Anthus lineiventris Sundevall, 1850

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 : 537

Anthus lineiventris Sundevall, 1850: 100 .

VERBATIM TYPE LOCALITY: “ In Caffr. superiore, silvatico, circa Limpopo flumen . ”

CURRENT STATUS: Anthus lineiventris Sundevall, 1850 ; Motacillidae ( Dickinson & Christidis 2014: 310) . Monotypic. Anthus lineiventris stygium Clancey, 1952 , is not recognized.

TYPE MATERIAL: Sundevall in his original description (1850: 100) gives no indication that he had more than a single male at hand. The original type series probably consisted of four specimens (but Sundevall’s acquisition catalogue is very difficult to read for this species). Gyldenstolpe (1926: 29) referred to NRM 568732 [6538] as a “type”, here treated as a lectotype designation of this adult male collected 2 October 1843 at Spitskop (1) (Spitzkop) according to the skin label, but Saulspoort according to Gyldenstolpe (1926: 29) (see below). The three paralectotypes are: NRM 90169719 [6537], a juvenile male collected 5 December 1843 near the Crocodile River; NRM 534116 [6539], a mounted female collected 5 December 1843 near the Crocodile River; and RMNH. AVES.123244 [6540], a juvenile male, collected 5 December 1843 near the Crocodile River, sent on exchange to Leiden in 1850.

VERIFIED TYPE LOCALITY: Spitskop (1) (24° 52’ south, 26° 40’ east), North West Province .

COMMENTS: Type locality restricted to Dwars Berge (= Dwarsberge), Marico District, North West Province, South Africa, by Gyldenstolpe (1934: 291). Dwarsberge is to the west of Spitskop (1) on Figure 3 . The reasoning and basis behind Gyldenstolpe’s restricted type locality and change from the label data is not known. It is almost impossible, given the information in Wahlberg’s journal, to identify the precise type locality of Anthus lineiventris , and the label locality of Spitskop (1) should be accepted as the TL. Wahlberg’s movements in September and early October are vague. According to Brinck (1955) he arrived at Matlapengberg on 14 September 1843. His journal only records “travel” after leaving the Matlapengberg (25° 18’ south, 26° 45’ east) on 17 September. However, two specimens collected on 24 September are labelled Matlapengberg, and it may be that he returned to Matlapengberg for a few days, or that the skins are incorrectly dated on the labels. On 28 September he recorded setting off for “Lubblabergen” (Dubblabergen?), an unidentified place that could be Dwarsberge. There are no localities given in the journal between Matlapengberg and Saulspoort, except that he “passed around the end of Leroma [on 9 October] and continued on the other side of the mountain” to (eventually, three days later) reach Saulspoort on 12 October. There is an implication that the night of 9 October was spent at Pilanesberg. The various localities are shown in Figure 3 .

Figures

FIGURE 3. Wahlberg’s camps and collecting sites (red dots) in the North West Province 1842–1844.