Memoirs of Museum Victoria 68: 67-70 (2011) 
ISSN 1447-2546 (Print) 1447-2554 (On-line) 
http:// museum.com.au/About/Books-and-Journals/Journals/Memoirs-of-Museum-'Victoria 
What is Alloxysta fulviceps (Curtis, 1838) (Hymenoptera: Cynipoidea: Figitidae: 
Charipinae)? 
JULI PUJADE-VILLAR 1 , MAR FERRER-SUAY 1 , JESUS SELFA 2 AND MlGUEL A. ALONSO-ZARAZAGA 3 
1 Universitat de Barcelona, Facultat de Biologia, Departament de Biologia Animal, Avda. Diagonal, 645,08028-Barcelona 
(Spain) (jpujade@ub.edu; mar.ferrer.suay@gmail.com) 
2 Universitat de Valencia, Facultat de Ciencies Biologiques, Departament de Zoologia, Campus de Burjassot-Paterna, Dr. 
Moliner 50,46100-Burjassot (Valencia, Spain) (jesus.selfa@uv.es) 
3 Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biologia Evolutiva, Jose Gutierrez Abascal, 2. 
28006-Madrid (Spain) (zarazaga@mncn.csic.es) 
Abstract Pujade-Villar, J., Ferrer-Suay, M., Selfa, J. and Alonso-Zarazaga, M.A. 2011. What is Alloxysta fulviceps (Curtis, 1838) 
(Hymenoptera: Cynipoidea: Figitidae: Charipinae)?. Memoirs of Museum Victoria 68: 67-70. 
The validity of Alloxysta fulviceps (Curtis, 1838) and its synonymies have been examined. After studying the type 
series and the taxonomic history of this species, we conclude that the lectotype was wrongly designated. A new lectotype 
is designated and A. fulviceps is synonymised with A. victrix (Westwood, 1833). 
Keywords Hymenoptera, Figitidae, Charipinae, Alloxysta,fulviceps 
Introduction 
The Charipinae (Hym., Figitidae) species Alloxysta fulviceps 
(Curtis, 1838) has been a troublesome species since its 
description. Curtis (1838, p. 688) described it as a species of 
Cynips with the following features: ‘27. fulviceps Curt. Shining 
black, head and legs bright ochre; antennae longer than the 
body, fuscous, base ochreous, 2 basal joints ovate, 3rd slender, 
scarcely longer than the following, wings very ample: 2/3 long. 
Bred from female Aphides by the late Mr. T. Carpenter’. 
Later, it was transferred to Allotria by Kieffer (1900, p. 
114). According to Kieffer (1902, p. 76), this species was 
considered as doubtful and insufficiently described. It was 
kept in Allotria by Dalla Torre and Kieffer (1902, p. 41), and 
finally it was transferred by Dalla Torre and Kieffer (1910, p. 
288) to Charips. 
Quinlan and Fergusson (1981) mentioned that the type 
series deposited in Museum Victoria (Australia) was studied 
by Kerrich in 1948. According to these authors, this type 
series consisted of three specimens, and Kerrich defined one 
of them as ‘type of Cynips fulviceps = Alloxysta fulviceps ’. 
These data were not published and Fitton (1978, p. 65) was the 
first to consider Curtis’s species in Alloxysta. 
According to Quinlan and Fergusson (1981), the type 
series of A. fulviceps grouped two distinct morphologies: 1 9 
with Kerrich’s notes (with open radial cell) and 2 9 without 
Kerrich’s notes (with closed radial cell). These two specimens 
were labelled by Quinlan with the following notes: Alloxysta 
minutal (Hrt.) 9 det. Quinlan 1986’ and ‘this specimen has not 
type-status’. Since then, Curtis’s species has been a species 
with an open radial cell (a feature not mentioned by Curtis in 
his description). 
In the same study, Quinlan and Fergusson (1981) 
synonymised Alloxysta erythrothorax (Hartig, 1840) with A. 
fulviceps. This synonymy has two problems: (1) the choice as 
lectotype of the specimen with an open radial cell, when Curtis 
did not mention the morphology of the radial cell, and (2) the 
distinct chromatic features that are mentioned in the original 
description of Alloxysta fulviceps (Curtis) and A. erythrothorax 
(Hartig). Hartig (1840, p. 200) defined Xystus erythrothorax as 
follows: ‘5) X. erythrothorax m.: niger, capite rufo; facie flava, 
pectore rufo; antennis pedibusquie rufis. Male’. 
Results and discussion 
None of the aforementioned authors did a redescription of Curtis’s 
species, so we borrowed the type material from Museum Victoria. 
Only one of the three original specimens remains (Catriona 
McPhee, Collection Manager Terrestrial Invertebrates (Mon- 
Wed) of the Museum Victoria, pers. com. on 21 Feb. 2011): one 
of the two of the original series (before Kerrich’s study) that has a 
closed radial cell. We are not able to determine how Kerrich chose 
a lectotype of Cynips fulviceps, but after Quinlan’s study and the 
synonymy proposed by Quinlan and Fergusson (1981), this 
specimen would have to have a reddish yellow mesoscutum. 
Therefore, it cannot be the lectotype of A. fulviceps because Curtis 
