Typhlops leucogaster Wied, 1824

Vanzolini, Paulo E. & Myers, Charles W., 2015, The Herpetological Collection Of Maximilian, Prince Of Wied (1782 - 1867), With Special Reference To Brazilian Materials, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2015 (395), pp. 1-155 : 67-68

Typhlops leucogaster Wied, 1824

1824 Isis : 670 (brief diagnosis).

1825 Beitra¨ge: 495.

PRESENT STATUS: Uncertain, probably an amphisbaenid; nomen dubium.

REMARKS: This name was not indexed by Boulenger (1896) or by Peters and Orejas- Mirand (1970). Dixon and Hendricks (1979: 7), however, probably are correct in suggesting that it is an amphisbaenid of the genus Leposternon .

Curiously, the first page of the Beitra¨ge account refers to the Abbildungen, with an apparent title (‘‘Cobra de duas cabec¸as an der Ostku¨ ste von Brasilien’’) for a plate perhaps intended but never published. Wied’s (1825: 497) measurements of about (etwa) 15 inches total length and 1.2 inches tail length convert to 367 mm total, 29.3 mm tail length; tail length/total length 5 0.08. The type locality is Lago d’Arara (not ‘‘d’Ardra’’ as in the type description).

The type locality is Lago d’Arda, near Mucuri, Bahia, The holotype was not preserved. Wied (1825: 496) , so there are no specimens in the collection.

Amphisbaena punctata Wied, 1824 Plate 48 and figure 25 (holotype)

1824 Isis : 670 (diagnosis).

1825 Abbildungen: Lief. 9 ( fig. 1 of composite pl.). 1825 Beitra¨ge: 500.

PRESENT STATUS: Leposternon microcephalum Wagler, 1824 , is the senior synonym of this widespread species.

REMARKS: Wied’s excellent plate has for a long time made it clear that the species is the same as Leposternon microcephalum —a fact evident even to Wied (Beitra¨ge: 506). Gans (1971: 445) agreed with AMNH staff 33 that AMNH R-1101 is the holotype of Amphisbaena punctata , making the following observations:

The specimen [AMNH R-1101]...was in poor condition but the remaining characteristics were in good agreement with Wied’s description. There can thus be little doubt that it represents the holotype, that the type locality is Rio de Janeiro,...and that the name punctata is a strict synonym of microcephalum .

Unfortunately, examination of the old AMNH book catalog gives no support for the locality ‘‘ Rio de Janeiro,’’ which was added in a different hand and at a later time than the original entry— possibly a supposition from the fact that Rio de Janeiro is the first locality mentioned in the Abbildungen text and in the Beitra¨ge. It is species number 73 from ‘‘Brasilien’’ in Wied’s manuscript catalog (which never gives explicit localities), and the type locality therefore is simply eastern Brazil.

Although the date of publication is usually given as 1825 for Wied’s Amphisbaena punctata (e.g., Peters and Donoso-Barros, 1970: 168; Gans, 1971: 451), it was acually diagnosed in the 1824 Isis , the same year in which Wagler described Leposternon microcephalum from Spix’s collection (Wagler’s work ‘‘was published no later than January 1824 ’’ fide Adler, 1981: v). Wied (1825: 506) , however, felt that he had priority, stating definitely that Spix

33 After earlier stating that the holotype was not at AMNH with other Wied types and was probably lost ( Gans, 1967: 82), it was called to his attention by Senior Technician George Foley, who played an important role in managing and conserving the AMNH herpetological collection over a 30-year period (Myers, 2000: 103–104).

(i.e., Wagler, 1824) 34 described L. microcephalum after seeing the printed plate and respective text of A. punctata . (But he did not make clear whether these were shown to Spix as a preprint or shortly after publication, which would have been well after the appearance of Wagler’s 1824 description of Spix’s specimen].) Wied went on to criticize the color plate that Spix—‘‘the learned traveller’’ (der gelehrte Reisende)—had published ( Wagler, 1824, pl. 26, fig. 2–4 ). Wied noted that Spix’s specimen had probably been bleached in alcohol, whereas his own painting had been made from a fresh individual.

Years later, in writing up the manuscript catalog of his collection, Wied accepted the genus Leposternon but maintained punctata with his authorship:

Genus 77. Lepidosternon Wagl.

1. punctatus Wied. Brasilien (no. 73)

It is our opinion that Wied’s claim may have moral value but no legal strength. Wied’s unused name Amphisbaena punctata is by now a nomen oblitum and could be used only if considered not synonymous with microcephalum .

Figures

Fig. 25. Holotype of Amphisbaena punctata Wied (AMNH R-1101).

Fig. 1. Paulo E. Vanzolini. On Serra Tapeque´m (a tepui remnant), Roraima, NE Brazil (July 14,

Fig. 2. Pen-and-watercolor sketches dated 1815 and attributed to Prince Maximilian. Top: Gesamtansicht der Expedition (‘‘General View of the expedition’’), showing pack mules, handlers, and military guard. Bottom: Prinz Maximilian mit Teilnehmern seiner Expedition (‘‘Prince Max with members of his expedition’’). From Bosch, 1991: 84–85. (Courtesy of Brazilian Library of Robert Bosch GmbH, Stuttgart)

Fig. 3. Title page from the third volume of Prince Maximilian’s Abbildungen zur Naturgeschichte Brasiliens (Wied, 1822–1831). Illustrated taxa are listed on the volume (Liefererung) title pages, but the contained plates are unnumbered (there are 6 plates in each of 12 Liefererungen). The herpetological plates reproduced herein are arbitrarily numbered 1–56 following the organization of the present work, which reflects the order of species presentation in volume 1 of the Beitra¨ge (fig. 4). Geographic modifiers (Neuwied and Runkel) were dropped from the Wied family name in 1824. After that, ‘‘Wied-Neuwied’’ appeared only on the title pages of the Abbildungen, which had begun publication two years earlier.

Fig. 4. Title page of volume 1 of Prince Maximilian’s Beitra¨ge zur Naturgeschichte von Brasilien (Wied, 1825). This first of four volumes is the only one devoted to herpetology. Many new species are described in this fundamental work, which assembles information for all reptiles and amphibians collected by Wied.