Amegilla hackeri

Tilcayo Cats original · Amegilla · Sources and editorial assessment · Originals retention rule

Amegilla hackeri is a bee name introduced by Rayment in 1947 for specimens from Mossman, Queensland. Its identity remained uncertain in the 2017 Australian Amegilla revision because important identifying features of the historical specimens had been lost or worn away.

Why identification remains difficult

The male's hidden abdominal plates and genital structures were missing. In the female, a hair patch near the tip of the abdomen was badly worn. The revisers considered the specimens to be the original type material but could not reliably distinguish them from related bees.

They suggested that hackeri might eventually prove to be the same species as A. thorogoodi or A. indistincta, potentially with help from DNA recovered from old specimens. That was a proposed way to resolve the problem, not a demonstrated synonymy. The name is therefore kept separate here, with its uncertainty visible.