Importance of genetic data from type specimens: The questionable type locality of southern white-cheeked gibbon, Nomascus siki (Delacour, 1951)

D URING the past year the San Diego Society of Natural History series of reptiles has been augmented by material from northern Lower California collected by Messrs. Chas. F. Harbison and Curtis W. Brown. Included were a number of horned toads from between San Quintin and Punta Prieta (Lat. 290 N.), an area previously unrepresented in collections. These specimens close the last extensive gap in the territorial distribution of available specimens of the conoratum group between Kennett, California, on the north, and Cape San Lucas on the south. It therefore appears opportune to examine this series to determine the validity of the several names which have been proposed for these coastal horned toads, and particularly the relationship between coronatum and blainvillii, the forms found at the southern tip of Lower California, and in upper California, respectively. The following forms have been described: 1835 Agama (Phrynosoma) coronata Blainville, Nouv. Ann. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, 4: 284. Type locality Californie (generally assumed to be the Cape Region of Lower California). Type specimen in the Natural History Museum at Paris; collected by P. E. Botta. 1839 Phrynosoma blainvillii Gray, Zool. Beechey's Voyage: 96. Type locality California' (generally assumed to be the vicinity of San Diego, California). Type specimen in the British Museum; presented to the museum by H. de Blainville. 1893 Phrynosoma cerroense Stejneger, N. Amer. Fauna, No. 7: 187 (foot note). Type locality Cerros (Cedros) Island. Type specimen USNM 11977; collected by L. Belding. 1894 Phrynosoma frontalis Van Denburgh, Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci., Ser. 2, 4: 296. Type locality, Bear Valley, San Benito County, California. Type specimen, Stanford 93; collected by W. W. Price. 1921 Phrynosoma schmidti Barbour, Proc. N. Eng. Zool. Club, 7: 113. Type locality Cerros (Cedros) Island. Type specimen MCZ 15142; collected by W. W. Brown. 1922 Phrynosoma nelsoni Schmidt, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Ilist., 46: 666. Type locality, San Quintin, Lower California. Type specimen, AMNH 37585; collected by E. W. Nelson and A. E. Goldman. 1922 Phrynosoma jamesi Schmidt, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 46: 668. Type locality, San Bartolome, Lower California. Type specimen, USNM 64450; collected by H. Townsend. 1932 Phrynosoma ochoterenai Terron, Anales del Inst. Biol., 3: 109. Type locality, Tecate, Lower California. Type specimen from the collection of the National Museum of Natural History, Mexico, D. F.;T collected by J. M. Gallegos.

The forgotten type specimen of the grey seal [<i>Halichoerus grypus</i>(Fabricius, 1791)] from the island of Amager, Denmark

Diagnostic characters and taxonomic descriptions of two rare zoarcid fishes, Krusensterniella multispinosa Soldatov, 1922 and K. pavlovskii Andriashev, 1955 (family Zoarcidae), have been updated using the type and additional specimens. The type locality of K. multispinosa is located in the northwestern part of the Sea of Okhotsk (55°57ʹN, 138°13ʹE, depth 87 m). The lectotype (ZIN No 19961) was designated by P.Yu. Schmidt (1950). The morphological variability of the species is described, diagnosis is expanded. Additional differences from the species of related genus Gymnelopsis are specified. The distribution of K. multispinosa is limited to the Sea of Okhotsk and depths of 78–160 m. Krusensterniella pavlovskii was known by three type specimens from the Cape Africa, eastern Kamchatka (holotype ZIN No 33748, paratypes ZIN No 56576). Additional specimen derives from the north-eastern part of the Sea of Okhotsk (58°50ʹN, 157°02ʹE), which extends the known range of the species. The description of K. pavlovskii was updated, the diagnosis supplemented. Krusensterniella multispinosa and K. pavlovskii (subgenus Schantarella Andriashev, 1938) differ from other congeners in a larger number of pungent spines in the middle section of the dorsal fin D (XV–XXVI vs. I-XI). The both have 100–112 vertebrae, 95–110 dorsal-fin rays, and 81–94 anal-fin rays. In Krusensterniella pavlovskii unlike K. multispinosa, there are XXIII–XXVI pungent spines D (vs. XV–XX), 71–74 spiny rays in the anterior and middle parts of the dorsal fin (vs. 60–69), and 7 preoperculomandibular pores (vs. 6); the middle section of D with pungent spines is 83-112% of the length of the posterior section of D (43–72% in K. multispinosa) and 26–31% of the tail length, measured from the anal-fin origin to the caudal-fi n en d (vs. 17–22%); the scale cover reaching forward to the pectoral fins (in K. multispinosa not reaching the anal-fin origin.

Aplacophoran molluscs are a small, often neglected and still poorly known but phylogenetically important basal group, with taxa possessing morphological characters considered essential for the reconstruction of the basal Mollusca and their evolution. Currently, in most textbooks of zoology and major malacological treatise Solenogastres and Caudofoveata are viewed as constituting a monophyletic clade called Aplacophora Von Ihering, 1876, although evidence is available to the contrary, suggesting the latter to be a paraphyletic grade. Accordingly, the hitherto accepted “Aplacophora” may consist of two Recent, diphyletic taxa, viz. Solenogastres Gegenbaur, 1878 (sensu Simroth, 1893) or Neomeniomorpha Pelseneer, 1906 (also called Ventroplicida Boettger, 1955) and Caudofoveata Boettger, 1955 or Chaetodermomorpha Pelseneer, 1906. The Museum of Natural History Berlin (formerly Zoological Museum Berlin, ZMB) houses rich type material essentially of Solenogastres on which to a substantial degree the preeminent German malacologist Johannes Thiele (1860–1935), working as curator in this collection from 1905 on, has based his respective systematic accounts of that time. A review given here briefly outlines the historical development of knowledge on the systematics and phylogeny of aplacophoran molluscs allowing two conclusions: First, that evidendently Thiele struggled with the very same problems of molluscan classification as we still do more than a century of zoological systematics later; and second, that Thiele's erroneous assumption of Solenogastres being closely related to annelids rather than molluscs resulted in the deposition of aplacophoran material of the ZMB (and hence the late re-discovery of it) in the “Vermes” department, then initiating this annotated type catalogue. Here we provide information on a total of 31 aplacophoran taxa in the ZMB, including notes on type specimens and localities, their original description and current systematic placement. The majority (i.e. 25 taxa) are represented by types, essentially being named by Thiele in 23 cases. With the exception of one caudofoveate, all these aplacophoran molluscs in the ZMB are Solenogastres. Following recent classification they are assigned to 20 genera. The type material was mainly collected by German imperial expeditions, which are briefly reviewed, in particular the First German South Polar Expedition on board of the sailing vessel “Gauss”, 1901–1903, with a total of 15 new aplacophoran species, all from the very same type locality near the Antarctic Gaussberg volcano at 66°2′S, 89°38′E, collected by the expedition's biologist Ernst Vanhoffen. (© 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

An annotated catalogue is presented for the type specimens of the peiratine Reduviidae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) preserved in the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (MNHN), Paris, France. The Peiratinae collection in MNHN contains type specimens representing 58 nominal species and five varieties (including 48 species and one subspecies currently recognized as valid) of 16 genera. The great majority of the type specimens concerns taxa described by André Villiers and René Jeannel; there are also several type specimens representing species described by Johann Christian Fabricius, Gustave Fallou and, more recently, Jean-Michel Bérenger. The information provided for each taxon and its type specimens includes: original data, type status, label information, type locality, current status and related remarks. Colour images of representative types and their labels are also provided. Specimens of four additional peiratine species, erroneously labelled as “Type”, are also listed.

The leafcutting bees of theleachellagroup of Megachile Latreille subgenus Eutricharaea Thomson are revised for the Western Palaearctic region using a combination of morphology and phylogenetic analyses of three genes (COI, LW-Rhodopsin, CAD). Although only seven species are recognized, much effort was needed to link delimitated taxonomic units to taxon names because of the difficulties in identifying type specimens. Numerous types were in a poor state of conservation, preventing straight-forward identification using morphology. This was in some cases aggravated by the fact that they often belonged to a sex that could not easily be identified; one type was a gynandromorph specimen whose identification is even more challenging. In several cases, the type locality was vague or unclear; in three cases, the type specimens originated from introduced populations for which the source of the introduction needed to be determined using DNA barcoding. In two cases, the type specimens consisted of several body parts not originating from a single individual but from two heterospecific specimens. We argue that this tedious nomenclatural work would have been greatly facilitated if a reference library of type specimens had been available. Our revision leads to the following taxonomic changes.Megachile argentata(Fabricius, 1793), described from northern Africa and with a convoluted taxonomic history, is demonstrated, based on morphometric analyses of its lectotype, to be conspecific with the species hitherto known asM. pilidensAlfken, 1924. After discussing and excluding several alternative options that would minimize nomenclatural changes, we placeM. pilidensin synonymy withM. argentata(syn. nov.). Two new subspecies are described for morphologically slightly divergent insular populations,M. leachella creticaPraz,ssp. nov.from Crete, andM. leachella densipunctataPraz,ssp. nov.from Cyprus. In addition,M. albipilaPérez, 1895 is treated as a subspecies ofM. leachellaCurtis, 1828 (stat. nov.). The following new synonymies are proposed:M. compactaPérez, 1895 (notM. compactaSmith, 1879) and the replacement nameM. crassulaPérez, 1896,M. argyreaCockerell, 1931 andPerezia mauraFerton, 1914, are placed in synonymy withM. argentata(syn. nov.).M. beaumontiBenoist, 1951, is newly treated as a valid species (stat. rev.).M. schmiedeknechtiCosta, 1884 is treated as a subspecies ofM. argentata(stat. nov.), andM. xanthopygaPérez, 1895 is placed in synonymy withM. argentata schmiedeknechti(syn. nov.).M. bioculataPérez, 1902,M. discriminataRebmann, 1968 andM. ichnusaeRebmann, 1968 are placed in synonymy withM. leachella(syn. nov.).M. variscopaPérez, 1895,M. timberlakeiCockerell, 1920,M. atratulaRebmann, 1968,M. striatellaRebmann, 1968 andM. sudaiIkudome, 1999 are placed in synonymy withM. pusillaPérez, 1894. Lectotypes are designated forM. albipila,M. bioculata,M. compactaPérez,M. pusilla, M. variscopaandM. xanthopyga.

Equivalent in principle to type localities and type specimens in biology and paleontology, geological type sections and type localities, whether for sedimentary, metamorphic or igneous units, are critically important sites as long-term reference and research localities and for geo-education of students. Unlike type specimens that are housed in museums or established institutions of learning, most geological type sections and localities are in field settings and, if they are not located in National Parks or other reserves with some legislated protection, run the risk of being destroyed, inundated, buried by earthworks or otherwise modified. The history of the geological sciences in Australia is such that a number of type localities, or stratigraphic type sections, have been destroyed by local government actions, or developers through lack of knowledge of their importance, or lack of knowledge of their existence. Examples of the severe modification or loss of type sections include those of the Maxicar beds, the Tims Thicket Limestone and the Eaton Sand. The UK, a leader in the field of Geoconservation and with a number of global stratotype section and point locations as well as many other type sections identified within its borders, provides models for preserving and managing important geological sites and type sections. Whole-of-government and local governments are involved in the registering and protection of important geological sites. Aspects of the UK model may be adapted to help secure geological type sections and localities in Australia. While some type sections and heritage localities are already protected, to improve the level of protection for more sites we propose a long-term, multi-pronged approach: creation of an inventory of all nominated locations; registration of appropriate sites at Local, State or Federal government levels, where current legislation allows; education of landowners and land managers, both government and non-government to highlight the importance of type sections to science; and securing more geological type sections and localities in some form of reserve.

Accurate information on name-bearing types, including corresponding type localities, is essential for proper taxonomy. However, such geographic information is often missing or unreliable. The localities of type specimens collected 100–200 years ago can be difficult to trace due to changes in local names or simple inaccuracies. Such a case can be found for the gray-backed sportive lemur (Lepilemur dorsalis), with its type locality imprecisely fixed as Northwest Madagascar. In recent years, eight species have been newly described for the Inter-River-Systems (IRSs) of this region, however the designation of L. dorsalis remains controversial due to a lack of a precise type locality. Here, we sequenced the complete mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) of type specimens of L. dorsalis and L.grandidieri, which is currently recognized as a synonym of L. dorsalis and compared their sequences with those of samples of known provenance from different IRSs. Results showed that the two type specimens of L. dorsalis and L.grandidieri had identical mitogenome sequences and clustered closely with samples collected in IRS V, indicating that the type locality could be fixed to IRS V. Consequently, L. dorsalis occurs in IRS V, and L. grandidieri and L. mittermeieri are junior synonyms of L. dorsalis. This finding demonstrates the value of type specimens for clarifying phylogeographic and taxonomic questions and clarifies the taxonomy of sportive lemurs in Northwest Madagascar.

Name-bearing type specimens have a fundamental role in characterizing biodiversity, as these objects represent the physical link between a scientific name and the biological organism. Type specimens are usually deposited in natural history collections, which provide key infrastructure for research on essential biological structures and processes, while preserving records of biodiversity for future generations. Modern systematics increasingly depends on genetic and genomic data to differentiate and characterize species. While the results of genome sequencing are often connected to a physical voucher specimen, they are rarely derived from the ultimate taxonomic reference for a species, that is, the name-bearing type specimens. This is a known but underappreciated problem for ensuring the replicability of findings, especially those that affect the interpretation of biodiversity distributions and phylogenetic relationships. Destructive sampling of museum specimens, particularly of type material, often carries a high risk of sequencing failure, and thus the cost of damage to the specimen may outweigh the resulting benefit. Both taxonomic work and genome sequencing require specialist skills, and there are often communication gaps between the respective experts. A new, harmonized approach, maximizing information extraction while minimizing risk to type specimens, is a critical step forward toward linking disciplines across biodiversity research and promoting a better taxonomic and systematic understanding of eukaryotic diversity. The genetic makeup of a type specimen is a fundamental part of its biological information, which can and should be made freely and digitally available through type genomics. Here, we describe guidelines for the use of nomenclatural types in genome sequencing approaches, considering different kinds of types in different stages of preservation and different data types.

availability of numerous early taxonomic works, most totally unrelated to those initially involved. Fretey and Bour (1980) first challenged the timehonored authorship of Dermochelys coriacea by Linnaeus (1766) by proposing that Vandelli (1761) was the original author. Rhodin and Smith (1982) rejected this proposal on the grounds of nomenclatural unavailability of the Vandelli paper and Vandelli's failure actually to employ the binomen coriacea, but accepted the new important information on the type specimen and type locality contained in that work and discovered by Fretey and Bour (1980). Bour and Dubois (1984) disagreed with Rhodin and Smith (1982), argued for the nomenclatural availability of Vandelli's work, and reinstated Vandelli as the original author, citing the need to maintain stability of other old names (e.g., cartilagineus Boddaert 1770) which might become threatened if the same rigorous interpretations of availability as applied by Rhodin and Smith (1982) to Vandelli's (1761) paper were applied to those other old names as well. Bour and Dubois (1984) properly caution against a too rigorous application of the rules of zoological nomenclature when dealing with nomina venerata-names which have been in use for a long time and have become accepted by the scientific community. The underlying principle here is one of nomenclatural stability, and we have at no point ever suggested that long-accepted names be threatened. However, the change in authorship of Dermochelys coriacea from Linnaeus to Vandelli is a totally different matter, because Vandelli, 1761 has never been an accepted authorship for coriacea except by Dumiril and Bibron (1835), Bour (1979), and Fretey and Bour (1980), with all other authors both preand post-1835 preferring Testudo coriacea Linnaeus 1766. As pointed out by Bour and Dubois (1984), nomenclatural stability of Dermochelys coriacea is not threatened by either the Fretey-Bour or the Rhodin-Smith interpretation-merely the authorship. The only advantages pointed out by Bour and Dubois (1984) for acceptance of Vandelli as author (a type specimen and a type locality, which are not clear in Linnaeus' description, although since he cited Vandelli's work the material available to

PATRICK N. WYSE JACKSON, REDISCOVERY OF A TYPE SPECIMEN OF RETEPORA PLUMA PHILLIPS, 1836, THE TYPE SPECIES OF PENNIRETEPORA D'ORBIGNY, 1849 (FENESTRATA, BRYOZOA), AND REPLACEMENT OF ITS NEOTYPE, Irish Journal of Earth Sciences, Vol. 29 (2011), pp. 15-18

Museum collections are an important source for resolving taxonomic issues and species delimitation. Type specimens as name-bearing specimens, traditionally used in morphology-based taxonomy, are, due to the progress in historical DNA methodology, increasingly used in molecular taxonomic studies. Museum collections are subject to constant deterioration and major disasters. The digitisation of collections offers a partial solution to these problems and makes museum collections more accessible to the wider scientific community. The Extended Specimen Approach (ESA) is a method of digitisation that goes beyond the physical specimen to include the historical information stored in the collection. The collections of the Natural History Museum Vienna represent one of the largest non-university research centres in Europe and, due to their size and numerous type specimens, are frequently used for taxonomic studies by visiting and resident scientists. Recently, a version of ESA was presented in the common catalogue of the Fish and Evertebrata Varia collections and extended to include genetic information on type specimens in a case study of a torpedo ray. Here the case study was extended to a heterogeneous selection of historical type series from different collections with the type locality of Vienna. The goal was to apply the ESA, including genetic data on a selected set of type material: three parasitic worms, three myriapods, two insects, twelve fishes, and one bird species. Five hundred digital items (photographs, X-rays, scans) were produced, and genetic analysis was successful in eleven of the 21 type series. In one case a complete mitochondrial genome was assembled, and in another case ten short fragments (100–230 bp) of the cytochrome oxidase I gene were amplified and sequenced. For five type series, genetic analysis confirmed their taxonomic status as previously recognised synonyms, and for one the analysis supported its status as a distinct species. For two species, genetic information was provided for the first time. This catalogue thus demonstrates the usefulness of ESA in providing digitised data of types that can be easily made available to scientists worldwide for further study.

Gasparite-(La), La(AsO4), is a new mineral (IMA 2018-079) from Mn ores of the Ushkatyn-III deposit, Central Kazakhstan (type locality) and from alpine fissures in metamorphic rocks of the Wanni glacier, Binn Valley, Switzerland (co-type locality). Gasparite-(La) is named for its dominant lanthanide, according to current nomenclature of rare-earth minerals. The occurrences and parageneses in both localities are distinct: minute isometric grains up to 15 μm in size, associated with friedelite, jacobsite, pennantite, manganhumite series minerals (alleghanyite, sonolite), sarkinite, tilasite, and retzian-(La) are typically embedded into calcite-rhodochrosite veinlets (Ushkatyn-III deposit) vs. elongated crystals up to 2 mm in size in classical alpine fissures in two-mica gneiss without indicative associated minerals (Wanni glacier). Their chemical compositions have been studied by EDX and WDX; crystal-chemical formulas of gasparite-(La) from the Ushkatyn-III deposit (holotype specimen) and Wanni glacier (co-type specimen) are (La0.65Ce0.17Nd0.07Ca0.06Mn0.05Pr0.02)1.02[(As0.70V0.28P0.02)1.00O4] and (La0.59Ce0.37Nd0.02 Ca0.02Th0.01)1.01[(As0.81P0.16Si0.02S0.02)1.01O4], respectively. In polished sections, crystals are yellow and translucent with bright submetallic luster. Selected reflectance values R1/R2 (λ, nm) for the holotype specimen in air are: 11.19/9.05 (400), 11.45/9.44 (500), 10.85/8.81 (600), 11.23/9.08 (700). The structural characteristics of gasparite-(La) were studied by means of EBSD (holotype specimen), XRD, and SREF (co-type specimen). Gasparite-(La) has a monoclinic structure with the space group P21/n. Our studies revealed that gasparite-(La) from the Ushkatyn-III deposit and Wanni glacier have different origins. La/Ce and As/P/V ratios in gasparite-(La) may be used as an indicator of formation conditions.

Paper presented July 15, 2017 at the annual Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists in Austin, Texas, USA (http://conferences.k-state.edu/JMIH-Austin-2017/). The oral presentation of this content mentioned questions about the taxonomy and phylogenetic position of Prietella lundbergi and the only specimens attributed to P. lundbergi apart from the holotype. Since the presentation, we obtained high resolution CT scans of both the holotype and a specimen (TNHC 25767) from Cueva del Nacimiento del Rio Frio, not far north of the type locality. The anatomy revealed in those CT scans suggests that these specimens represent a single species, and that P. lundbergi is only remotely related to Prietella phreatophila, which would be consistent with results of Wilcox, T.P., F.J. Garcia de Leon, Dean A. Hendrickson, and D.M. Hillis. 2004. “Convergence among Cave Catfishes: Long-Branch Attraction and a Bayesian Relative Rates Test.” Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 31 (3): 1101–13. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2003.11.006). Thus, further research is in progress by Hendrickson, Lundberg, Luckenbill and Arce that may result in taxonomic revision removing P. lundbergi from Prietella.

There are fi ve species of the genus Pyrrhulina Valenciennes, in Cuvier &amp; Valenciennes, 1846 and four species of the genus Copella Myers, 1965 in the north eastern part of South America up to now. P. fi lamentosa Valenciennes, 1846 – the type-species – and P. lugubris Eigenmann, 1922 are re-described. The relationships of P. stoli Boeseman, 1953 are discussed. The three taxa of the genus Copella (formerly Copeina) arnoldi, C. eigenmanni and C. carsevennensis established by Regan (1912) are re-described and compared. The type specimens of these three taxa are juvenil or semiadult fishes in poor conditions. A type locality is designated for C. arnoldi (Ilha do Arapiranga, Brazil, Para). This species was only known from aquarium fishes up to date. The designation was possible because of the discovery of specimens which were imported for aquarists in 1928 from this locality. C. eigenmanni comprises type specimens from different localities which represent different species (C. arnoldi from Brazil, Para, C. metae from Colombia and C. carsevennensis from Guyana). A lectotypus is designated for C. eigenmanni from the type specimens collected in Colombia. Copeina metae Eigenmann, 1914 is now a junior synonym of Copeina eigenmanni Regan, 1912. Now we know exactly which species C. eigenmanni represents. If there are other undescribed species from this region (estuary mouth of the Amazon) so the species can be better characterized by new adult specimens. C. carsevennensis lives in the Guyana countries sympatricaly with Pyrrhulina fi lamentosa. Copella callolepis (Regan, 1912) is a valid species. It was called C. spec. aff. meinkeni by Zarske &amp; Géry (2006).