Sylvia subalpina inornata Tschusi, 1906

Sylvia subalpina inornata Tschusi, 1906 , Ornithologische Jahrbuch 17(3–4), p. 141

Type locality: ‘Tunis’.

Type: Lectotype ZSM 17.2694 View Materials , originally no. 636 in the second Tschusi Collection , adult male collected at Tunis, in May 1906; lectotype designation by Tschusi (1906b: 108) (Supporting Information, Fig. S5 View Figure 5 ) .

Notes: The use of the plural (‘Grasmücken’ [warblers]) and a wing length range are clear indications that the new taxon was based on more than one specimen ( Tschusi, 1906a). The type series was originally in the second Tschusi Collection. Despite its inclusion in the published list of Tschusi types deposited in the NHMW ( Tschusi, 1906b), the type series, together with other 1600 Tschusi specimens, passed into Alfred Laubmann’s private collection at an unknown time, but probably around 1912. Eventually, the Laubmann Collection was, in turn, incorporated into the Zoologische Staatssammlung München in 1916 ( Gengler, 1924; Hellmayr, 1928).

The ZSM collection holds four specimens with original Tschusi labels. The specimen with number no. 694 ( Tunis, May 1911, now ZSM 17.2695) must be excluded from the type series because of a collection date later than the original description. Of the remaining three, the adult male no. 636 ( Tunis, May 1906, now ZSM 17.2694) is the lectotype after Tschusi’s designation (1906) (Article 74.5), and the adult female no. 637 ( Tunis, May 1906, now ZSM 17.2696) is, from all evidence, a paralectotype. The last specimen, adult male no. 1052 ( Tunis, May 1906, now ZSM 17.2697) most probably does not belong to the type series. Although its collection locality and date are compatible with the original description, the label bears a much higher registration number. The Tschusi catalogue of his second collection has not been located, but it is likely that it passed first into Laubmann’s possession together with the bird collection and then transferred to the ZSM, whose archives were lost during World War II ( Fittkau, 1992). However, an examination of other Tschusi catalogues in Vienna, and in particular the collection dates and registration order, strongly suggests that he registered the new specimens as they arrived, indicating that specimen no. 1052 was probably received much later than the others, and thus should not be included in the original type series. This is further supported when considering that all specimens were supplied by Marius Blanc, a French dealer of natural history specimens based in Tunis ( Mars, 1969). A perusal of Tschusi catalogues in NHMW indicates that Blanc supplied specimens from Tunisia from at least 1895 up to 1915, and that they could be entered into the catalogues at dates considerably later than the collection date.

Sylvia cantillans moltonii Orlando, 1937 View in CoL , Rivista Italiana di Ornitologia (n.s.) 7, p. 213

Type locality: ‘ Nidifica in Sardegna (e Corsica?)’ [nesting in Sardinia (and Corsica?)] .

Type: Syntypes MSNM Av 5916 (adult male, collected at Tortolì , Sardinia, on 10 April 1931) , MSNM Av 5917 (adult male, collected at Tortolì , Sardinia, on 10 April 1931) , MSNM Av 5918 (adult male, collected at Lanusei , Sardinia, on 24 June 1930) , MSNM Av 5919 (adult male, collected at Lanusei , Sardinia, on 7 June 1930) , MSNM Av 5943 (collected at Cagliari, Sardinia, on 16 May 1924) , MSNM Av 5952 (adult male, collected at Lanusei, Sardinia, on 10 August 1914, old number 23031) , MSNM Av 5954 (adult male, collected at Arbatax, Sardinia, on 7 July 1915, old number 23030) , MSNM Av 5960 (adult female, collected at Lanusei , Sardinia, on 29 July 1927) , MSNM Av 5962 (adult female, collected at Ilbono , Sardinia, on 15 April 1928) , MSNM Av 5963 (adult male, collected at Tortolì , Sardinia, no date) , MSNM Av 5966 (collected at Quartu S. Elena, Sardinia, on 25 October 1925) , MSNM Av 5967 (collected at Quartu S. Elena, Sardinia, on 23 September 1925) (Supporting Information, Fig. S6 View Figure 6 ).

Notes: In the short, original description, no information was provided concerning the number of specimens examined ( Orlando, 1937). Subsequently, in a longer article Orlando (1939) stated that he examined 16 specimens in his collection and another eight in the MSNM, all considered to represent the new taxon. He designed specimen no. 1664 (now MRT 1664) as type (i.e. a lectotype according to Article 74.5), and the other 15 specimens in his collection (now MRT 1665–1679) as paratypes (i.e. paralectotypes). The type status of these specimens has been accepted by Arnone & Orlando (1990). However, after examining the correspondence between Orlando and Moltoni (then bird curator at the MSNM), which is kept in Moltoni’s archive in the MSNM library, the situation appears much more complex. The original description was published in the July issue of Rivista Italiana di Ornitologia, and the short note is dated April 1937. A date no later than April is compatible with the time required for typesetting and printing the July issue and further confirmed by a letter from Orlando to Moltoni (9 March 1937: ‘ … al mio desiderio di pubblicare un lavoro che ha carattere di urgenza. Soltan- [sic] chiarisco che intendevo alludere al 3° fascicolo del corrente anno che, a quanto ho creduto di comprendere nella Sua precedente, sarà pubblicato fra due mesi e prima della sua assenza’ [… my wish to publish a work with urgency. I would only clarify that I was suggesting the 3 rd issue of the current year that, as I understood from your previous [letter], it will be published in two months and before your departure]).

In the same letter, Orlando affirms, ‘ Io ne ho esaminato della Sardegna, ma in piccolissimo numero … Però non ne ho nessuna di questa provenienza nella mia raccolta ed ho già scritto per procurarmene.’ [I have examined some from Sardinia, but in a small number … However, I have none of this provenance in my collection and I already wrote to obtain some.]. Indeed , the 16 specimens in the Orlando collection were supplied by Amalia Mameli Meloni , a dealer in natural history specimens based in Lanusei (Sardinia). The collection dates span from 18 April to 22 May 1937. When taking into account the time needed to prepare and ship the specimens, none of these could have been available to Orlando at the time of writing his 1937 note, and we conclude that none of them has a type status .

According to other letters, on 26 February 1937 Moltoni sent 19 specimens from the MSNM to Orlando , who acknowledged receipt on 3 March. Among these specimens, 12 are from Sardinia, and they were returned to Moltoni on 3 January 1938 (the other seven specimens are from Lybia , Apulia, Dalmatia and Sahara ). We verified in the MSNM catalogues that the museum indeed acquired 12 specimens from Sardinia before 1937, and all of them are still extant. All these must be considered syntypes. We assume that the reference to eight instead of 12 specimens from MSNM by Orlando (1939) is in error .

Both in letters and in the 1939 publication, Orlando refers several times to specimens examined in different museumsandcollections. However , thewordingisusually ambiguous, and it is not clear if, in addition to those from MSNM, Orlando ever examined any other Sardinian specimens. The two other collections mentioned are the ‘ R. Museo’ (i.e. Museo di Zoologia , University of Palermo ) and the Whitaker Collection (at that time in Palermo and now split between the National Museums Northern Ireland and the National Museums Scotland ). However, none of these museums has any specimens from Sardinia that could be included in the type series ( Lo Valvo & Massa, 2000; B. McGowen, A. Ross, Z. Timmons and D. Tosh, personal communications) .

Sylvia inornata iberiae Svensson, 2013 , Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 113, p. 244

Type locality: ‘ El Pardo, Madrid, Spain’ .

Type: Holotype NHMUK 1934.1.1.249, adult male, collected at El Pardo, Madrid, Spain, on 24 May 1931. A picture of the holotype is available in the paper by Svensson (2013a).

Notes: This new taxon was proposed to differentiate the populations from Spain, southern France and north-west Italy from those in North Africa. Although we did not genotype the holotype, a breeding individual, our specimens from mainland Spain were all collected during the breeding season and all belong to clade 3, making the name iberiae unquestionably available for this clade .