Megalaema leucotis Sundevall, 1850: 109

Dean, W. Richard J., Åhlander, Erik & Johansson, Ulf S., 2022, Avian type localities and the type specimens collected by Johan August Wahlberg in southern Africa, Zootaxa 5134 (4), pp. 521-560 : 531

Megalaema leucotis Sundevall, 1850: 109 .

VERBATIM TYPE LOCALITY: “ ♂ ♀ e Caffraria inferiore. ”

CURRENT STATUS: Stactolaema leucotis leucotis ( Sundevall, 1850) ; Ramphastidae ( Dickinson & Remsen 2013: 328) (includes rufopectoralis Irwin, 1957).

TYPE MATERIAL: Sundevall, in his original description (1850: 109), referred to both male and female, and according to his acquisition catalogue five specimens were available to him in 1850, listed as “ Bucco n(ew) sp leucotis ”. Gyldenstolpe (1926: 78) referred to NRM 569757 [7451] as a “type”, here treated as a lectotype designation of the study skin of an adult male collected 4 November 1842 near uMlalazi (Umlalaas) River. The four paralectotypes are: NRM 534379 [7453], a mounted female collected 5 November 1842 near uMlalazi River; a male [7450], collected 4 November 1842 near uMlalazi River, sent on exchange to Berlin in 1853 (and still present in the ZMB collection); RMNH. AVES.200366 [7452], a male collected 5 November 1842 near uMlalazi River, sent on exchange to Leiden in 1850; and NHMUK 1878.12.31.396 [7454], a female collected 5 November 1842 near uMlalazi River, sent on exchange to R.B. Sharpe in London in 1870.

VERIFIED TYPE LOCALITY: uMlalazi River , KwaZulu-Natal .

COMMENTS: Sundevall recorded the locality as “Umlalaas” in his register ( Figure 1 ), but as “Umlaas River” in his description of the type. Wahlberg was at the uMlalazi River from 2–6 November 1842.

Figures

FIGURE 1. (A) An example of Wahlberg’s handwriting; (B) a label on a Wahlberg specimen in what appears to be Sundevall’s handwriting; (C) Sundevall’s register with details of the type of Megalaema leucotis Sundevall; and (D) one of the few labels by Wahlberg’s hand. The “Mr Hodgson” on (D) was the Rev. Mr. Thomas Laiman Hodgson (1787–1850), chairman of the Wesleyan church in the Cape district, who contributed several specimens of mammals, birds and reptiles to Wahlberg’s collection.