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Rhagonycha atra
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Subspecies
Original description
Synonyms
Cantharis atra Linnaeus, 1767
Cantharis morio Fabricius, 1792 (unclear synonym; see explanation below)
[?] plumbea Rossi, 1792
Rhagonycha rhaetica Stierlin, 1862
Rhagonycha glacialis Bourgeois, 1909
Rhagonycha fauconetti Pic, 1914
Rhagonycha sabauda Pic, 1914
Rhagonycha subrobusta Pic, 1923
There is a nominal species Cantharis morio
described by Fabricius (Fabricius
JC (1792). Entomologia Systematica. Volume 1. Christian
Gottlieb Proft., Copenhagen. p. 220). The type locality is given as
"Habitat in Germania". The
identity of
this taxon is unclear to me. It is listed as an endemic German species
of Cantharis in the Fauna Europaea Web Service (2004). However, this
taxon is not
recognized in any of the other faunistic works on the German fauna.
Indeed, the original description of Fabricius is the only reference
that I am aware of that mentions this species. The text is: "C. thorace
rotundato atra, elytris cyaneo nigris. Habitat in Germania Smidt.
Magnitudo C. atrae at distincta. Corpus totum atrum, immaculatum
elytris folis cyaneo nigris. Thorax nullo modo marginatus". Note that
at the time of Fabricius the color cyan meant a blackish-blue, not the
light greenish-blue that we now call cyan. The description thus
translates: "C.[antharis] with round black thorax, with elytra dark
blackish-blue. Lives in Germany [collected by] Smidt. Size like
C.[antharis] atra but nevertheless different. The whole body black,
with immaculate elytra blades dark blackish-blue. Thorax never with a
border." Since the genus Cantharis at the time of Fabricius also
contained a number of unrelated species, the description is not
sufficient to identify the species. However, the fact that Fabricius
compares his species with the Cantharis atra of Linnaeus might provide
information about the identity of C. morio: Obviously Fabricius
recognized the similarity of the C. morio specimen(s) with the C. atra
of Linnaeus, but wanted to convince the reader (and himself?) that
there is nevertheless a difference. After all he describes C. atra as
"thorace marginato" and stresses for C. morio "thorax nullo modo
marginatus". Thus, I think it is possible that C. morio refers to
aberrant specimens of the Linnean C. atra, which is currently placed in
the genus Rhagonycha (as Rhagonycha atra). I provisionally list
Cantharis morio Fabricius, 1792 as a synonym of Rhagonycha atra. The
study of the type specimens is necessary to resolve this matter.
Identification
Distribution
Biology
This page has been
updated on August 5, 2010
This site is online since May 31, 2005
Copyright © by Nikola-Michael Prpic. All rights reserved.
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