coleoptera Department, Transzlaal Museum, P. 0.
Box 413, Pretoria, 0001 South Africa
In t h e Monograph Insecta Caffvariae (Boheman
1848, 1851, 1857), that documented collections
m a d e by J.A. Wahlberg (1838-1845) in southern
Africa, C.H. Boheman a n d 1.0.Fihraeus produced
accounts of m a n y groups of Coleoptera.
Although Boheman is credited with sole authorship of the three volumes (1848,1851,1857), at least
from the title page listings, FAhraeus appears to
have contributed a significant part of t h e text. The
introduction in the first part of this work, in or@nal copies in the Transvaal Museum library, has
been examined. While there is some clarification
about geography a n d place names, there is n o
indication of the arrangement regarding authorship that Boheman might have m a d e with
Fiihraeus. H o r n & Schenkling (1928-1929) indicated t h a t FAhraeus w a s given credit for t h e
f o l l o w i n g beetle families: P a r t I, V o l u m e 11,
Buprestidae, Lycidae a n d Histeridae; Part 11,
Scarabaeidae a n d Lucanidae. However, there is
still confusion as to w h o t h e author of t h e various
constituent taxa should be. Within the section o n
Buprestidae, at the e n d of each species description
or discussion, the initials 'FHS' are g v e n . However, i n most cases, the n e w species described in
that w o r k have '(BHN)' listed after the specific
epithet indicating that Boheman should be credited as the author of t h e taxon. There are relatively
few cases where this '(BHN)' does not appear a n d
in those cases it is appropriate to credit FAhraeus
with authorship of those few taxa, which should
be cited as 'Fihraeus in Boheman'.
Another work by Fihraeus (1870-1872) included
other beetle groups (e.g. Heteromera, Longicornia)
a n d families (e.g. Curculionidae) b u t this is not a
continuation of t h e initial series b y Boheman a n d
m a y n o t contain t h e same anomalies as those
discussed here.
Earlier catalogues of Coleoptera (e.g. Gemminger