Salamandra granulata De Kay

Pyron, R. Alexander & Beamer, David A., 2022, A nomenclatural and taxonomic review of the salamanders (Urodela) from Holbrook’s North American Herpetology, Zootaxa 5134 (2), pp. 151-196 : 174

Salamandra granulata De Kay in Holbrook, 1842e:63, pl. 20

[= S. jeffersoniana Green, 1827 ]

Holbrook (1842e) again described a salamander he had never seen, based on a description sent to him from De Kay (1842), which is a junior subjective synonym of the Jefferson Salamander ( Ambystoma jeffersonianum ) as designated by Cope (1867). Holbrook provided a crude illustration ( Fig. 7 ) by J. H. Richard, which was copied from the original drawing by J. W. Hill from De Kay (1842: pl. 23, fig. 66). Amusingly, both credit authorship of the name to each other, leaving priority down to a historical investigation of publication sequences. While the exact publication dates of both works are unknown, evidence points towards Holbrook (1842e) appearing first, which Adler (1976) suggested left Holbrook as the taxonomic authority. Beyond records suggesting different timeframes for printing, Holbrook’s account noted that he had never seen the animal, while De Kay stated that Holbrook had told him that he (Holbrook) had seen it in Pennsylvania, suggesting that Holbrook’s description came first. However, given that Holbrook credited the name to De Kay, quoted part of De Kay’s description verbatim, and reproduced De Kay’s figure, we suggest that this name is best interpreted as having been authored by De Kay in Holbrook (1842e).

The actual identity of this species was of some dispute historically, though we suggest it can be allocated and is not a nomen dubium. Holbrook noted that it resembles Salamandra glutinosa Green, 1818 (= Plethodon glutinosus ) save for its granulated skin, while De Kay stated that it is allied to Salamandra subfusca Green, 1818 (= Pseudotriton ruber ). Crucially , De Kay noted that his specimens from “ Dr. Emmons from the northern district of New York ” are in the “state collection.” These were apparently later transferred to the USNM and cataloged 2 August 1858 and were listed under USNM “3989” by Cope (1867) as the “(type of S. granulata, De Kay ” received from the “ N.Y. State Cab. ” The correct number is USNM 3981 (a lot of two specimens: one adult, one juvenile) as noted by Cochran (1961), who listed them as the “Cotypes?” of “ S. granulata De Kay. ” These are the two primary syntypes of S. granulata De Kay in Holbrook, 1842e. Cochran (1961), Uzzell (1967), and our examination corroborates that these are, in fact, Ambystoma jeffersonianum . We designate the adult as the lectotype ( Fig. 8 ). A third specimen of A. opacum was associated with the lot USNM 3981 at some point and was re-cataloged as USNM 39440 on 19 February 1910, but may not have been part of the original contents in the lot (S. Gotte, pers. comm.)

Figures

FIGURE 7. Illustration by (a) J. W. Hill (De Kay 1842e) and J. H. Richard (Holbrook 1842e) in dorsal (b) and ventral (c) views of the lectotype (USNM 3981) of Salamandra granulata De Kay in Holbrook, 1842e, type locality “from the northern districts of New York.” This specimen is the larger of the two in the lot, which is still extant at the NMNH (Fig. 8).

FIGURE 8. Lot (USNM 3981) containing the lectotype (larger specimen) of Salamandra granulata De Kay in Holbrook, 1842e, type locality “from the northern districts of New York,” in dorsal (a) and ventral (b) views. This specimen was illustrated (Fig. 7) in both Holbrook (1842e) and De Kay (1842). The smaller specimen, part of the original lot and described by De Kay (1842), thereby becomes a paralectotype. Images adapted courtesy of the NMNH. Ruler is marked in cm.