Pareas berdmorei Theobald, 1868

David, Patrick & Deuti, Kaushik, 2022, On the type specimens of Pareas macularius Theobald, 1868 and Pareas berdmorei Theobald, 1868 with the designation of a lectotype for Pareas macularius (Squamata: Serpentes: Pareidae), Zootaxa 5105 (4), pp. 490-500 : 492-494

Pareas berdmorei Theobald, 1868

Theobald (1868b: 63) described Pareas berdmorei by referring to the following combination of taxa and specimens (cited verbatim):

“ Aplopeltura boa . Schl. apud Blyth. The adult.”

“ Pareas macularius, Blyth. The young.”

Namely, Theobald (1868b) placed in the synonymy of his new species both “ Aplopeltura boa ” sensu Blyth (nec Amblycephalus boa H. Boie , a valid, distinct species), based on the two adult specimens (ZSI 8021–8022), and the three young (ZSI 8024–8026) mentioned previously by Theobald (1868a) in the description of Pareas macularius . Therefore, the original reference of Pareas berdmorei , with its original syntypes, is as follows:

Pareas berdmorei Theobald, 1868b: 63 .—Type locality. “Tenasserim”, now Tanintharyi Region, Myanmar, and “Martaban”, now Mottama , Môn State, Myanmar.— Syntypes (5 specimens). (1–2) ZSI 8021 , adult male and ZSI 8022 , adult female, both from “Tenasserim”; deposited by Major T. M. Berdmore. —(3–5) ZSI 8024–8026 , three juvenile specimens from “Martaban”; deposited by Major T. M. Berdmore.

The syntypes of Pareas berdmorei are thus identical to those of Pareas macularius . Such a case is accepted by Art. 72.6 of the Code (I. C. Z. N. 1999). For this reason, P. berdmorei and P. macularius have sometimes been considered synonyms in the literature. However, these three juvenile individuals are obviously distinct at species level from the two adult that are referable to the Pareas carinatus species complex. Consequently, Smith (1930 a; 1943) placed Pareas berdmorei in the synonymy of P. carinatus , a synonymy long accepted in the literature (see, for example, Wallach et al. 2014). Eventually, Poyarkov et al. (2022) showed that P. berdmorei is a valid species, distinct from Pareas carinatus .

There have been some confusion in the literature about the type series of Pareas berdmorei . Das et al. (1998: 150) recognized three syntypes, ZSI 8021 to ZSI 8023. The description of this taxon by Theobald (1868b) makes clear that it was based on two “adult” specimens. We examined these specimens, still extant and in good condition. Only ZSI 8021 and ZSI 8022 are adult animals, as correctly stated by Bhosale et al. (2020). Specimen ZSI 8023, 208 mm long (SVL: 166 mm; TaL: 42 mm; examined), is a juvenile or perhaps a neonate ( Fig. 1B ). It cannot be considered one of the syntypes of P. berdmorei .

According to the way in which Theobald (1868b) described Pareas berdmorei and its type material, this taxon could have been considered either a junior objective synonym of P. macularius or a replacement name for this latter taxon. However, the type series of P. berdmorei is obviously composed of specimens referable to two distinct species easy to diagnose. In their revision, Poyarkov et al. (2022) showed that P. berdmorei is not a replacement name of P. macularius or a junior synonym of this latter species but a valid species, distinct from both P. macularius and, also P. carinatus at species level. In order to fix the nomenclatural status at species level of P. berdmorei, Poyarkov et al. (2022: 47) selected a lectotype for this species (see below). In order to fix the status of Pareas macularius , we here select a lectotype for this species.

Figures

FIGURE 1. The original syntypes of Pareas macularius and Pareas berdmorei. A. The three “young” specimens mentioned by Theobald (1868a–b), original syntypes of both of Pareas macularius and Pareas berdmorei, ZSI 8024, ZSI 8025 and ZSI 8026.—B. The two “adult” specimens mentioned by Theobald (1868a–b), ZSI 8021 and ZSI 8022 (top and centre), original syntypes of both of Pareas macularius and Pareas berdmorei, as well as specimen ZSI 8023 (bottom) that does not belong to the type series of either of these species. Photographs by Kaushik Deuti.