Sphecotera viridis Vieillot, 1816

Jansen, Justin J. F. J., 2017, Rene Mauge's ornithological collections from Kupang Bay, West-Timor, Indonesia, August-November 1801, with special regard to type-specimens, Zoosystematics and Evolution 93 (2), pp. 467-492 : 474

Sphecotera viridis Vieillot

Sphecotera viridis Vieillot, 1816, Ana. d’une nouv. élém. orn.: 68 ( l’Australasie).

Sphecotheres viridis Vieillot, 1816. See Quoy and Gaimard 1824: 103 and Lesson 1831: 351. - Now.

Type materials.

SYNTYPE: MNHN-ZO-2012-677 [MNHN A.C. 9636], adult male, near Kupang Bay, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, West-Timor (10°11'0"S; 123°35'0"E), between 22 August and 13 November 1801, by René Maugé.

Pedestal underside: (Sticker) Asie Aus.C.te Le Nat.te. Expedit. Du Capt Baudin / an 11 / Timor / Maugé (the remainder of the pedestal is faded). Pedestal label: Sphecothere verte , ♂ / Sphectothere viridis / Sphectotherus virescens / Grauculus viridis , Quoy and Gaimard / de Timor, par Maugé.

SYNTYPE: MNHN-ZO-2012-680 [MNHN A.C. 9634], adult female, near Kupang Bay, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, West-Timor (10°11'0"S; 123°35'0"E), between 22 August and 13 November 1801, by René Maugé.

Pedestal underside: Pie grieche (illegible) / (Sticker) Asie Aust. Cvtte Le Nat.te / Expedit. Du Capt.te Baudin / an 11 / Sphecothera grisca , Less / Type. Pedestal label: Sphecothere australe / Sphectothera / Sphectothera australis / Sphectothera panicollis / Sw. / Sphectotherus grisea , Less (T.) / Lanius asturinus Geoff. St. H. (T) / Nouvelle-Hollande par Péron et Lesueur.

SYNTYPE: MNHN-ZO-2012-681 [MNHN A.C. 9640], adult female, near Kupang Bay, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, West-Timor (10°11'0"S; 123°35'0"E), between 22 August and 13 November 1801, by René Maugé.

Pedestal underside: Pie grieche (illegible) / (Sticker) Asie Aust. Cvtte Le Nat.te / Expedit. Du Capt.te Baudin / an 11 / Sphecothera grisca , Less / Type (illegible) Sphectothere. Pedestal label: Sphecothere verte , ♂ / Sphectothere viridis / Sphectotherus grisea , Less (T.) / Lanius asturnius , Geof. St H. (T) / de Timor, par Péron et Lesueur

SYNTYPE: MNHN-ZO-2012-698 [MNHN A.C. 9639], adult male, near Kupang Bay, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, West-Timor (10°11'0"S; 123°35'0"E), between 22 August and 13 November 1801, by René Maugé.

Pedestal underside: Sphecothere verte (Sticker) Asie Aus.C.te Le Natte. Expedit. Du Cap. Baudin / an 11 / Timor / Maugé / (illegible) colliera Viell / Viello (illegible). Pedestal label: Sphecothere verte , ♂, Vieill. Gal, 147 (T) / Sphectothere viridis / Sphectotherus virescens Vieill. (T.) / Grauculus viridis , Quoy et Gaimard / de Timor, par Maugé.

SYNTYPE (lost). The information available for the NMS bird is Dufresne Ms 1818, 16: Sphectothere viridis , Le Choucar vert Cuvier, Nlle Hollde, rare (Timor). Not found in 2016-2017 (Bob McGowan in litt.).

Comments.

Vieillot did not mention the number of specimens he examined or from which collection. These were the only specimens in the MNHN until one arrived via Maison Verreaux (Natural History merchants from Paris) in 1830 (MNHN Laboratory, ZMO-GalOis 3). A specimen in the NMS could have been examined by Vieillot and is therefore designated as a type-specimen. Another Baudin expedition specimen, present in NMW (NMW 52.648) had already arrived by 1806 and is not part of the type-series as it was not examined by Vieillot. The same applies for the bird documented in Temminck (1803-04: 27) and Temminck (1807: 50 and 204, no 320). Unfortunately, the Leiden specimen could not be checked due to the closure of the collection between 2016-2019. The syntypes listed above, except the NMS-syntype, also represent the type material of Sphecothera grisea Lesson 1830 and Lanius asturinus Lesson 1830. The type locality is erroneous ( l’Australasie), and therefore corrected and restricted to: West-Timor, near Kupang Bay (article 76a.2.A (ICZN 1999)). Vieillot, named this species Sphectothere viridis or ‘green’ ( Jobling 2017).