Ptilopus flavovirescens Meyer, AB, 1884

Johannessen, Lars Erik & Lifjeld, Jan T., 2022, Type specimens of birds in the Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Norway, Zootaxa 5150 (4), pp. 451-486 : 458-460

Ptilopus flavovirescens Meyer, AB, 1884

Sitzungsberichte und Abhandlungen der Naturwissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft Isis in Dresden, Abhandlungen 1884: 50.

Current name: Ptilinopus regina xanthogaster ( Wagler, 1827)

Syntype NHMO-BI-59271 [I016967]; Study skin; Johann Gerard Friedrich Riedel, 1881–1883; Indonesia: Timorlaut [Tanimbar Islands]; 7.500° S 131.500° E ; (10a).

Remarks: This specimen is labelled as ‘Typus’ both in the accompanying letter from Meyer and on the label ( Figure 3a ), which seems to be in the same handwriting as the letter and therefore most likely written by Meyer. In the original description, Meyer (1884) stated that he based his description on a large series of specimens (‘grossen Serie’); Eck & Quaisser (2004) specified the number of syntypes in this series more precisely as 16, which also corresponds with the contiguous series of specimens recorded in the MTD catalogue (C7114–C7129; Table 2 ). In addition to the six specimens for which current location is accounted for in Table 2 , there are also three in NHMW (NMW 48.234 –48.236; Pelzeln & Lorenz 1888; Schifter 1990; Schifter et al. 2007; Hans-Martin Berg, pers. comm.), but it is not known which numbers from the Dresden collection these correspond to. These three, and the NHMO specimen, must however be assumed to be among the 10 syntypes without known current location.

While no collection date was provided for the NHMO specimen, we have based the interval given for collection date (1881–1883) on information available in Meyer (1881) and Meyer (1884). In the former, presented in Wien on 7 December 1881, Meyer listed specimens of birds received from Riedel, collected by him during a round trip of the eastern Malay Archipelago in 1880. The only species included from the Tanimbar Islands were Carpophaga concinna Wallace, 1865 (currently Ducula concinna ( Wallace, 1865) ; from both Tenimber and Cera) and Eclectus riedeli (currently Eclectus roratus riedeli Meyer, AB, 1882 ; only from Cera). As no Ptilopus flavovirescens specimens were included in this shipment, it can probably be assumed that he did not collect this species during the 1880 trip. We have therefore concluded that the Ptilopus flavovirescens specimens most likely have been collected at the earliest in 1881, and, as the paper in which the taxon was described is dated March 1884, they were probably collected no later than 1883. This also corresponds well with information provided by Büttikofer (1886), describing a collection of 35 bird skins, including Ptilopus flavovirescens , presented to the Leyden Museum by Riedel, collected by his hunters on ‘Timor-Laut ’ in 1882.

In addition to the assumed original label mentioned above, there is also a label that has been added at the NHMO ( Figure 3b ), probably shortly after accessioning into the collection.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Labels of type specimens (maintained and refuted) in the NHMO Bird Collection described by A.B. Meyer. a) Ptilopus flavovirescens NHMO-BI-59271 (original Dresden label); b) Ptilopus flavovirescens NHMO-BI-59271 (NHMO label); c) Eclectus riedeli NHMO-BI-64131 (original Dresden label); d) Eclectus riedeli NHMO-BI-64132 (original Dresden label); e) Geoffroyus timorlaoënsis NHMO-BI-64130 (original Dresden label); f) Geoffroyus timorlaoënsis NHMO-BI-64228 (original Dresden label); g) Artamus Musschenbroeki NHMO-BI-68621 (original Dresden label).