Solomys salebrosus Troughton, 1936a

Parnaby, Harry E., Ingleby, Sandy & Divljan, Anja, 2017, Type Specimens of Non-fossil Mammals in the Australian Museum, Sydney, Records of the Australian Museum 69 (5), pp. 277-420 : 379

Solomys salebrosus Troughton, 1936a

Rec. Aust. Mus. 19(5): 346. (7 April 1936).

Common name. Bougainville Giant Rat.

Current name. Solomys salebrosus Troughton, 1936a ; following Musser & Carleton (2005).

Holotype. M.5590 by original designation. Male adult, [ Field no. 44], skull, study skin, locality in register given as “Buin, Sth Bougainville I.”, collected by J. Poncelet, collection date not given in register, registered July 1934.

Condition. Cranium complete; right dentary missing medial part of the 1st molar; left dentary complete. Study skin, bald patch on ventral surface.

Type locality. [ Buin], southern Bougainville Island, North Solomons Province , Papua New Guinea. In the original description, Troughton does not specify the type locality other than “Bougainville Island” .

Paratypes. (5, 4 by subsequent determination). All five with locality and collector as for holotype: M.5589 (by original designation), female (allotype), skull, study skin, registered July 1934; M.5758, adult female, body in alc.; M.5762–63, both are females, skulls, study skins; M.5764, male, skull, body in alc., all four were registered December 1934.

Comments. Troughton indicates a type series of six specimens, but gave registration numbers only for the holotype and allotype. However, he mentions four additional specimens, referred to as one male and three female paratypes; these are marked as paratypes in Troughton’s hand in the register. Dates of collection are not given for any of the type series in the register, but all would have been collected in 1934. Troughton (1935c: 259) states that Poncelet was given a collecting kit when he visited the AM early in 1934. Photographs of holotype cranium and dentaries are given by Flannery (1995c). Poncelet later sent five additional specimens (topotypes), M.6491–92 and M.6645–47, all entered in the M Register from “Buin district, 10 miles inland”, and registered between 1937 and 1939.