Pteropus (Epomops?) epularius Ramsay, 1877a

Parnaby, Harry & Gill, Anthony C., 2021, Mammal type specimens in the Macleay Collections, University of Sydney, Zootaxa 4975 (2), pp. 201-252 : 238-240

Pteropus (Epomops?) epularius Ramsay, 1877a

Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. (ser. 1) 2 (1), 8. (July 1877).

Description read at the 29th January 1877 meeting of the LSNSW.

Current name. Large-eared Flying Fox Pteropus macrotis epularius (Ramsay, 1877) following Simmons (2005).

Taxonomic status. Recognised as a subspecies of P.macrotis Peters, 1867 by all recent authors.Most taxonomists treated epularius as a species prior to Laurie & Hill (1954), who listed it as a subspecies of P. macrotis . However, the taxonomic distinction between epularius and macrotis has not been examined in detail since the authoritative treatment by Andersen (1912). Andersen’s conviction that epularius was a species distinct from macrotis , known only from the Aru Islands, should be tested using genetic criteria.

Syntypes. Four study skins. M.233, male, skin, skull in situ, “Katow”. M. 234, indeterminate sex, skin with skull apparently in situ (unless a plaster cast), “Katow”. M.235, male, skin ( Fig. 15 ) with skull in situ, “Katow”, Chevert expedition. Original tag written by Ramsay states “ Pteropus epomopoides Type of ♂ Katow” with initials EPR (= E.P. Ramsay). M.236, female skin, “Katow”, either the canines are missing, or the skull is not in situ.

Type locality. Katow (Ramsay) = Katau, Western Province, Papua New Guinea.

Comments. Ramsay did not indicate the number of specimens used in his description, nor provide any indication that one specimen in particular was “the type”. He gave a detailed description and measurements for an adult male and adult female. It is clear that he examined at least one skull, for which he provided measurements and remarked that the base of the skull was cut away, as often done in 19th century skull preparation. Skull(s) examined by Ramsay have not been located in the Collection. At least two of the syntypes listed above have the skull inside the skin. The only separate skull associated with any of these, a cranium with no mandible found mis-matched with M.234, is likely to be a sub-adult Pteropus poliocephalus Temminck, 1825 . The unattached tag associated with this skull appears to have been written by Masters and has the symbol “ø”, probably signifying unsexed, and the species name “ Pteropus epomopoides ” written on the tag in old writing by an unidentified author. The tag might have been attached to skin M.234 but as it is a loose tag, its original association is lost.

Andersen (1912) concluded that the type series consisted of four specimens collected by George Masters from Katow, which Andersen mistakenly thought were in the AM. Andersen probably inferred the number of type specimens from Ramsay’s statement that all four of the specimens examined had eye orbits that were not enclosed by bone. Ramsay’s ambiguous statement could mean that he had examined only four skulls, but he could have examined additional specimens with the skull in situ. At least two of the syntypes listed above have the skull inside the skin. The only other documentation of the type series that we have found is Stanbury (1969), who mentioned only one specimen (M.235), as a “? paratype ”. It seems that the taxonomic literature has drawn from Ramsay’s account without examining the syntypes. One of the few Northern Hemisphere taxonomists to visit the MAMU, G.H.H. Tate, presumably did not examine the type series, which are not mentioned in his paper on poorly known type specimens ( Tate 1940) or pteropodids ( Tate 1942).

External measurements of M.236 are consistent with those provided for the only female mentioned in Ramsay’s description, i.e. the measurements do not differ sufficiently to enable a definite exclusion of that specimen. Forearm length is difficult to measure on the syntypes because the wing membrane has been wrapped around the proximal end of the forearm during taxidermy preparation. Consequently, forearm lengths for three that can be accurately measured are slight overestimates: M.233, right forearm 132.2 mm; M.234, right forearm 133.1 and M.236, left forearm 141.0 mm.

The name Pteropus epomopoides is written in ink on old paper tags associated with several syntypes. Perhaps this name was initially considered before Ramsay settled for epularius. We have not located epomopoides in the taxonomic literature nor have we encountered that name in unpublished documentation or archival documents other than these specimen tags. In publishing this name, apparently for the first time, we are not introducing a new synonym because a name cannot be established solely from a binomial written on a label (Article 12.3, the Code).

Figures

FIGURE 15. Study skin of M.235 male, syntype of Pteropus (Epomops?) epularius Ramsay, 1877a [= Pteropus macrotis epularius]. Scale bar = 2 cm. (© Chau Chak Wing Museum, photo Stuart Humphreys 2016).