Vespertilio polythrix I. Geoffroy St. Hilaire, 1824

Turni, Hendrik & Kock, Dieter, 2008, Type specimens of bats (Chiroptera: Mammalia) in the collections of the Museum f r Naturkunde, Berlin, Zootaxa 1869 (1), pp. 1-82 : 61-62

Vespertilio polythrix I. Geoffroy St. Hilaire, 1824 nomen oblitum

Geoffroy St. Hilaire, I. (1824) Sur les Vespertilions du Brésil. Annales de Sciences naturelles Paris, 3: 443.

Valid name: Myotis levis (I. Geoffroy St. Hilaire, 1824) , nomen protectum

Note: V. polythrix was treated by Simmons (2005: 510) as a synonym for Myotis levis (I. Geoffroy St. Hilaire, 1824) , Ann. Sci. Nat., 3: 444. Due to page priority the first available name is polythrix ( polythrix on p. 443, levis on p. 444). According to ICZN (1999) article 23.9.1. prevailing usage must be maintained when the following conditions are both met:

23.9.1.1. the senior synonym or homonym has not been used as a valid name after 1899, and

23.9.1.2. the junior synonym or homonym has been used for a particular taxon, as its presumed valid

name, in at least 25 works, published by at least 10 authors in the immediately preceding 50 years

and encompassing a span of not less than 10 years.

The name [ Myotis ] polythrix has not been used as valid name after 1899, whereas the name [ Myotis ] levis has been by Anderson et al. (1982), Baud & Menu (1993), Capllonch et al. (1997), Morando & Polop (1997), Lopez-Gonzalez (1998), Braun & Diaz (1999), Diaz & Barquez (1999), Hoofer & Van den Bussche (2001), Lopez-Gonzalez et al. (2001), Sanabria & Quiroga (2001), Villavicencio et al. (2001), Arzua et al. (2002), Fenton & Bogdanowicz (2002), Lunaschi (2002), Merino et al. (2003), Miretzki (2003), Reis et al. (2003), Autino et al. (2004), Bianconi et al. (2004), Cherem et al. (2004), Graciolli (2004), Tabeni et al. (2004), Bertola et al. (2005), Esberard & Bergallo (2005), Simmons (2005), and Miranda et al. (2006).

According to ICZN (1999) article 23.9.2. the younger but valid name levis is a nomen protectum, and the older but invalid name polythrix a nomen oblitum.

Syntype: ZMB 3911 , skin, skull not extracted; Brazil; collected by Geoffroy St. Hilaire, ex MNHN.

Comment: Carter & Dolan (1978: 75) listed further syntypes in the MNHN (842, 843), but overlooked the specimen in the ZMB .