Pareas macularius Theobald, 1868

David, Patrick & Deuti, Kaushik, 2022, On the type specimens of Pareas macularius Theobald, 1868 and Pareas berdmorei Theobald, 1868 with the designation of a lectotype for Pareas macularius (Squamata: Serpentes: Pareidae), Zootaxa 5105 (4), pp. 490-500 : 491-492

Pareas macularius Theobald, 1868

The original, valid description of Pareas macularius was published first by Theobald (1868a). This author credited the combination Pareas macularius to Edward Blyth. Whereas the combination Parias [sic] macularius indeed appeared first in Blyth (1859), it was not accompanied with a description and is therefore a nomen nudum. We could not find any other reference of E. Blyth in which this author mentioned specimens of Amblycephalus or Pareas macularius , including in Blyth (1855) in which this author published an account of snake specimens collected in Tenasserim. Therefore, the authorship of Pareas macularius can by no means be credited to E. Blyth.

Theobald (1868a) stated that E. Blyth named this species based on three juvenile specimens (ZSI 8024–8026), all from “Martaban” (currently in Myanmar) and identified as “The young” by Edward Blyth in his unknown source ( Fig. 1A ). So, these three specimens should be considered the syntypes of Pareas macularius . However, beside these three specimens, Theobald (1868a) also established his description based on two adult specimens (ZSI 8021– ZSI 8022), originating from “Tenasserim”, which he referred as the adult individuals of the three juvenile specimens ( Fig. 1B ). Theobald stated that Blyth did not notice that these juvenile specimens belonged to the same species than the two adult because of their different pattern. Therefore, Theobald (1868a) obviously based his description of Pareas macularius upon five syntypes, as correctly stated by Das et al. (1998), and not only on three specimens as stated by Sclater (1891) and Wallach et al. (2014).

We were able to check that all these specimens are still extent in the collections of the Zoological Survey of India (Kolkata) and they agree well with the descriptions provided by Theobald (1868a). The three juvenile are however in poor condition, each of them being broken into two or three stiff pieces.

The original references of Pareas macularius , with its original syntypes, is as follows:

“ Parias macularius ” Blyth, 1859: 297 .— Type locality. “Schwye Gyen,” in the valley of the Sitang River , Tenasserim Provinces ” (as indicated on p. 293), now Tanintharyi Region, Myanmar.—Status. Nomen nudum, no description.

Pareas macularius Theobald, 1868a: 54 .—Type locality. “Tenasserim”, now Tanintharyi Region, Myanmar, and “Martaban”, now Mottama , Môn State, Myanmar.— Syntypes (5 specimens). (1–3) ZSI 8024–8026 , three juvenile specimens from “Martaban”; deposited by Major T. M. Berdmore. —(4–5) ZSI 8021 , adult male and ZSI 8022 , adult female, both from “Tenasserim”; deposited by Major T. M. Berdmore.

Wallach et al. (2014) erroneously listed specimens BMNH 1925.12.22.1 (juvenile; from “Shweli, Mongmit District”, Sagaing Region, Myanmar) and BMNH 1926.3.17.9 (adult male; from “Kalaw, S. Shan States”, now in Shan State, Myanmar) as syntypes of P. macularius . Without even taking into account the fact that all syntypes of P. macularius are well identified and still present in the collections of the ZSI (Kolkata), these specimens come from localities different from those indicated in the original description and cannot be regarded as syntypes. Lastly, Hauser (2017) was also incorrect in considering that specimen NHMUK (formerly BMNH) 1946.1.20.8 is the holotype of Pareas macularius . This statement is obviously based on the indication of the NHMUK catalogue that lists specimen 1946.1.20.8 as “ Amblycephalus macularius Type [original number] 68.4.3.35 Tenasserim, W. Theobald”. Measurements of this specimen are as follows: SVL 333 mm, TaL 70 mm, TL 403 mm. This specimen, obviously not a juvenile, cannot be definitely considered a syntype of Amblycephalus macularius Blyth as the description of this species was based on three juvenile specimens identified in the collection of the ZSI (Kolkata).

Figures

FIGURE 1. The original syntypes of Pareas macularius and Pareas berdmorei. A. The three “young” specimens mentioned by Theobald (1868a–b), original syntypes of both of Pareas macularius and Pareas berdmorei, ZSI 8024, ZSI 8025 and ZSI 8026.—B. The two “adult” specimens mentioned by Theobald (1868a–b), ZSI 8021 and ZSI 8022 (top and centre), original syntypes of both of Pareas macularius and Pareas berdmorei, as well as specimen ZSI 8023 (bottom) that does not belong to the type series of either of these species. Photographs by Kaushik Deuti.