Bulletin ofZoological Nomenclature 58(2) June 2001 105 Case 3147 Hydroporus discretus Fairmaire & Brisout in Fairmaire, 1859 (Insecta, Coleoptera): proposed conservation of the specific name Hans Fery Rauschstrasse, 73, D-J3509 Berlin, Germany (e-mail: [email protected]) Abstract. The purpose of this application is to conserve the specific name of Hydroporusdiscretus Fairmaire & Brisout in Fairmaire, 1859 for a Palaearcticdiving beetle. It is threatened by H. neuterFairmaire& Laboulbene, 1854, anamewhichhas only been used once since 1887, by Adam (1996). Keywords. Nomenclature; taxonomy; Coleoptera; dysticidae; Hydroporus; Hydroporus discretus; Hydroporus neuter; diving beetles; Europe; Palaearctic. 1. Fairmaire & Laboulbene (1854, p. 205) established the name Hydroporusneuter for a species of aquatic beetle from the French Haute-Pyrenees. The original specimens are in the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris. 2. The name Hydroporus discretus was published by Fairmaire & Brisout in Fairmaire (1859, p. 28) for an aquatic beetle from Marly, Bois de Boulogne, France. The original specimens are in the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris. It has been used as a valid name since its publication. 3. Before Hydroporus discretus was established the name H. neuter was used by Clark (1855, p. 4862), Jacquelin du Val (1857, p. 35) and Kraatz & Kiesenwetter (1859, p. 16). H 4. Afterwards both names Hydroporus neuter and discretus were used as valid by Schaum (1862, p. 17), Calwer (1869, p. 79), Branden (1885, pp. 52, 58) and Fowler (1887, p. 185), who treated them as separate species, as had Fairmaire himself. However, Sharp (1882, p. 460) realised that the taxa were very closely related and might prove to be the same species. 5. Following Sharp's (1882) work, a number of authors considered Hydroporus H neuter to be a junior synonym of foveolatus (Heer, 1839): Ganglbauer (1892, p. 475), Heyden, Reitter & Weise (1906, p. 117), Jakobson (1908, p. 425), Reitter (1908, p. 217) and Fuente (1921, p. 78). Other authors considered the name to be a junior synonym of H. nivalis (Heer, 1839): Gemminger & Harold (1868, p. 437), Schaum & Kiesenwetter (1868, p. 68) and Gozis (1914, p. 176). All other authors, H particularly since Fuente (1921, p. 78), used discretus as valid, either citing H. neuter as a synonym or not mentioning the latter name (see para. 8). 6. Balke & Fery (1993, p. 95) reviewed the original specimens ofHydroporusneuter and H. discretus and designated lectotypes for both nominal species. The original specimens of H. neuter were found gummed onto a single piece of card which is labelled 'neuter', 'Pyr. Pande', 'Hydrop. neuterFairm., Pyr. Pandelle' by Dufour, and 'Museum Paris, Coll. Leon Dufour, 1899'; the specimen on the leftwas designated as the lectotype and the one on the right as paralectotype. Both specimens were found 106 Bulletin ofZoological Nomenclature 58(2) June 2001 to be seriously damaged and sex determination was impossible. Three original specimens ofH. discretus were also found gummed to a single piece ofcard which is labelled 'Boulogne, n. sp.' by Fairmaire, and 'Museum Paris, 1906, Coll. Leon Fairmaire'. The specimens were separated and labelled as lectotype (a male) and paralectotypes (two females) by Balke & Fery (1993, p. 95). By critical examination ofthe remaining diagnostic characters they considered that the original specimens of the two nominal taxa represented the same species. Furthermore, they suggested that the name H. discretus should be conserved and H. neuter be suppressed and that the case should be referred to the Commission. However, they did notactually submit an application. 7. Adam (1996, p. 59) resurrected the name Hydroporusneuterforthe species inhis Hungarian checklist. To my knowledge he is the only author during the 20th century who recorded Hydroporus neuter as avalid name and treated H. discretus as ajunior subjective synonym ofit. Adam did not mention Balke & Fery's (1993) publication. 8. With the exception ofAdam (1996) the name Hydroporus discretus has been in continuous use since Sharp (1882). Examples include Seidlitz (1887), Schaufuss (1916), Sainte-Claire Deville (1935); some recent authors are Galewski (1976), Franciscolo (1979), Rico, Perez & Montes (1990) and Nilsson & Holmen (1995). A list of16 additional references has been given to the Commission Secretariat. No one H has followed Adam (1996) in the use of neuter. 9. I now propose that prevailing and long standing usage ofthe name Hydroporus discretus be conserved by suppressing the almost never used name H. neuter. 10. The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature is accordingly asked: (1) to use its plenary power to suppress the name neuter Fairmaire & Laboulbene, 1854, as published in the binomen Hydroporus neuter, for the purposes ofthe Principle ofPriority but not for those ofthe Principle of Homonymy; (2) to place on the Official List of Specific Names in Zoology the name discretus Fairmaire & Brisout in Fairmaire, 1859, as published in the binomen Hydroporus discretus; (3) to place on the Official Index of Rejected and Invalid Specific Names in Zoology the name neuter Fairmaire & Laboulbene, 1854, as published in the binomen Hydroporus neuter and as suppressed in (1) above. Acknowledgement The author wishes to express his sincere thanks to his colleague A.N. Nilsson (Umea, Sweden) for his suggestions. References Adam, L. 1996. A check-list of the Hungarian caraboid beetles (Coleoptera). Folia Entomologica Hungarica, 57: 5-64. Balke, M. & Fery, H. 1993. Taxonomic notes on Western Palaearctic species ofHydroporus Clairville and Coelambus Thomson (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae). A/males de la Societe Entomologique de France, 29: 89-101. Branden, C. van den. 1885. Catalogue des Coleopteres carnassiers aquatiques (Haliplidae, Amphizoi'dae, Pelobiidaeet Dytiscidae). AnnatesdelaSocieteEntomologiquedeBelgique, 29(1): 5-118. Calwer, C.G. 1869. Kaferbuch, NaturgeschichtederKciferEuropas. xvi, 626pp., 49pis. Stuttgart. Bulletin ofZoological Nomenclature 58(2) June 2001 107 Clark, H. 1855. Synonymic list ofthe British carnivorous water beetles, together with critical remarks, and notices offoreign allied species. Zoologist, 13: 4846-4869. Fairmaire, L. 1859. Miscellanea Entomologica. Troisieme Partie. Annates de la Societe Entomologique de France, (3)7: 21-64. Fairmaire, L. & Laboulbene, A. 1854. Fauneentomologiquefrancaiseoudescription desinsectes quise trouvent en France. Coleopteres, vol. 1. xxxv, 665 pp. Deyrolle, Paris. Fowler, W.W. 1887. The Coleopteraofthe British Islands. A descriptiveaccount ofthefamilies, genera, and species indigen—ous to Great Britain and Ireland, with notes as to localities, habitats etc.; 1. (Adephaga Hydrophilidae). xxxii, 269 pp. Reeve, London. Franciscolo, M. 1979. Coleoptera, Haliplidae, Hygrobiidae, Gyrinidae, Dytiscidae. Fauna d'ltalia. 804 pp. Calderini, Bologna. Fuente, J. de la. 1921. Catalogo sistematico geografico de los coleopteros observados en la peninsula Iberica, Pirineos propiamente dichos y Baleares. Boletin de la Sociedad Entomologica de Espaha, 4(4-8): 73-104. Galewski, K. 1976. Familia: Dytiscidae Degeer, 1774. Pp. 24-46 in Burakowski, B., Mroczkowski, M. & Stefanska, J. Katalog Fauny Polski, 23(4): 1-307. Ganglbauer, L. 1892. Die Kdfer von Mitteleuropa. Die Kdfer der osterreichisch-ungarischen Monarchic, Deutschlands, der Schweiz sowie desfranzosischen und italienischen Alpenge- bietes, Erster Band, Familienreihe Caraboidea. iii, 557 pp. Gerold's Sohn, Wien. Gemminger, M. & Harold, E. de. 1868. Catalogus Coleopterorum hucusque descriptorum synonymicus et systematicus, vol. 2. Pp. 425-752. Gummi, Monachii. Gozis, M. des. 1914. Tableaux de determination des Dytiscides, Noterides, Hyphydrides, Hygrobiidides et Haliplides de la faune Franco-Rhenane. Miscellanea Entomologica, 22(5-6): 113-208. Heyden, L. von, Reitter, E. & Weise, J. 1906. Catalogus Coleopterorum Europae, Caucasi et Armeniae Rossicae. 775 pp. Berlin, Paskau, Caen. Jacquelin du Val, C. 1857. Catalogue de la famille des Dytiscides. Pp. 33-38 in Genera des Coleopteres d'Europe, vol. 1. Deyrolle, Paris. Jakobson, G.G. 1908. Zhuki Rossii i zapadnoy Evropy (The beetles of Russia and Western Europe), part 6. Pp. 401-480. Petersburg. Kraatz, G. & Kiesenwetter, E.A.H. von. 1859. In Schaum, H. (Ed.), Catalogus Coleopterorum Europae. iv, 121 pp. Nicolai, Berlin. Nilsson, A. & Holmen, M. 1995. The aquatic Adephaga (Coleoptera) of Fennoscandia and Denmark, II. Dytiscidae. Fauna Entomologica Scandinavica, 32: 1-192. Reitter, E. 1908. Fauna Germanica. Die Kdfer des Deutschen Reiches. Band 1. 248 pp., 40 pis. Lutz, Stuttgart. Rico, E., Perez, L. & Montes, C. 1990. Lista faunistica y bibliografica de los Hydradephaga (Coleoptera: Haliplidae, Hygrobiidae, Gyrinidae, Noteridae, Dytiscidae) de la Peninsula Iberica e Islas Baleares. Listas de la Flora y Fauna de las Aguas Continentales de la Peninsula Iberica, vol. 7. iii, 216 pp. Asociacion Espanola de Limnologia, Madrid. Sainte-Claire Deville, J. 1935. Catalogue raisonne des coleopteres de France. L'Abeille, 36(1): 1-160. Schaufuss, C. 1916. Calwer's Kdferbuch, Einfuhrung in die Kenntnis der Kdfer Europas, vol. 1. 708 pp., 23 pis. Nagele & Sprosser, Stuttgart. Schaum, H. 1862. Catalogus Coleopterorum Europae. 130 pp. Nicolaische, Berlin. Schaum, H. & Kiesenwetter, E.A.H. von. 1868. Coleoptera, Erster Band, zweite Halfte in Erichson, W.F. (Ed.), Naturgeschichte der Insekten Deutschlands. 144 pp. Berlin. Seidlitz, G. 1887. Bestimmungs-tabelle der Dytiscidae und Gyrinidae des europaischen Faunengebietes. Verhandlungen des Naturforschenden Vereines in Brunn, 25: 1-136. Sharp, D. 1882. On aquatic carnivorous Coleoptera or Dytiscidae. Scientific Transactions of the RoyalDublin Society, 2: 179-1003. Comments on this case are invited for publication (subject to editing) in the Bulletin; they should be sent to the Executive Secretary, I.C.Z.N., c/o The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, U.K. (e-mail: [email protected]).