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Issue: Vol. 4695 No. 5: 12 Nov. 2019
Type: Article
Published: 2019-11-12
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4695.5.2
Page range: 438–450
Abstract views: 1009
PDF downloaded: 366

A global catalog of primary reptile type specimens

Center for Biological Data Science, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
Center for Biological Data Science, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
Australian Museum Research Institute, Australian Museum, 1 William St, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia, and Sydney School of Veterinary Science B01, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (MNHN), CNRS, Sorbonne Université, ISYEB (UMR 7205 MNHN/CNRS/UPMC/EPHE), Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (Reptiles), 57 rue Cuvier, CP 30, 75251 Paris, France.
The Natural History Museum (NHMUK), London SW7 5BD, UK.
Department of Herpetology, Zoological Institute (ZISP), Russian Academy of Sciences, St.Petersburg 199034 Universitetskaya nab. 1, Russia.
Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ), 26 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History (USNM), Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013-7012, USA.
Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History (USNM), Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013-7012, USA.
Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History (USNM), Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013-7012, USA.
Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History (USNM), Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013-7012, USA.
Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum Senckenberg (SMF), Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt a.M., Germany.
Department of Terrestrial Zoology, Western Australian Museum (WAM), 49 Kew Street, Welshpool, Western Australia, 6016, Australia.
Department of Terrestrial Zoology, Western Australian Museum (WAM), 49 Kew Street, Welshpool, Western Australia, 6016, Australia.
American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, New York 10024-5192, USA.
California Academy of Sciences (CAS), 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA.
Field Museum (FMNH), 1400 S. Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, IL 60605, USA.
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University (ANSP), 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA.
Research Museum Center, University of Michigan (UMMZ), 3600 Varsity Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48108, USA.
Zoologische Staatssammlung München (ZSM-SNSB), Münchhausenstraße 21, 81247 München, Germany.
Zoologische Staatssammlung München (ZSM-SNSB), Münchhausenstraße 21, 81247 München, Germany.
Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum A. Koenig (ZFMK), Section of Herpetology, Adenauerallee 160, D-53113 Bonn, Germany.
Naturhistorisches Museum Wien (NMW), Burgring 7, 1010 Vienna, Austria.
Naturhistorisches Museum Wien (NMW), Burgring 7, 1010 Vienna, Austria.
Biodiversity, Queensland Museum (QM), PO Box 3300, South Brisbane 4101, Australia.
Biodiversity, Queensland Museum (QM), PO Box 3300, South Brisbane 4101, Australia.
Naturalis Biodiversity Center (RMNH), Darwinweg 2, 2333 CR Leiden, Netherlands.
School of Zoology and Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Tel-Aviv University (TAU), Tel-Aviv 6997801, Israel.
School of Zoology and Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Tel-Aviv University (TAU), Tel-Aviv 6997801, Israel.
4 Potter Park, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
Reptilia syntype holotype neotype lectotype herpetological collections squamata serpentes sauria testudines

Abstract

We present information on primary type specimens for 13,282 species and subspecies of reptiles compiled in the Reptile Database, that is, holotypes, neotypes, lectotypes, and syntypes. These represent 99.4% of all 13,361 currently recognized taxa (11,050 species and 2311 subspecies). Type specimens of 653 taxa (4.9%) are either lost or not located, were never designated, or we did not find any information about them. 51 species are based on iconotypes. To map all types to physical collections we have consolidated all synonymous and ambiguous collection acronyms into an unambiguous list of 364 collections holding these primary types. The 10 largest collections possess more than 50% of all (primary) reptile types, the 36 largest collections possess more than 10,000 types and the largest 73 collections possess over 90% of all types. Of the 364 collections, 107 hold type specimens of only 1 species or subspecies. Dozens of types are still in private collections. In order to increase their utility, we recommend that the description of type specimens be supplemented with data from high-resolution images and CT-scans, and clear links to tissue samples and DNA sequence data (when available). We request members of the herpetological community provide us with any missing type information to complete the list.

 

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