Oeneis polixenes, (FABRICIUS, 1775)

Guppy, Crispin S., 2019, Designation of a Neotype for Oeneis melissa (Fabricius, 1775) and a Lectotype for Oeneis polixenes (Fabricius, 1775) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae), The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey 8 (3), pp. 1-10 : 7

5. DESIGNATION OF A LECTOTYPE FOR OENEIS POLIXENES ( FABRICIUS, 1775)

The original number of type specimens of Oeneis polixenes ( Fabricius, 1775) is unknown and a holotype was not designated explicitly or through implication; therefore, the type specimens are syntypes (ICZN Article 73). There is one specimen that has been identified as a syntype of O. polixenes in the Natural History Museum in London (formerly the British Museum of Natural History ), and no other extant specimens are known. The BMNH accession number is ‘63 48’, with the original accession number label still attached to the specimen ( Figure 6 ). The BMNH register indicates that specimen number ‘63 48’ was from ‘ America’ and was a Fabrician type. The material was part of the Joseph Banks collection that came to the museum via the Linnaean Society ( John Chainey , pers. comm. Feb. 2015). The current catalogue number label is BMNH(E) 668188. This specimen of O. polixenes is not that listed by Butler (1869 [1870]) (John Chainey, pers. comm. Feb. 2015).

There are at least two different phenotypes (potentially different species or subspecies) of O. polixenes in Labrador, one inhabiting northern tundra habitats and one inhabiting southern Labrador with at least some populations in bog habitats (C.S. Guppy, in prep.). I expressly and deliberately designate the specimen shown in Figure 6 , in the collection of the Natural History Museum in London, as the lectotype of Oeneis polixenes ( Fabricius, 1775) (ICZN Article 74.7.3) to fix a specific phenotype for the name.

Figures

Fig. 6. Lectotype of Oeneis polixenes Fabricius, 1775