Breviceps tympanifer Hewitt 1925a

Conradie, Werner, Branch, William R. & Watson, Gillian, 2015, Type specimens in the Port Elizabeth Museum, South Africa, including the historically important Albany Museum collection. Part 1: Amphibians, Zootaxa 3936 (1) : -

Breviceps tympanifer Hewitt 1925a

Annals of the Natal Museum, 5(2): 190–191; Pl. X, Fig. 1 & 2 . Current name: Breviceps verrucosus Rapp, 1842

Lectotype: PEM A4811 (formerly AMG 1390); Pirie, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa; R. Godfrey, date unknown.

Paralectotypes (2): (a) PEM A4809; Qacu Forest near Tois River, Eastern Cape, South Africa; T. Liefeldt, date unknown. (b) PEM A4812; Hogsback, Amatola Range, Eastern Cape, South Africa; G. Rattray (according to original publication), date unknown.

Remarks. The designation of types in the original description is confusing: “ Types – Two adult examples from Pirie, C.P., presented to the Albany Museum (no. 1390) by the Rev. Robert Godfrey. Other smaller specimens in the same collection were taken at Hogsback, Amatola Range (Dr. G. Rattray), and Qacu Forest, near Tois River (Mr. T. Liefeldt); the Durban Museum has the same species from Umbilo (L. Brevis.)”. Obviously the two specimens from Pirie, of which only one (now PEM A4811) was present in the material received from AMG, must be considered syntypes. We included the other smaller specimen from Hogsback and Qacu Forest as part of the type series. The specimen from Umbilo (Durban Museum) may simply be additional material. To stabilize the situation, we designate PEM A4811 (the only remaining specimen from Pirie) as the lectotype, and regard the smaller specimens from Hogsback (PEM A4812) and Qacu Forest (PEM A4809) as paralectotypes. Synonymised with Breviceps verrucosus by Poynton (1964).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Family Pyxicephalidae I: A—Lectotype of Anhydrophryne rattrayi (PEM A 6334), B—Lectotype of Arthroleptella bicolor villiersi (PEM A 1568), C—Holotype of Arthroleptella drewesii (PEM A 2319), D—Holotype of Arthroleptella landdrosia (PEM A 7123).

FIGURE 2. Family Breviciptidae: A—Holotype of Breviceps acutirostris (PEM A 1540), B—Lectotype of Breviceps fuscus (PEM A 4826), C—Lectotype of Breviceps tympanifer (PEM A 4811), D—Lectotype of Breviceps parvus (PEM A 1534), E—Lectotype of Breviceps parvus caffer (PEM A 849).