Abstract Dr. Tokuichi Shiraki laid a solid foundation for entomological studies in Taiwan during the Japanese colonial period (1895-1945). He not only investigated Taiwan's entomofauna and advanced its agricultural entomology but also made significant contributions to the establishment of relevant policies and institutions. However, the insect specimens he left behind in Taiwanese institutions include numerous questionable exotic species labelled as originating from Taiwanese localities, which confused subsequent entomofaunistic studies in Taiwan. This issue has been termed the "Shiraki Collection". The present study reports the "Shiraki Collection" issue as it applies to weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea). We identified four exotic weevil species labelled as originating from Kotosho (currently Orchid Island, Taitung County), namely Orthorhinus cylindrirostris (Fabricius, 1775) and Siraton roei (Boheman, 1843) (Curculionidae: Molytinae) from Australia, Tanaos interstitialis Fahraeus, 1871 (Brentidae: Apioninae) from South Africa and "Orthorhynchoides (Guineorhinotia)" misoolensis Legalov, 2024 (Belidae: Belinae) from New Guinea. Given specimens with identical label data originating from various countries, we found no consistent pattern linking a specific Taiwanese locality to any particular foreign region. This finding underscores the need for further investigation to clarify the provenance of all questionable specimens in the "Shiraki Collection".
摘要 素木得一 (Tokuichi Shiraki) 博士為日本殖民時代的臺灣昆蟲學研究奠定了堅實的基礎。他不僅研究了臺灣的昆蟲相和農業昆蟲學，更對於相關法規和研究機構的建立有著卓越的貢獻。然而，素木得一遺留在臺灣相關研究機構的標本收藏中，卻包含了數量可觀的可疑外國產昆蟲標本，這些外國物種被標示為來自臺灣的產地，造成後世研究臺灣昆蟲相的困擾，該議題也因此被稱為「素木標本問題」。本研究報導象鼻蟲類的素木標本問題，我們確認了四種被標記產自臺灣的紅頭嶼 (今臺東縣蘭嶼鄉)，但實際上卻是外國產的象鼻蟲，包含象鼻蟲科魔喙象鼻蟲亞科 (Curculionidae: Molytinae) 中產自澳洲的Orthorhinus cylindrirostris (Fabricius, 1775) 和Siraton roei (Boheman, 1843) ，三錐象鼻蟲科針嘴象鼻蟲亞科 (Brentidae: Apioninae) 中產自南非的Tanaos interstitialis Fahraeus, 1871，以及羊齒象鼻蟲科羊齒象鼻蟲亞科 (Belidae: Belinae) 中來自新幾內亞的“Orthorhynchoides (Guineorhinotia)” misoolensis Legalov, 2024。有鑒於這些來自不同國家的標本均有著完全相同的素木氏標籤，我們因此無法辨認出任何臺灣產地與原產國家間的特定對應關係。本研究顯示未來應該持續釐清素木得一標本收藏中所有標示可疑的外國產昆蟲。
| Key words: Weevil, Shiraki Collection, Questionable Distribution, Taiwan Entomology | | 關鍵詞: 象鼻蟲、素木標本、可疑分布、臺灣昆蟲學 |
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