Meliornis novaehollandiae queenslandicus

Mary, 2011, Type Specimens Of Birds In The American Museum Of Natural History Part 9. Passeriformes: Zosteropidae And Meliphagidae, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2011 (348), pp. 1-193 : 142-143

[ Meliornis novaehollandiae queenslandicus Mathews]

Mathews (1923b: 38) described this form, saying that the type was from ‘‘ Queensland.’’ There are no Queensland specimens of novaehollandiae in AMNH. Mathews (1925a: 23) noted that queenslandicus was based on differences pointed out by S.A. White, to whom Mathews (1925a: 18) attributed the following: ‘‘Specimens collected by me in Queensland seem to be consistently slightly smaller and the bill is smaller and finer (more slender) but coloration the same.’’

There is a specimen in SAMA that should be accorded type status, SAMA B53910, collected by White on Mount Tamborine, on 30 October 1910; it is smaller and with a smaller bill than South Australian specimens of novaehollandiae (P. Horton, personal commun.). Schodde (personal commun.) has suggested that Mathews, or White, may have misidentified specimens of niger , and there are two of White’s specimens of niger in SAMA that were originally identified as novaehollandiae (P. Horton, personal commun.).

On the other hand, Mathews (1912a: 415) recognized Meliornis n. nigra and listed Meliphaga sericea Gould as a synonym. From that time, he used M. nigra or M. niger in his publications until he introduced the generic name Pellornis for the species ( Mathews, 1925a: 24). He continued to catalog specimens as M. sericea , and there is no indication that he confused that species with novaehollandiae .

There are six Mathews specimens of Phylidonyris niger from Queensland in AMNH: AMNH 692242, the holotype of Meliornis nigra herbertoni Mathews, 1912 (see below); AMNH 692243 and 692244 collected by T.H. Bowyer-Bower in 1884 but not cataloged by Mathews until 1913 (Mathews nos. 16896 and 16897); AMNH 692225 collected by C. Lumholtz in 1883 but not cataloged by Mathews until 1912 (Mathews no. 11092, attributed to K. Dahl); and two collected by J.B. Cleland in 1919, too late to have been entered in Mathews’ catalog. One of these last two specimens, AMNH 692223, served for the description of the nearly adult male of Pellornis niger in Mathews (1925a: 27). The other, AMNH 692224, has been marked by J.C. Greenway, Jr., as ‘‘? type queenslandicus,’’ with a reference to the description. Given the above information, I believe this to be incorrect.