Ploceus fischeri Reichenow, 1887: 69

Frahnert, Sylke, Turner, Donald A. & Bracker, Cordula, 2023, Type specimens and type localities of birds (Aves) collected by Gustav Adolf Fischer (1848 - 1886) in East Africa, Zootaxa 5334 (1), pp. 1-84 : 51

Ploceus fischeri Reichenow, 1887: 69 .

Now: Ploceus melanocephalus dimidiatus Antinori & Salvadori, 1873 , but see Amadon et al. (1962: 49); White (1963: 139); Dickinson & Christidis (2014: 288), who all prefer Ploceus melanocephalus fischeri Reichenow, 1887 .

Syntype: ZMB 47.101 (B 20147, Fischer no. 142) , skin, male, collected at “Kagehi”, 20.11.[1885].

Syntype: ZMB 2000.55462 (B 20147, Fischer no. 135) , skin, male, juvenile, collected at “Kagehi”, 18.11.[1885].

Syntype: ZMB 2000.55463 (B 20147, Fischer no. 195) , skin, female, collected at “Kagehi”, 12.12.[1885], is considered parent of the clutch of 5 eggs with collector’s number 131 ( ZMB 2000.61019 to ZMB 2000.61024 ) .

Syntype (missing): female, collected at “Kagehi”, [1885].

Syntype (missing): juvenile, collected at “Kagehi”, [1885].

Type locality: “Kagehi am Victoria-See” [Kayenzi, Mwanza Region, Tanzania], from the original description as well as locality of the syntypes.

Remarks: In the original description no type was chosen, and there were no inventory numbers for specimens provided, but there were descriptions for both sexes, and measurements for more than one specimen (2 males, 2 females, 1 juvenile) from the locality “Kagehi” were given. Only three specimens were mentioned in the ZMB entry catalogue for P. fischeri (B 20147), while under B 20148 an additional three specimens of Ploceus dimidiatus were listed, and which were also mentioned as P. dimidiatus (nos. 132, 144, 152, 159, 160) by Reichenow (1887). Four of the latter were later identified as Ploceus jacksoni Shelley (ZMB 2000.55470, ZMB 2000.55471, AMNH SKIN 723537, AMNH SKIN 723538), but no. 132 is either missing or the label data is lost. Reichenow (1887) may have regarded P. jacksoni as P. dimidiatus and described the species P. dimidiatus as P. fischeri . Therefore, ZMB 47.101, ZMB 2000.55462 and ZMB 55.463 are regarded as syntypes for Ploceus fischeri . The whereabouts of the missing specimens are unknown, as they are not registered in the ZMB, ZMH and AMNH collections. In addition P. fischeri may be best considered subspecifically distinct due to it being well separated from P. dimidiatus of northern Sudan and Eritrea by an area occupied by P. taeniopterus Reichenbach, HGL ( Gill et al. 2023) . Reichenow (1887) also mentioned that the specimen described by Pelzeln (1881: 149) as P. affinis Heuglin was possibly a female of Ploceus fischeri , but as this appears in doubt we do not include the Pelzeln specimen in the type list.

In addition, there are 14 eggs attributed to Ploceus fischeri . Two clutches probably came directly with Fischer’s collection (clutch 1: 3 eggs, ZMB 2000.61016 – ZMB 2000.61018 ; clutch 2: 5 eggs with no. 131, ZMB 2000.61019 – ZMB 2000.61024 ). Additionally, five eggs of that species collected by Fischer arrived at the ZMB in 1916 with the egg collection of Adolph Nehrkorn ( ZMB 2000.61652 – ZMB 2000.61656 ), two of which also bear Fischer’s no. 131. “Kagehi” was very close to present-day Mwanza on the southern shore of Lake Victoria (2°23’S, 33°03’E) .