Neofidia
Neofidia is a genus of leaf beetles in the subfamily Eumolpinae. It is distributed in North and Central America. There are 24 species recognised in Neofidia.
Etymology
The original name for the genus, Fidia, is taken from mythology. The replacement name, Neofidia, refers to the fact it is a new name for Fidia Baly, 1863, as well as the distribution of the genus in the Nearctic and Neotropical realms.Taxonomic history
The name "Fidia" was first used in 1836 by the French entomologist Pierre François Marie Auguste Dejean in his Catalogue des Coléoptères, listing two species from the New World, F. lurida and F. murina. Because no description or indication was given for either species, they are considered nomina nuda. Likewise, Fidia Dejean is also considered a nomen nudum.In 1861, Victor Motschulsky described a new species of beetle from Japan with the name Fidia atra. Motschulsky's species description, in combination with the generic name Fidia, constitutes an indication for the latter, thereby making the name Fidia available.
In 1863, Joseph Sugar Baly provided a description of Dejean's Fidia and Fidia lurida, making both names available. In the same work, Baly also established the Old World genera Lypesthes, with Motschulsky's Fidia atra as the type species, and Leprotes, which was later treated as a junior synonym of Lypesthes. Following Baly's work, the name Lypesthes was consistently used for the Old World genus group based on Fidia atra, while Fidia was consistently used for the New World genus group based on Fidia lurida.
An application to suppress Fidia Motschulsky, 1861 and conserve usage of Fidia Baly, 1863 and Lypesthes Baly, 1863 was submitted to the ICZN in 2006. This proposal was rejected by the commission in 2009, upholding the priority of Fidia Motschulsky, 1861. Following this ruling, Fidia Baly, 1863 was renamed to Neofidia in 2020.
Species
There are 24 species currently recognised in the genus Neofidia:Neofidia albovittata – southern Tamaulipas, Mexico to central HondurasNeofidia cana – TexasNeofidia chapini – Guerrero, MexicoNeofidia clematis – extreme southern Texas to central Veracruz, MexicoNeofidia comalensis – Comala in Colima, MexicoNeofidia confusa – Illinois south to Louisiana, from Kansas and Oklahoma to Kentucky and TennesseeNeofidia convexicollis – Texas and OklahomaNeofidia costaricensis – Costa RicaNeofidia delilahae – Alabama and MississippiNeofidia dicelloposthe – Tejupilco in Mexico State, MexicoNeofidia dichroma – Guatemala and Chiapas, MexicoNeofidia guatemalensis – Belize, El Salvador, GuatemalaNeofidia humeralis – Arizona and New Mexico south to Oaxaca, MexicoNeofidia longipes – east of the Appalachian MountainsNeofidia lurida – Grape rootworm; found throughout eastern North AmericaNeofidia marraverpa – Oaxaca, MexicoNeofidia papillata – Hidalgo, MexicoNeofidia pedestris – along Sierra Madre Oriental in eastern Mexico, from Hidalgo to OaxacaNeofidia pedinops – Alabama, Florida and GeorgiaNeofidia rileyorum – southwestern United States, west of the Appalachian MountainsNeofidia spuria – Sierra Madre del Sur in Guerrero and Oaxaca, MexicoNeofidia texana – TexasNeofidia tibialis – MexicoNeofidia xanthonioides – Sierra Madre del Sur in MexicoFidia murina Glover, 1868 is considered a nomen dubium.
Fidia lateralis Jacoby, 1882 was transferred to Xanthonia.