Bradypterus altumi van Someren

LeCroy, M., 2008, Type Specimens Of Birds In The American Museum Of Natural History. Part 7. Passeriformes: Sylviidae, Muscicapidae, Platysteiridae, Maluridae, Acanthizidae, Monarchidae, Rhipiduridae, And Petroicidae, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 313 (1), pp. 1-287 : 10-11

Bradypterus altumi van Someren

Bradypterus altumi van Someren, 1919: 22 (Molo Forests) .

Now Bradypterus lopezi mariae Madarász, 1905 . See Dowsett and Dowsett-Lemaire, 1993: 356, and Urban et al., 1997: 70–73.

HOLOTYPE: AMNH 592179 , adult male, collected in the Molo forests, Kenya, on 21 July 1917. From the V.G.L. van Someren Collection via the Rothschild Collection.

COMMENTS: In the original description, van Someren stated that the type with the above data was in the Rothschild Collection. AMNH 592179 is the only van Someren specimen of this form collected before 1920 that came to AMNH as part of the Rothschild Collection.

The species name, lopezi , was originally introduced as Phlexis lopezi by Alexander (1903a: 48) and changed to lopesi by Alexander (1903b: 375), who named the species for his collector, José Lopes. Watson et al. (1986a: 22) used the spelling lopesi , noting that the spelling had been ‘‘corrected to’ ’ lopesi by Alexander (1903b: 375). Sibley and Monroe (1990: 610) incorrectly considered the spelling lopezi a lapsus calami and used B. lopesi . Dowsett and Dowsett-Lemaire (1993: 356) argued that the change in spelling from lopezi to lopesi was an unjustified emendation. Urban et al. (1997: 70–73) continued to use the spelling lopezi , as did del Hoyo et al. (2006: 600–601), who commented that ‘‘prevailing usage also appears to be heavily in favour of retaining ‘ lopezi ’ as the correct name’’. I agree with this interpretation, contra Dickinson (2003: 580), who used lopesi , judging it to be in prevailing usage.

Molo is at 00.15S, 35.44E ( Polhill, 1988). This name was not listed in any of Hartert’s lists of Rothschild types.