Chloropeta icterina Sundevall, 1850: 105

Dean, W. Richard J., Åhlander, Erik & Johansson, Ulf S., 2022, Avian type localities and the type specimens collected by Johan August Wahlberg in southern Africa, Zootaxa 5134 (4), pp. 521-560 : 546

Chloropeta icterina Sundevall, 1850: 105 .

VERBATIM TYPE LOCALITY: “ Caffraria.”

CURRENT STATUS: Iduna natalensis natalensis (A. Smith 1847) ; Acrocephalidae ( Dickinson & Christidis 2014: 472) .

TYPE LOCALITY:There is no indication in Sundevall’s original description(1850: 105) that the type series consists of more than one specimen. However, it is apparent in his acquisition journal that there were two specimens considered by him to be included in the type series. Gyldenstolpe (1926: 65) referred to NRM 568746 [6795] as a “type”; we treat this as a lectotype designation of this adult male collected 25 June 1840 in Durban. The only paralectotype was sent on exchange to Berlin in 1853, with collector given as J. A. Wahlberg, but no other information (and is present in the ZMB collection) .

Sundevall’s acquisition catalogue lists four specimens of Chloropeta received from Wahlberg. However, as noted above, only two were included in the type series. Sundevall (1850) was of the opinion that Chloropeta icterina was not conspecific with Chloropeta natalensis A. Smith, 1847 , and that there were differences in the green and yellow colours on the skins and in measurements. Following the Code (Art. 72.4.1) “The type series of a nominal species-group taxon consists of all the specimens included by the author in the new nominal taxon (whether directly or by bibliographic reference), except any that the author expressly excludes from the type series [Art. 72.4.6], or refers to as distinct variants (e.g. by name, letter or number), or doubtfully attributes to the taxon”. Since Sundevall did not include the other two specimens in what he thought of as a new species at the time of writing the description, they cannot be part of the type series.

VERIFIED TYPE LOCALITY: Durban , KwaZulu-Natal .

COMMENTS: There is no entry in the journal for this day, but date and place are in line with other specimens collected at the same time.