Holopyga wagneriella du Buysson, 1904

Holopyga wagneriella du Buysson, 1904

Holopyga wagneriella du Buysson, 1904: 255 . Syntypes ♂ and ♀; Argentina: Santiago del Estero, La Palisa 5 km N Brucho, 1903, E.R. Wagner (type depository unknown). Brèthes (1909); Bischoff (1913); Kimsey & Bohart (1991).

Holopyga wagnerella : incorrect subsequent spelling by du Buysson (1906, 1909, 1910); Ducke (1914), Rocha-Filho et al. (2019); Lucena & Almeida (2022); Lucena et al. (2022, 2024: 52).

Lucena et al. (2024) considered the incorrect subsequent spelling wagnerella as a justified emendation and the original spelling wagneriella as an “incorrect subsequent spelling” [sic!]. Their justification states: “The name “ Holopyga Wagneriella ” appears just once on the heading of the species description. No other mention to this name is presented in the original work. Thereafter, the name “ Holopyga Wagnerella ” was recurrently cited by du Buysson (1906, 1909, 1910), clearly indicating an emendation to original intended name”. This interpretation is incorrect, as it only reflects the repetition of an incorrect subsequent spelling by du Buysson and does not constitute a valid emendation. For an emendation to be valid, it must be demonstrably intentional, and this can occur when there is an explicit statement of intent in the work itself or in an author’s (or publisher’s) corrigenda, or when both the original and the changed spelling are cited and the latter is adopted in place of the former, or when two or more names in the same work are treated in a similar way (Code Art. 33.2.1). None of these conditions apply here. Furthermore, the name wagnerella cannot be considered to be in prevailing use, and other citations of wagneriella exist in the literature (e.g. Brèthes 1909). The spelling wagneriella must thus be considered to be the correct original spelling.

du Buysson (1904) described Holopyga wagneriella based on specimens of both sexes (lengths 3–5 mm) in MNHN, from Argentina, Santiago del Estero Province, La Palisa, 5 km north of Brucho (leg. Wagner, 1903). The specimen labelled as a type at MNHN was collected in Brazil, Minas Gerais, in 1903 and cannot be considered part of the type series, as noted by Lucena et al. (2024). A second specimen housed at MNHN was collected in Argentina in 1907 and is also not part of the type series. The location of the syntypes is currently unknown, but they are apparently lost or destroyed.