[Taxacom] Chinese locality question

[John Grehan]

Dear Che,

Thank you for the observations on the complexity of possibilities. However,
I think I have had some success in ensuring reasonable accuracy for Yao Gi
being near or part of Mupin (Muping) as I have a combination of evidence -
one is the specimen being in the Smithsonian, the other being a publication
by the Smithsonian providing the contents of a collector of Smithsonian
materials, including insects (see Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record
Unit 7148, Graham, David Crockett, “Transcript of Diary no. 7,
June 14, 1929‐August 14, 1929”, SIA_007148_B01_F09_E01_Transcript,
http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/fbr_item_modsi2144 )

Th diary makes direct reference to Yao Gi so that gives some confidence,
although there may always be some possibility of error. The species is
Endoclita crenilimbata (sometimes in the past referred to the genus
Phassus). The species is not covered in the 2004 volume of Fauna Sinica vol
38 and most likely is not in any Chinese publication as the type has never
been illustrated and in the past was not accessible to Chinese researchers
(a photo of the type is now available on line).

Thank you for this or any future input.

John Grehan


On Fri, Mar 24, 2017 at 12:53 PM, 蒋澈 <jiangche at pku.edu.cn> wrote:

> Dear Mr. Grehan,
>
> I've found something interesting.
>
> The type locality of Hyalurgus cinctus, a tachinid, is also "Yao-gi,
> Chine" (published in French). A British entomlogist, R.W. Crosskey, in his
> "A taxonomic conspectus of the Tachinidae (Diptera) of the Oriental
> region", recorded this place as "China: (? Szechwan) Yao-gi", i.e. he also
> thought this place might be located in the Sichuan province, though not
> sure. However, in "Catalogue of Palaearctic Diptera", B. Herting corrected
> it to "Yao-Gi (Yao-jie, S. Gansu, China)", which is 窑街 in the Gansu
> province.
>
> Who is correct in this issue? I can hardly tell, because such a name is so
> vague (perhaps this is a pronunciation in the local dialect，since the
> syllable "gi" doesn't appear in the Mandarin phonology) and there are
> thousands of villages and towns in this region. Locating it is not easier
> than finding a needle in the ocean. But I believe that should be a place in
> Sichuan, rather than Gansu. For the time being I couldn't find a suitable
> toponymical reference book. When I have got one at my hand, maybe I could
> figure it out. Let me try.
>
> By the way, could you show me the species name of that moth? I think I
> could consult some monographs in Chinese language to find some clues.
>
>
> Greetings from China,
> JIANG Che
>
>
> > -----原始邮件-----
> > 发件人: "John Grehan" <calabar.john at gmail.com>
> > 发送时间: 2017-03-24 07:43:17 (星期五)
> > 收件人: taxacom <taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu>
> > 抄送:
> > 主题: [Taxacom] Chinese locality question
> >
> > Dear colleagues,
> >
> > If anyone may have a clue as the whereabouts of 'Yao Gi' in China I would
> > be most grateful. This is in reference to a moth in the Smithsonian
> > collection that has no date, but refers to an elevation of 4-5,000 feet.
> I
> > suspect that it is somewhere in southwestern China. The only other
> locality
> > for this species is in Pin-fa in Guizhou province.
> >
> > Thank you,
> >
> > John Grehan
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