Pirates ambiguus Mulsant & Rey 1873

Pirates ambiguus Mulsant & Rey, 1873 Original data: “Le P. ambiguus se trouve dans les environs de Lyon et surtout dans le midi de la France ” (Mulsant & Rey 1873: 59). Type: Syntype 1 ♂: “ TYPE des. Putshkov” // “ ♂ ” // “ MUSÉUM PARIS 1943 COLL. E. MULSANT” // “ Pirates ambiguus M. R.” (Fig. 49). Type locality: Environs de Lyon [Southern France]. Current status: Junior synonym of Peirates hybridus (Scopoli, 1763) (Puton 1899: 48). Remarks: Mulsant & Rey (1873) did not designate a type material, but indicated a broad distribution of this species, mentioned both sexes and indicated variances of measurements in their description, therefore evidently, they had several specimens at their disposal. The individual studied, to be considered as a syntype, is most probably the sole survivor of the type material, being one of the 16 scant escaped specimens of the destruction of the rich collection of Mulsant (1797–1880). They were deposited at MNHN by R. Paulian (1913–2003) (see Paulian 1944). The current status of this species is controversial. Maldonado (1990), following Puton (1874: 233, 1875: 96), treated this species as a synonym of Peirates hybridus (Scopoli, 1763). Coscarón (1997) followed this interpretation. Putshkov & Putshkov (1987: 135, 1996: 178) and Putshkov & Moulet (2009: 471), however, listed it as a synonym of P. stridulus (Fabricius, 1787). It must be stressed that P. stridulus and P. hybridus are two very similar species; Ribaut (1920) gave good diagnostic characters for them. The first author (YL) found that the syntype is more in accordance with the diagnostic characters of P. hybridus provided by Ribaut (1920). Accordingly, here we treat P. ambiguus as a junior synonym of P. hybridus, but a more detailed study is needed to clarify the relationship between P. hybridus and P. stridulus.
Published as part of Liu, Yingqi, Pluot-Sigwalt, Dominique, Guilbert, Eric & Cai, Wanzhi, 2022, Catalogue of type specimens of Peiratinae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Reduviidae) preserved in the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, pp. 1-85 in Zootaxa 5110 (1) on page 62, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5110.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/6340419
{"references":["Mulsant, E. & Rey, C. (1873) Histoire Naturelle des Punaises de France. Reduvides - Emesides. Deyrolles, Paris, 100 pp., II pls.","Puton, A. (1899) Catalogue des Hemipteres (Heteropteres, Cicadines et Psyllides) de la faune Palearctique). Quatrieme Edition. Au bureau de la Societe francaise d'entomologie, Caen, 121 pp. https: // doi. org / 10.5962 / bhl. title. 12421","Paulian, R. (1944) Les types d'Insectes de Mulsant au Museum de Paris. Bulletin du Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 2 e serie, 16 (2), 117 - 121.","Maldonado, J. C. (1990) Systematic Catalogue of the Reduviidae of the World (Insecta: Heteroptera). A special edition of Caribbean Journal of Science, Mayaguez, 694 pp.","Puton, A. (1874) Note pour servir a l'etude des Hemipteres. Annales de la Societe Entomologique de France, 5, 213 - 234.","Puton, A. (1875) Catalogue des Hemipteres (Heteropteres, Cicadines et Psyllides) d'Europe et du bassin de la Mediterranee. 2 e edition. Deyrolle, Paris, 165 pp. https: // doi. org / 10.1002 / mmnd. 48018750242","Coscaron, M. C. (1997) Revision of the genus Peirates Serville, with a cladistic and biogeographic analysis (Heteroptera: Reduviidae, Peiratinae). Entomologica Scandinavica, 28, 39 - 73. https: // doi. org / 10.1163 / 187631297 x 00150","Putshkov, P. V. & Putshkov, V. G. (1987) A catalogue of assassin-bugs of the World (Heteroptera, Reduviidae). II. Reduviinae, Peiratinae, Phymophorinae, Physoderinae, Saicinae, Salyavatinae, Sphaeridopinae. VINITI, Moscow, 212 pp. [unpublished typescript]","Putshkov, P. V. & Putshkov, V. G. (1996) Family Reduviidae. In: Aukema, B. & Rieger, C. (Eds.), Catalogue of the Heteroptera of the Palearctic Region. Vol. 2. The Netherlands Entomological Society, Wageningen, pp. 148 - 265.","Putshkov, P. V. & Moulet, P. (2009) Hemipteres Reduviidae d'Europe occidentale. Faune de France, 92, 1 - 668, 24 pls.","Ribaut, H. (1920) Pirates hybridus Scop. et stridulus F. (Hemipt.). Bulletin de la Societe d'Histoire Naturelle de Toulouse, 48, 35 - 38."]}