Crocodylus johnstoni Krefft, 1873

Shea, Glenn M., Beatson, Cecilie A. & Sadlier, Ross A., 2016, The Nomenclature and Type Material of Crocodylus johnstoni (Krefft, 1873), Records of the Australian Museum 68 (3), pp. 81-98 : 95-96

Crocodylus johnstoni Krefft, 1873

Crocodilus australis Krefft, 1867 , The Australasian

(new series) 3(69): 8 (nomen oblitum with respect to Crocodilus johnstoni , action taken here under Article 23.9 of the Code of Zoological Nomenclature).

Holotype: a skull donated to the Australian Museum, lost, collected by William Wood.

Type locality: Gulf of Carpentaria (actual place of capture, the hinterland of Burketown, based on collector’s known movements).

Not Oophilus porosus var. australis Günther , in Gray, 1867, Transactions of the Zoological Society of London 6: 138 (now in synonymy of Crocodylus porosus ); not Crocodilus australis Bravard , in Burmeister, 1885, Anales del Museo Nacional de Buenos Aires 3(2): 148 (now Caiman australis ); not Crocodylus porosus australis Deraniyagala, 1953 , A Colored Atlas of Some Vertebrates from Ceylon, volume 2: 34 (now in synonymy of Alligator mississippiensis ).

Crocodilus johnsonii Krefft, 1873 , Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (new series) 15(653): 8.

Holotype: AM R134547 , mounted skin, missing head; AM R134568 , skeleton missing skull, Upper Herbert River , collected by R. Johnson [Johnstone], donated J. G. Blaxland.

Type locality: Cardwell, Rockingham Bay (corrected to Cashmere, upper Herbert River , by the collector— Johnstone, 1904) .

Tomistoma krefftii Gray , in Krefft, 1873, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (new series) 15(653): 8 (junior objective synonym of Crocodilus australis Krefft ; synonymy with Crocodilus johnsonii by Krefft, 1874).

Holotype: as for Crocodilus australis Krefft.

Type locality: as for Crocodilus australis Krefft.

Crocodilus johnsoni Krefft, 1873 , Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1873: 334 (incorrect subsequent spelling of Crocodilus johnsonii

Krefft, 1873, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser [new series] 15[653]: 8).

Crocodilus johnstoni Krefft , in Gray, 1874, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1874: 177 (emendation of Crocodilus johnsoni Krefft, 1873 , Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1873: 334, preserved under Article 33.3.1 of the Code of Zoological Nomenclature).

Crocodilus johnstonii Krefft, 1874 , Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser 18(750): 630 (emendation of Crocodilus johnsonii Krefft, 1873 , Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser [new series] 15[653]: 8).

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. We thank Patrick Campbell (Natural History Museum, London) for attempting to locate the Krefft photographs and cast in that collection on our behalf, Jon Shepherd, Daisy Cunynghame and other staff at the Archives of that institution for their assistance to the senior author in examining the Krefft correspondence during visits in 2013 and 2014, Colin Johnston (Australian Museum production team) for access to a skull on display at the museum, Carolyn Kovach (South Australian Museum) for searching that collection for any potential source of the skull illustrated by Waite, and Rose Docker and especially Elizabeth McKinnon (Australian Museum Archives) for locating the negatives of the images of the type specimens and providing high resolution scans, and for tracking down Blaxland’s letter. Hal Cogger and Harry Parnaby provided valuable comments on the manuscript.