Emys spinosae Gray, 1830

Nowak-Kemp, Małgosia & Fritz, Uwe, 2010, Chelonian type specimens at the Oxford University Museum, Zootaxa 2604 (1), pp. 1-19 : 12

Emys spinosae Gray, 1830 : plate 77, figs 1–2 = Emys spinosa Gray, 1831

Current name: Heosemys spinosa ( Gray, 1830)

Syntype (1 specimen): OUM 8517 ( Bell Collection , Catalogue of Testudinata No. 25b; shell, juvenile, SCL 9.4 cm; shell bears small label with number “208”).

Remarks: The name of this species was misspelled as Emys spinosae in plate 77 of the Illustrations of Indian Zoology ( Gray 1830 –1835), constituting the original description of the species, but later corrected by Gray (1831a) to Emys spinosa in the Directions for Arranging the Plates of his Synopsis Reptilium (Cataphracta). According to Gray (1831a: p. 20), the species was planned to be described by Bell and the species name was taken from Bell’s manuscript. This is in agreement with the caption of table 77 in Gray (1830) and Bell (1832–1836), where the name is credited to the latter author ( Fig. 4 ). Bell (1832–1836) explains that his manuscript was based on a dried juvenile specimen from Mr. Leadbeater that was also figured under the name Emys spinosa in his Monograph of the Testudinata. Gray (1831a: p. 20) mentions only two juvenile specimens from “ Mus . Nost. ” [Museum Nostrum = our museum] and the figure in Gray’s (1830 – 1835) Illustrations of Indian Zoology, showing the shell of a juvenile from Penang, suggesting that three specimens should bear syntype status. However, as Bell (1832–1836: p. 67) explains, Gray donated the figured specimen ( Fig. 5 ), now OUM 8517, later to him, so that it may be concluded that this turtle is identical with one of the two mentioned juveniles and that there were only two syntypes. The second syntype is supposedly in the collection of the Natural History Museum, London.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Reproduction of plate 77 from Gray’s (1830) Illustrations of Indian Zoology, showing ‘Emys spinosae’ together with ‘Cistuda amboinensis’. The name Emys spinosae is credited to Bell.

FIGURE 5. Syntype of Emys spinosa Gray, 1830 figured in the Illustrations of Indian Zoology (Gray 1830–1835), now OUM 8517.