194 Bulletin of Zoological Nomenchilurc 59(3) September 21)02 Case 3224 Mycetoporus nmlsanti Ganglbauer, 1895 (Insecta, Coleoptera): proposed conservation of the specific name Michael Schiilke Rue Ainbroise Pare 11, D-13405 Berlin, Germany (e-mail:
[email protected]) Abstract. The purpose of this appHcation is to conserve, under Article 23.9.3 of the Code, the specific name Mycetoporus nmlsanti Ganglbauer, 1895 for a widespread mountain species of Palaearctic rove beetle (family staphylinidae) of ecological and conservation interest. The name is threatened by the recent resurrection of a largely unused senior synonym, Mycetoporus tenuis Mulsant & Rey, 1853. Keywords. Nomenclature; taxonomy; Coleoptera; staphylinidae: Mycetoporus; Mycetoporus nmlsanti; Mycetoporus tenuis; rove beetles; Palaearctic; mountain forests; alpine vegetation zone. 1 . The name Mycetoporus mulsanti was given to a widespread species of Palaearctic rove beetle (family staphylimdae) by Ganglbauer (1895, p. 375). This species is of ecological and conservation interest, and lives in mountain forests and in the alpine vegetation zone. This name is a junior objective synonym of Mycetoporus fciun's Mulsant & Rey, 1853 (p. 54). Ganglbauer proposed the name M. nmlsanti to replace M. tenuis Mulsant & Rey assuming that the latter name was a junior secondary homonym of Mycetoporus tenuis Stephens, 1832 (p. 169), a species that had originally been included in the genus Ischnosonia Stephens, 1829. The name M. nmlsanti was subsequently used by almost all authors. 2. Herman (2001a, p. 35; 2001b, p. 800) was of the opinion that the name Ischnosonia tenuis Stephens, 1832 was unavailable. Herman's reasoning was that Stephens (1832, p. 169) did not in fact describe this species. Stephens thought wrongly that he had a specimen of Staphylinus tenuis Fabricius, 1793 in front of him and consequently misidentified his material. 5. tenuis Fabricius is now in the genus Rabigus Mulsant & Rey, 1876, and according to Herman (2000b, p. 800) the species, to which Stephens mistakenly attributed this name, is currently known as Ischnosoma splencliduni (Gravenhorst, 1806). Herman (2001a, p. 35), therefore, considered M. nmlsanti Ganglbauer to be an unnecessary replacement name, and consequently resurrected M. tenuis Mulsant & Rey as the valid name for the species. 3. However, Mycetoporus nmlsanti Ganglbauer has been cited as the valid name for this species of rove beetle in numerous publications on taxonomy, zoogeography, ecology and beetle conservation. Use of the older synonym M. tenuis Mulsant & Rey would create significant instability in the European scientific literature. In a recent catalogue of the staphylinidae, Herman (2001b, p. 801) presented only 12 biblio-graphic references by 1 1 different authors who used M. nmlsanti as a valid name during the last 50 years. However, I have presented to the Commission Secretariat a list of 68 additional references by 59 authors citing M. nmlsanti Ganglbauer as valid
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