Primary types of longhorned woodboring beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae and Disteniidae) of the Smithsonian Institution

Authors: Lingafelter, Steven; NEARNS, E. - Smithsonian Institute; TAVAKILIAN, G. - University Of Paris; MONNE, M. - Federal University Of Rio Grande Do Sul; BIONDI, M. - University Of Charleston

Submitted to: Primary Types of Longhorned Woodboring Beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae and Disteniidae) of the Smithsonian Institution
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/1/2014
Publication Date: 7/10/2014
Citation: Lingafelter, S.W., Nearns, E.H., Tavakilian, G.L., Monne, M.A., Biondi, M. 2014. Primary types of longhorned woodboring beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae and Disteniidae) of the Smithsonian Institution. Primary Types of Longhorned Woodboring Beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae and Disteniidae) of the Smithsonian Institution. 390.

Interpretive Summary: Longhorned woodboring beetles are very important to agriculture and the economy because they destroy wood during their early developmental stages. Many species of wood boring beetles are intercepted at ports-of-entry in the United States and are potential pests. The Smithsonian Institution has the third largest collection of longhorned beetles in the world. All of the primary types are catalogued and their current classification updated. A total of 2156 are included. Photographs of the dorsal habitus and all the labels are included, along with remarks about inconsistencies from the original literature. This work is critical for proper identifications in the group and to direct researchers to potential problems of synonymy that will ultimately lead to a more stable classification for the group. It will be of value to researchers of longhorned beetles and those involved in their identification, including regulatory personnel associated with APHIS-PPQ.

Technical Abstract: The primary types of longhorned woodboring beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae, Disteniidae) of the National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian Institution) are catalogued and figured, current through 2012 (but also including some 2013 holotypes). Data on the original combination, current combination, current tribal classification, and type locality are verified and presented. A history of the collection, with biographies of the major systematists who contributed to its growth, is presented. This collection now contains 2156 primary types from 82 countries making it among the most important collections of longhorned woodborers in the world in terms of quantity and breadth. The collection includes 1815 holotypes, 280 lectotypes (including 260 designated herein), and 6 neotypes (including 4 designated herein). A total of 113 proposed names are determined to be infrasubspecific and therefore unavailable, following the provisions of ICZN 45.6, and are excluded from the formal catalog. A total of at least 38 primary types were believed to have been present in the Smithsonian Institution collection, but could not be found and are presumed lost or deposited in other collections. Ninety-five specimens were labeled and segregated by others as primary types, but no evidence of their formal descriptions could be found and they are determined to be nomina nuda.