Eocanthecona variabilis Brugnera & Grazia & Maynard & Roca-Cusachs 2024

Eocanthecona variabilis (Vollenhoven, 1868) comb. nov. Figs 5g –h, 6d–f, i–j Canthecona variabilis Vollenhoven,1868: 8. Cantheconidea variabilis – Schouteden 1907 b: 46. –– Kirkaldy 1909: 13. –– Thomas 1994: 168. –– Roell et al. 2020: 4. Type material Paratype TIMOR 1 ♀; “Timor // Mus. / Leyden // variabilis / Typ. Voll. // PARATYPUS // NHRS-GULI / 000027290”; NHRS; NHRS 000027290 (Fig. 6d–f). Material examined TIMOR • 1 ♀; “Wienecke / Timor // Museum Leiden / Cantheconidea / variabilis Voll. // COTYPUS // RMNH.INS / 1093148”; RMNH; RMNH 1093148 (Fig. 6i –j) • 1 ♀; “Wienecke / Timor 5 // Museum Leiden / Cantheconidea / variabilis Voll. // COTYPUS // RMNH.INS / 1093149”; RMNH; RMNH 1093149 • 1 ♂; “Wienecke / Timor // Museum Leiden / Cantheconidea / variabilis Voll. // COTYPUS // RMNH.INS / 1093150”; RMNH; RMNH 1093150 • 1 ♀; “Wienecke / Timor 5 // Museum Leiden / Cantheconidea / variabilis Voll. // COTYPUS // RMNH.INS / 1093151”; RMNH; RMNH 1093151 • 1 ♀; “Wienecke / Timor // Museum Leiden / Cantheconidea / variabilis Voll. // COTYPUS // RMNH.INS / 1093152”; RMNH; RMNH 1093152 • 1 ♀; “Wienecke / Timor I // Museum Leiden / Cantheconidea / variabilis Voll. // COTYPUS // RMNH.INS / 1093153”; RMNH; RMNH 1093153 • 1 ♂; “Wienecke / Timor I // Museum Leiden / Cantheconidea / variabilis Voll. // COTYPUS // RMNH.INS / 1093154”; RMNH; RMNH 1093154 • 1 ♀; “Wienecke / Timor I // Museum Leiden / Cantheconidea / variabilis Voll. // COTYPUS // RMNH.INS / 1093155”; RMNH; RMNH 1093155 • 1 ♂; “Deyr. / Timor // Museum Leiden / Cantheconidea / variabilis Voll. // COTYPUS // RMNH. INS / 1093156”; RMNH; RMNH 1093156 (Fig. 5g –h) • 1 ♀; “Deyr. / Timor. // Museum Leiden / Cantheconidea / variabilis Voll. // COTYPUS // RMNH.INS / 1092852”; RMNH; RMNH 1092852. Distribution Timor. Remarks There are three species in the type series for E. variabilis comb. nov., which include a single paratype and 10 cotypes. The paratype of E. variabilis shows similarity with E. acuta sens. lat., but further research is necessary to confirm if they are the same species and to revise morphologically similar species of Eocanthecona across the Indo-Pacific region. The cotypes of E. variablis are different species from the paratype and include a mix of Eocanthecona (cf. vollenhoveni: RMNH.INS.1093148, RMNH. INS.109314850 to -109314852, RMNH.INS.109314854 to -109314855) and Cantheconidea mitis (RMNH.INS.1093149, -1093153, -1093156, RMNH.INS.1092852). Consequently, the C. variabilis cotypes are no longer considered E. variabilis. The two illustrations of C. variabilis from the original description do not match the appearance of the paratype, namely the paratype has spinose rather than the illustrated blunt humeri (Vollenhoven 1868: pl. 1 figs 7–8). We suspect the illustrations were based on cotypes rather than the paratype.