Museum Fur Naturkunde Berlin Research Articles

Analysis of the Mitochondrial Genomes of Japanese Wolf Specimens in the Siebold Collection, Leiden.

The taxonomic status of extinct Japanese or Honshu wolves (Canis lupus hodophilax) has been disputed since the name hodophilax was first proposed by Temminck in 1839 on the basis of specimens stored in Leiden, the Netherlands. Points of controversy include whether the type specimen of hodophilax (Jentink c: RMNH.MAM.39181) and the other two specimens from Leiden (Jentink a: RMNH.MAM.39182 and Jentink b: RMNH.MAM.39183) represent different varieties or subspecies of Japanese wolves or not. Two Japanese names, ookami and jamainu, used to describe wild Canis species, further complicate the issue. In this study, the taxonomic status of Japanese wolves was clarified using mitochondrial DNA of the three specimens stored at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, in addition to three Japanese wolf specimens stored at the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin and five new samples from Japan. The mitochondrial genomes of the type specimen of hodophilax (Jentink c) and another sample from Leiden (Jentink b) as well as Berlin specimens were included in the cluster of Japanese wolves distinct from other grey wolves. However, the other sample from Leiden (Jentink a) was identified as a domestic dog. A mitochondrial genome analysis suggested that Japanese wolves could be categorized into two distinct clusters. Studies of nuclear genomes are needed to further clarify the taxonomic status, divergence time, and population genetic structure of Japanese wolves.

Rediscovery of type material of the bioerosional trace fossil Talpina von Hagenow, 1840 and its ichnotaxonomic implications

Friedrich von Hagenow is renowned for his seminal inventory of the diverse invertebrate fauna from the lower Maastrichtian chalk (Upper Cretaceous) of the Isle of Rugen, Germany. Tragically, his immense collection at Stettin (today Szczecin, Poland) was almost completely destroyed during World War II, including the type material of hundreds of species established by him during the first half of the 19th century. Seven belemnite specimens from his collection rediscovered at the Museum fur Naturkunde Berlin, as well as 14 belemnites traced at the Museum fur Mineralogie und Geologie at the Senckenberg Naturhistorische Sammlungen Dresden, include syntypes of four Talpina ichnospecies, labelled T. ramosa, T. solitaria, T. foliacea and T. sentiformis. To document this material, a new ‘digital cylinder seal technique’ was applied. The rediscovered material allows lectotype designations for T. ramosa and T. solitaria (now Trypanites solitarius), whereas T. foliacea and T. sentiformis, which where not formally published by von Hagenow, are regarded as nomina nuda. As a consequence, the non-topotypical neotypes of T. ramosa and T. solitaria, as designated by Ehrhard Voigt in 1972, are obsolete.

A Commented Synopsis of the Pre-Pleistocene Fossil Record of Carex (Cyperaceae)

Despite the existence of a rich record, fossils of Carex have been largely neglected by neobotanists. Here we present an exhaustive critically commented checklist of the so-far published pre-Pleistocene records ascribed to Carex. We have made every attempt to include all pertinent paleobotanical literature. The extensive collection of the Museum fur Naturkunde (Berlin, Germany) has also been studied. We found that up to 83 names belonging to different Carex groups may be applied to reliable remains, plus another 23 names of doubtful remains. These fossils come from more than 550 sites, mainly from C and E Europe and the Russian Federation. The age of the reliable fossil record ranges from the Eocene to recent times. Problems detected on the taxonomy, age and naming of these fossils are discussed. We hope that this work will stimulate neobotanical and paleobotanical communities to work together on broad-scope systematic projects as this one.

Data Policy Recommendations for Biodiversity Data. EU BON Project Report

There is a strong need for a comprehensive, coherent, and consistent data policy in ‐ Europe to increase interoperability of data and to make its reuse both easy and legal. Available single recommendations/guidelines on different topics need to be processed, structured, and unified. Within the context of the EU BON project, a team from the EU BON partners from Museum fur Naturkunde Berlin, Plazi, and Pensoft has prepared this report to be used as a part of the Data Publishing Guidelines and Recommendations in the EU BON Biodiversity Portal. The document deals with the issues: (i) Mobilizing biodiversity data, (ii) Removing legal obstacles, (iii) Changing attitudes, (iv) Data policy recommendations and is addressed to legislators, researchers, research institutions, data aggregators, funders, and publishers.

Juan Cristóbal Gundlach’s collections of Puerto Rican birds with special regard to types

The German naturalist Juan Cristobal Gundlach (1810–1896) conducted, while a resident of Cuba, two expeditions to Puerto Rico in 1873 and 1875–6, where he explored the southwestern, western, and northeastern regions of this island. Gundlach made repre­ sentative collections of the island’s fauna, which formed the nucleus of the first natural history museums in Puerto Rico. When the natural history museums closed, only a few specimens were passed to other institutions, including foreign museums. None of Gund­ lach’s and few of his contemporaries’ specimens have survived in Puerto Rico. We lo­ cated 191 bird specimens (43 species) collected there by Gundlach, all of which are in foreign institutions, especially Museum fur Naturkunde Berlin. Here we list all located specimens and include data associated with them. Six new species were described out of the Gundlach collections from Puerto Rico, three of which are still taxonomically recog­ nized today. Information about the types of those taxa is given.

Faunistic spider collections in the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin: The collection of Erich Hesse

doi: 10.5431/aramit4409 Abstract: The 'Hesse collection' of spiders (Araneae) and harvestmen (Opiliones) in the Museum fur Naturkunde Berlin is documented. Biographical notes on Erich Hesse - a former arachnid curator at the museum (1921-1940) - are provided. The 'Hesse collection' was actually put together by other workers, and can be broadly divided into two parts. One comes from Bielinek (= Bellinchen) on the Polish side of the Oder Valley (West Pommerania); now part of the 'Unteres Odertal' National Park. This Bielinek material includes notable records of Heriaeus oblongus Simon, 1918 and Gibbaranea ullrichi (Hahn, 1835). The other part of the collection comes from Colbitz-Letzlinger Heide in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Notable here are Pistius truncatus (Pallas, 1772) and Philodromus buchari Kubcova, 2004; the latter representing the first record of this species for Saxony-Anhalt. The arachnological section of the Museum fur Naturkunde Berlin houses a number of, primarily regional, 'special collections' (Sondersammlungen) which are not integrated into the main systematic collection due to their focus on a particular set of localities and/or individuals. These may prove to be of some value for, e.g., regional faunistic studies, and as part of what we hope will be a series of papers documenting these special collections, we begin by focusing on material assembled by the former Berlin curator, Erich Hesse. These specimens were collected during the 1930s from Bielinek in western Poland and Colbitz-Letzlinger Heide in the state of Saxony- Anhalt in Germany.

Re-study of larval stages of Amphionides reynaudii (Malacostraca: Eucarida) with modern imaging techniques

Amphionides reynaudii (H. Milne Edwards, 1832) is a rare crustacean species, supposedly the sister taxon to Decapoda sensu stricto. Morphological examination of 33 specimens assigned to A. reynaudii housed in the Museum fur Naturkunde Berlin revealed that: 1) the material contains different larval stages, and 2) that several of the specimens do not belong to this species. We provide here, for the first time, high-quality images of representatives of A. reynaudii. Documentation included white-light microscopy, fluorescence microscopy, and macrophotography. Subsequently the obtained images were improved applying composite imaging. We identified the different larval stages, but found several discrepancies between our observations and data from the literature. Our findings indicate the presence of additional, previously overlooked larval stages within the series. This re-interpretation is supported by unusually large growth factors between certain stages in older reconstructions of the larval series. Thus, the very gradual developmental pattern of A. reynaudii proves to be even more gradual than originally described. This pattern of development is most likely plesiomorphic. Considering the important phylogenetic position as supposed sister species to Decapoda sensu stricto, A. reynaudii provides crucial morphological details for reconstructing the character evolution in the decapod lineage, for example, of the maxillipeds.

An annotated catalogue of the velvet worms (Onychophora) held in the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin

An annotated catalogue of the type and non-type material belonging to the Onychophora (velvet worms) in the Museum fur Naturkunde Berlin is presented. Types of three species have been recorded: Peripatus juanensis Bouvier, 1900, Epiperipatus nicaraguensis (Bouvier, 1900) and Peripatoides woodwardi Bouvier, 1909 [= Occiperipatoides gilesii (Spencer 1909)]. Types of two further species – Paraperipatus schultzei Heymons, 1912 and Paraperipatus schultzei var. ferrugineus Heymons, 1912 – are registered as having been present, but could not be traced and may have to be treated as lost. Additionally, eleven non-type species were recorded. This yields a total of thirteen currently valid species in Berlin, representing about 7 % of the known world fauna; with total holdings of ca. 30 individual lots. In addition to these systematic collections, histological material (ca. 150 slides) originally prepared in Breslau [= Wroclaw] by Eduard Gaffron is documented. (© 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Fore limb bones of late Pleistocene dwarf hippopotamuses (Mammalia, Cetartiodactyla) from Madagascar previously determined as belonging to the crocodylid Voay Brochu, 2007

Abstract. A humerus and two radii of juvenile dwarf hippopotamuses are redescribed. The subfossil bones from the collection of the Museum fur Naturkunde Berlin were erroneously assigned to the horned crocodile Voay robustus (Grandidier & Vaillant, 1872) by Bickelmann & Klein (2009). All three limb bones presented here belong to immature animals. The epiphyses are not fused, except the proximal extremity of the right radius; and the radius and ulna are also unfused. The two radii are from individuals of different size, whereas the left radius and the humerus are from animals of similar size. Morphologically, the limb bones cannot be identified to species level. A tentative assignment to Hippopotamus madagascariensis is discussed based on the knowledge of the geographic origin on the island. doi: 10.1002/mmng.201000003

An annotated catalogue of the tongue worms (Pentastomida) held in the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin

An annotated catalogue of the type and non-type material belonging to the enigmatic arthropod group Pentastomida (tongue worms) in the Museum fur Naturkunde Berlin is presented. Aspects of human infection, current ideas on their affinities and some recent developments in the study of these animals are briefly reviewed. Types of eight species have been recorded: Raillietiella affinis Bovien, 1927, Raillietiella bicaudata Heymons & Vitzthum, 1935, “Pentastomum ” javanicum Bovien, 1927, Raillietella kochi Heymons, 1926, Elenia lialisi Heymons, 1939a, Raillietiella mabuiae Heymons, 1922, Raillietella shipleyi Heymons, 1926 and Cephalobaena tetrapoda Heymons, 1922. Five of these types are currently considered valid species. According to the literature, type material from Elenia travassosi (Heymons, 1932) should be in Berlin, but could not be traced during the present review and may have to be considered lost. A further twenty-six non-type species were recorded, plus specimens assigned to two names currently regarded as nomina dubia. This yields a total of 31 currently valid species in Berlin, representing nearly 25 % of the known world fauna. Much of the Berlin material derives from the important Richard Heymons collection, but significant historical specimens collected in Brazil in the early nineteenth century by Johann Natterer was also discovered during the course of this project. (© 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

The bird collections in the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin resulting from Ernst Schäfer's three expeditions to Tibet and Sikkim

Ernst Schafer (1910–1992), a German hunter and zoologist, became famous due to his zoological and ecological studies in Tibet (Xizang). The basis of these studies was his participation in three expeditions to Sikkim, Tibet and adjoining provinces in 1931/32, 1934–1936 and 1938/39. A large amount of birds obtained during these expeditions is housed in the Museum fur Naturkunde Berlin. Most of them were neither inventoried nor integrated in the museum's collection. As there is still a big interest in these birds because of their origin of the transition zone from the Palearctic to the Indo-Malayan, we aimed to make these birds available for the scientific community. We compiled an updated list of all the 3,520 birds collected by Schafer in Tibet and Sikkim. Summarizing, we found 5 specimens of the expedition 1931/32, 230 of the expedition 1934–36 and 3,285 specimens of the expedition 1938/39. From Schafer's last expedition we inventoried 650 specimens of 58 species collected in Tibet from January to the end of June 1939, and 2700 specimens of 278 species collected in Sikkim in 1938 and the first half of 1939. Important collecting localities are Gangtok (939 specimens), Lachen (369 specimens), Gogong (300 specimens), Thanggu (259 specimens), Lhasa (133 specimens), Chuntang (103 specimens) and Xigaze (102 specimens). (© 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Wilhelm Dunker, His Collection, and Pteriid Systematics

ABSTRACT Wilhelm Dunker was the foremost expert on the systematics of the bivalve family Pteriidae (referred to as genus Avicula in his time) in the nineteenth century. His work on the group culminated in the monograph Die Gattung Avicula, a part of the significant conchological iconography, Systematisches Conchylien-Cabinet (Kuster et al., 1837–1920). Dunker's volume remains unsurpassed in the taxonomic scope and the quality of illustrations. However, despite the fact that Die Gattung Avicula was readily available and widely cited, few specialists consulted the actual type material from the Dunker collection, which fell into oblivion for over a century. In this work, we attempted to reconstruct the contents and the history of Dunker's collection of pteriid bivalves, the specimens of which derive from two principal repositories, the Museum fur Naturkunde in Berlin and the Aquazoo-Lobbecke Museum in Dusseldorf. In addition to the annotated catalog of type and figured specimens, many of which are here recog...

An additional hadrosaurid specimen (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the marine Maastrichtian deposits of the Maastricht area

An isolated dinosaur vertebra from the marine deposits of the Maastrichtian type area, near the city of Maastricht (The Netherlands), collected during the 19th century and kept in the palaeontological collection of the Museum fur Naturkunde in Berlin, is described as a caudal vertebra of a hadrosaurid ornithopod. Although it cannot be identified with greater accuracy, this specimen is an addition to the still scanty, but growing, record of non-avian dinosaurs from the Maastrichtian type area. This record is heavily dominated by hadrosaurs, which probably reflects a real abundance of this group of dinosaurs in the Late Maastrichtian of Europe.

Addendum to the catalogue of cephalopod types in the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, with remarks on Onychoteuthis taxa described by Hinrich Lichtenstein

This paper documents types of seven cephalopod taxa held in the Malacozoological Collection of the Museum fur Naturkunde Berlin (ZMB), in addition to those 41 types that were listed in an annotated catalogue published by Glaubrecht & Salcedo-Vargas (2000). With a total now of 48 cephalopod types, this renders the Berlin collection the second largest in Europe, according to published accounts on the inventory of type specimens kept in natural history museums worldwide. The paper lists type specimens of taxa described by Rudolf Wilhelm Dunker (2), Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg (1), Martin Hinrich Carl Lichtenstein (1), and Eduard von Martens (3). Brief taxonomic remarks are given whenever necessary and lectotypes are designated for nomenclatorial reasons. Some of the additional types are argonauts that have not been treated in the former account. In addition two decapod types are documented that were overlooked. We further comment on four taxa that were originally affiliated with the genus Onychoteuthis first described by Lichtenstein (1818). These names ever since were connected to taxonomic ambiguities, most likely due to the fact that the original publication in German was not easily accessible to researchers. By re-evaluating Lichtenstein's explanations and selecting lectotypes for the names introduced by him we attempt to contribute to taxonomic stability.

Reinvestigation and new evaluation of representatives from the generaSemigordionus,Euchordodes,Pantachordodes, Dacochordodes andSpinochordodes (Nematomorpha)

Some genera of horsehair worms (Nematomorpha) include only one or few species and the documentation of their cuticular structures in the original descriptions is not sufficient enough to compare them reliably to other species. We reinvestigate here the species Semigordionus circumannulatus, Euchordodes libellulovivens, Pantachordodes europaeus and specimens labeled as Spinochordodes tellinii from collections of the Museum fur Naturkunde in Berlin. For comparison, data of Spinochordodes tellinii from a different location and from Dacochordodes bacescui are presented. We suspect that Semigordionus circumannulatus probably belongs into the genus Gordionus, but the fine structure of the posterior end could not be clarified. The genera Pantachordodes and Dacochordodes are synonymized with the genus Spinochordodes, thus reducing the number of nematomorph genera from 21 to 19.

Presence of a posterodorsal ridge in Jurassic to Recent larval shells of arcoidean bivalves

A posterodorsal notch is known from the larval shells (PII) of extant Ostreidae and Gryphaeidae. 1‐3 It results from a postanal ciliary tuft that deforms the shell edge and leaves a ridge-like growth track on the prodissoconch. 3 In fossil Ostreoidea this feature has been traced back into the Middle Jurassic, and was considered a probable autapomorphic character of the Ostreoidea. 4,5 The aim of this research note is, however, to document a posterodorsal ridge in some larval shells of Jurassic, Cretaceous, Eocene and Recent arcoid bivalves. All studied specimens were juveniles (� 3 mm in length), making determination of their taxonomic position below superfamily level beyond the scope of this study. The Recent material was collected in the lagoon and reef area of Foulpointe (also known as Mahavelona), 58 km north of Tamatave in northeastern Madagascar, from depths not greater than 5 m. The Eocene material was collected near Damery in the Paris Basin, France, and is of Lutetian age. 6 The Cretaceous material was collected in the vicinity of Ambatolafia in the Mahajanga Basin in northwestern Madagascar, and is of lower Albian age. 7 The Jurassic material was collected 3 km south of Zakaraha in southwestern Madagascar, and is of Bajocian age. 8 In all cases, sediment samples were taken and fractionated by sieving with mesh-sizes of 2.0, 1.0 and 0.5 mm. The Cretaceous and Jurassic samples were treated with a 5‐10% H2O2 solution using standard procedures prior to sieving. Specimens were mounted on stubs, sputter-coated with gold, and photos were taken with a Leo 1455VP scanning electron microscope. In all, 28 specimens belonging to seven species were examined (Table 1); in species E and G only right valves were available for study. The material is deposited in the palaeontological collection of the Museum fur Naturkunde in Berlin, Germany.

Peter Simon Pallas und Karl Ernst von Baer—ihr Beitrag zur Zoologie im Spiegel unveröffentlichter Autographen des Zoologischen Museums Berlin

Early zoological researches by P.S. Pallas and K.E. von Baer in their letters to the zoologists of Berlin. The centenaries which are celebrated in 1991 and 1992 in memory of P.S. Pallas (1791) and K.E. von Baer (born 1792) caused the following studies of hitherto unpublished sources, preserved in the collections of the Museum fur naturkunde in Berlin. The earliest zoological works of Pallas are discussed in relation to his last publication on the “Zoographia Rosso-Asiatica” which should have been finished in Berlin. Some years after the death of Pallas, Baer also contacted the Berlin zoologists K.A. Rudolphi and M.H. Lichtenstein, asking for help, when he was going to establish zoology and a zoological museum at the University of Konigsberg.

Redescription of Tracheliastes gigas Richiardi, 1881 from the type-specimens, and its relegation to synonymy with Pseudotracheliastes stellatus (Mayor, 1824) (Copepoda: Siphonostomatoida: Lernaeopodidae)

The type-specimens of Tracheliastes gigas Richiardi, 1881 were found in the Crustacea Collection of the Museum fur Naturkunde in Berlin, Germany. Some new details regarding the host (“Acipenser”), locality (Taganrog, Sea of Azov) and collector (Sanger) were revealed. Morphological features of T. gigas, described and depicted for the first time in the present paper, suggest that it is a junior synonym of Pseudotracheliastes stellatus (Mayor, 1824).