Anthus pratensis minor Brehm

LeCROY, M. A. R. Y., 2003, TYPE SPECIMENS OF BIRDS IN THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. PART 5. PASSERIFORMES: ALAUDIDAE, HIRUNDINIDAE, MOTACILLIDAE, CAMPEPHAGIDAE, PYCNONOTIDAE, IRENIDAE, LANIIDAE, VANGIDAE, BOMBYCILLIDAE, DULIDAE, CINCLIDAE, TROGLODYTIDAE, AND MIMIDAE, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 278 (278), pp. 1-156 : 54

Anthus pratensis minor Brehm

Anthus pratensis minor Brehm, 1856b: 346 (wandert durch Deutschland)

Now Anthus pratensis (Linnaeus, 1758) . See Hartert, 1905a: 276, and Alström and Mild, 2003: 122.

SYNTYPE: AMNH 458259, adult male, collected in the Roda River valley (‘‘Rodathal’’), Germany, on 12 April 1852. From the Brehm Collection via the Rothschild Collection.

COMMENTS: This is the specimen from the Brehm Collection that bears the Rothschild type label, but it was never designated the type by Hartert. However, minor was listed as a synonym of the nominate subspecies earlier ( Hartert, 1905a: 276). ‘‘ Anthus pratensis minor Brm. ’’ is clearly written on the original Brehm label. There is a Rothschild Museum label and a Rothschild type label with the following notation: ‘‘This is the only specimen that agrees with the diagnosis!’’, all written in Hartert’s hand.

Six additional Brehm specimens were cataloged at AMNH as A. p. minor and later exchanged to ZFMK. AMNH 458257, 458258, and 458260 were collected in Germany prior to 1856, but based on Hartert’s note on the label of the above syntype, it is probable that these specimens do not match the original diagnosis. The name written on the label by Brehm should be checked, as well as the original diagnosis. The remainder, AMNH 458261–458263, were collected in Alexandria, Egypt, which locality was not mentioned in the original description.