Nemognatha chrysomeloides is a species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of oil beetle (Meloidae) from Central

Central America

Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...

 and South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

.

Ecology

Nemognatha chrysomeloides is a parasite

Parasitism

Parasitism is a type of symbiotic relationship between organisms of different species where one organism, the parasite, benefits at the expense of the other, the host. Traditionally parasite referred to organisms with lifestages that needed more than one host . These are now called macroparasites...

 of Melitoma marginella and M. segmentaria from Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 to Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

. Both N. chrysomeloides and Melitoma are restricted to the same host plant – Ipomoea

Ipomoea

Ipomoea is the largest genus in the flowering plant family Convolvulaceae, with over 500 species. Most of these are called "morning glories", but this can refer to related genera also. Those formerly separated in Calonyction are called "moonflowers"...

– and so the rate of parasitism may be comparatively high.

Taxonomy

Nemognatha chrysomeloides was first described

Alpha taxonomy

Alpha taxonomy is the discipline concerned with finding, describing and naming species of living or fossil organisms. This field is supported by institutions holding collections of these organisms, with relevant data, carefully curated: such institutes include natural history museums, herbaria and...

 by Carl Linnaeus in his 1763 work , under the name Meloe chrysomeloides. It is a very variable species, and as such, many synonyms

Synonym (taxonomy)

In scientific nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that is or was used for a taxon of organisms that also goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnaeus was the first to give a scientific name to the Norway spruce, which he called Pinus abies...

 have since been published:

• Cantharis chrysomeloides (Linnaeus, 1763): Thunberg, 1784
• Lytta chrysomeloides (Linnaeus, 1763): Schoenherr, 1817
• Nemognathus coeruleipennis Perty, 1830
• Nemognatha versicolor Chevrolat, 1834
• Nemognatha abdominalis Lucas in Laporte de Castelnau, 1859
• Nemognatha bicolor Lucas in Laporte de Castelnau, 1859 (non LeConte, 1853; nec Walker, 1866)
• Nematognatha lucasi Gemminger, 1870
• Nemognatha atra Beauregard, 1890 (non Zonitis atrum Schwartz, 1808; nec Gnathium atrum Dugès, 1889)
• Nemognatha coeruleipennis var. fulviventris Beauregard, 1890
• Nemognatha pallidicollis Beauregard, 1890
• Nemognatha violacea Beauregard, 1890
• Nemognatha beauregardi Pic, 1910 (replacement name
  Nomen novum
  In biological nomenclature, a nomen novum , new replacement name is a technical term...
  
  for N. atra Beauregard, 1890)
• Zonitis chrysomeloides (Linnaeus, 1763): Denier, 1935
• Zonitis beauregardi (Pic, 1910): Blackwelder, 1945
• Nemognatha chrysomeloides ab. markli Kaszab, 1963