The type material of Melipona postica Latreille, the type species of the stingless bee genus Scaptotrigona Moure (Hymenoptera, Apidae)

ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT The present contribution deals with the recognition of the type material of Melipona postica Latreille and the identity of the taxon it represents. The origin of the specimens studied by Illiger and Klug, and which Illiger later sent to Latreille, is traced to Francisco Agostinho Gomes, who collected the material in Salvador, Bahia, and sent them to the Count von Hoffmansegg, in Prussia. Based on material located at the Museum für Naturkunde, in Berlin, a lectotype is designated for Melipona postica Latreille. The specimen is redescribed and illustrated. The name Scaptotrigona xanthotricha Moure is placed as a synonym of S. postica.