Rana sibilatrix Wied, 1824 Plate

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 : 76

Rana sibilatrix Wied, 1824 Plate 50 and figure 29 (syntype)

1824 Isis : 671 (diagnosis).

1824 Abbildungen: Lief. 8 ( fig. 2 of composite pl.). 1825 Beitra¨ge: 545, 606.

PRESENT STATUS: Leptodactylus fuscus ( Schneider, 1799) .

REMARKS: Rana sibilatrix is listed as species no. 301 in Wied’s manuscript catalog, and there is one specimen in the collection, AMNH A-485, shown in figure 29 . Heyer (1978: 30) notethat, of species along coastal Bahia, Wied’s figure can only apply to Leptodactylus fuscus as currently recognized. Heyer examined the specimen, noting that it was a male with obvious vocal sacs and concluding that ‘‘There is no convincing evidence that associates or disassociates AMNH A-485 with Wied-Neuwied’s figure.’’

Direct comparison of AMNH A-485 against the Abbildungen plate reveals that the dorsolateral lines are less distinct in the specimen and that there are too many differences in arrangement and shape of the lateral dark blotches for it to have been the one painted.

We consider AMNH A-485 as the sole surviving syntype of Rana sibilatrix Wied. Either it or the lost specimen depicted in the painting could be designated lectotype, but there should be a taxonomic reason in either case.

The type locality is the East Coast (Ostküste) of Brazil. Several localities are mentioned in the Abbildungen text and the Beitra¨ge, of which Mu¨ ller (1927: 281) considered the first mentioned (Villa Vic¸oza) to be type locality.

Wied’s original pen-and-watercolor sketch of Rana sibilatrix is reproduced in Bosch (1991: 273), shown positioned above two toads ( Bufo cinctus ); this sketch was copied by Beckers ( Bosch, 1991: 270, item 108) for the Abbildungen plate that shows Rana sibilatrix below Hyla crepitans (pl. 50). The reason for the shifting of figures can be deduced from the Bosch catalog (1991: 272, item 109), where it is shown that Wied’s original name for the plate was to be ‘‘ Hyla sibilatrix ’’ (another name shown, ‘‘ Rana 9- carinata ’’ appears to be an earlier entry), which was changed to Rana sibilatrix when the Abbildungen text was printed (see comment in caption for pl. 50).

Figures

Fig. 29. Surviving syntype of Rana sibilatrix Wied, 1824 (AMNH A-485). 5 mm scale line.

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)