Passer rutilans intensior Rothschild

Passer rutilans intensior Rothschild, 1922: 11 (Mekong Valley, 7–9000 ft.).

Now Passer rutilans intensior Rothschild, 1922 . See Hartert, 1928: 198; LeCroy and Dickinson, 2001: 192; Dickinson, 2003: 716; and Summers-Smith, 2009: 796.

HOLOTYPE: AMNH 719362, adult male, collected in the Mekong Valley, 7000–9000 ft, China, 6 July 1921, by George Forrest (no. 605). From the Rothschild Collection.

COMMENTS: In the original description, Rothschild designated as the type of intensior a male collected by Forrest in the Mekong Valley, 7000–9000 feet in elevation, on 6 July 1921. Both male and female were included in the description and measurements were given for more than one male, implying that all were from the Mekong Valley, which was given as the habitat. However, Rothschild had a single Forrest specimen, a male, from the Mekong Valley itself when he described intensior, as is shown in his (Rothschild, 1926: 328) summary of all of his Yunnan material. Hartert (1928: 198) also listed this Mekong Valley specimen as the type, and there is no question as to its holotype status (LeCroy and Dickinson, 2001: 192).

However, in the original description (see above), Rothschild listed both male and female, giving measurements for more than one male. When Rothschild (1923: 54) later reported on Forrest’s 1921 collection, he listed two specimens of intensior, the holotype of intensior from the Mekong Valley and a female from the Mekong-Salwin divide. It is not clear from the description of intensior whether he intended to include the female from the Mekong-Salwin divide or even specimens collected earlier in the Mekong Valley that were part of the BMNH share of Forrest’s collections.