dec. 2007
The distribution of types
22-12-2007 20:52
Type material is
crucial in revisions to obtain a stable taxonomy. In
a family rich of names like the Orthalicidae, it is
very helpful if good documentation is available for
as many taxa as possible. In the Bulimulinae more
than 1700 taxa have been described, of which slightly
over 900 types have been traced; for the
Orthalicoidea as a whole these numbers are
respectively 2200 and nearly 1200 (data extracted
from Breure 1973, 1974, 1979; Breure & Schouten
1985). Of these types 30% (for the Bulimulinae nearly
40%) is being housed in the London museum.
Since 1979 several species have been added, and these numbers should be seen as an approximation of the current situation. Moreover, some museums have been thoroughly updated, e.g. the Berlin museum by Köhler (2007), the Bern museum by Neubert & Gosteli (2003, 2005) and the Senckenberg museum by Neubert & Janssen (2004).
In 1975 I studied all type material in London, but at that time it was not so easy to take good quality photographs. With modern digital cameras this is much easier. Hopefully there will be an opportunity in 2008 to restudy the types in London and to document them according to modern standards.
References
Breure, A.S.H. (1973) Catalogue of Bulimulidae (Gastropoda, Euthyneura), I. Amphibuliminae. Basteria, 37, 51-56.
Breure, A.S.H. (1974) Catalogue of Bulimulidae (Gastropoda, Euthyneura), II. Odontostominae. Basteria, 38, 109-127.
Breure, A.S.H. (1979) Systematics, phylogeny and zoogeography of Bulimulinae (Mollusca). Zoologische-Verhandelingen-(Leiden), 168, 1-215.
Breure, A.S.H. & J.R. Schouten (1985) Notes on and descriptions of Bulimulidae (Mollusca, Gastropoda), 3. Zoologische-Verhandelingen-(Leiden), 212, 1-98.
Köhler, F. (2007). Annotated type catalogue of the Bulimulidae (Pulmonata, Orthalicoidea, Bulimulidae) in the Museum für Naturkunder Berlin. Mittheilungen Museum naturkunde Berlin, Zoologische Reihe, 83, 125-159.
Neubert, E. & M. Gosteli (2003). The molluscan species described by Robert James Shuttleworth I. Gastropoda: Pulmonata. Contributions Natural History (Bern), 1, 1-123.
Neubert, E. & M. Gosteli (2005). The molluscan species described by Robert James Shuttleworth II. Polyplacophora, Gastropoda (Caenogastropoda), Bivalvia. Contributions Natural History (Bern), 5, 1-79.
Neubert, E. & R. Janssen (2004). Die Typen und Typoide des Natur-Museums Senckenberg, 84: Mollusca: Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Orthalicoidea: Bulimulidae (2), Orthalicidae, Placostylidae. Archiv für Molluskenkunde, 133, 193-295.
Since 1979 several species have been added, and these numbers should be seen as an approximation of the current situation. Moreover, some museums have been thoroughly updated, e.g. the Berlin museum by Köhler (2007), the Bern museum by Neubert & Gosteli (2003, 2005) and the Senckenberg museum by Neubert & Janssen (2004).
In 1975 I studied all type material in London, but at that time it was not so easy to take good quality photographs. With modern digital cameras this is much easier. Hopefully there will be an opportunity in 2008 to restudy the types in London and to document them according to modern standards.
References
Breure, A.S.H. (1973) Catalogue of Bulimulidae (Gastropoda, Euthyneura), I. Amphibuliminae. Basteria, 37, 51-56.
Breure, A.S.H. (1974) Catalogue of Bulimulidae (Gastropoda, Euthyneura), II. Odontostominae. Basteria, 38, 109-127.
Breure, A.S.H. (1979) Systematics, phylogeny and zoogeography of Bulimulinae (Mollusca). Zoologische-Verhandelingen-(Leiden), 168, 1-215.
Breure, A.S.H. & J.R. Schouten (1985) Notes on and descriptions of Bulimulidae (Mollusca, Gastropoda), 3. Zoologische-Verhandelingen-(Leiden), 212, 1-98.
Köhler, F. (2007). Annotated type catalogue of the Bulimulidae (Pulmonata, Orthalicoidea, Bulimulidae) in the Museum für Naturkunder Berlin. Mittheilungen Museum naturkunde Berlin, Zoologische Reihe, 83, 125-159.
Neubert, E. & M. Gosteli (2003). The molluscan species described by Robert James Shuttleworth I. Gastropoda: Pulmonata. Contributions Natural History (Bern), 1, 1-123.
Neubert, E. & M. Gosteli (2005). The molluscan species described by Robert James Shuttleworth II. Polyplacophora, Gastropoda (Caenogastropoda), Bivalvia. Contributions Natural History (Bern), 5, 1-79.
Neubert, E. & R. Janssen (2004). Die Typen und Typoide des Natur-Museums Senckenberg, 84: Mollusca: Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Orthalicoidea: Bulimulidae (2), Orthalicidae, Placostylidae. Archiv für Molluskenkunde, 133, 193-295.
An interim balance (2)
16-12-2007 20:15
This is the second time
I'm using this heading. The first time was dealing
with Ecuador.
Now the checklist for Colombia is on its way and,
although much remains to be done, the data available
have been geo-referenced. The same sort of picture
emerges: lots of localities in the Cordilleras,
hardly any in the eastern part of the country and in
the lowlands in the western side.
As the data predominantly have been derived from ancient collections, I wonder if this is a bias reflecting the past. Would data from recent collections also show the same pattern?
As the data predominantly have been derived from ancient collections, I wonder if this is a bias reflecting the past. Would data from recent collections also show the same pattern?
Biohistorical notes (2): H.H. Smith
08-12-2007 09:22
The second person that is frequently mentioned as
collector of Colombian material is H.H. Smith
(1851-1919). From the site of the Carnegie Museum I
learned that was he their first curator of Mollusca.
Besides mollusks, he was interested - at least during
his years at Carnegie - in Unionidae, he collected
also insects, amphibians and plants during his
extensive trips in Central and South America. I found
a description of his life in a biohistorical paper on
Mexican entomology (1), which also has an interesting
story on the origin of the series Biologia
Centrali-Americana.
After some effort I was able to find a portrait of Mr. Smith on the web.
(1) Papavero, N. & S. Ibáñez-Bernal (2003). Contributions to a history of Mexican Dipterology. Part II.- The Biologia Centrali-Americana. Acta Zool. Mex. (n.s.), 88: 143-232. Also further references.
After some effort I was able to find a portrait of Mr. Smith on the web.
(1) Papavero, N. & S. Ibáñez-Bernal (2003). Contributions to a history of Mexican Dipterology. Part II.- The Biologia Centrali-Americana. Acta Zool. Mex. (n.s.), 88: 143-232. Also further references.
Colombian Plekocheilus
06-12-2007 21:04
Working on Colombian Orthalicoidea, I inventarized
all data on the genus Plekocheilus so far available
to me. It's quite a list, with 40 taxa of which 4 are
doubtful occurrences in Colombia. Of the remaining 36
taxa, there are 8 that are only known by the type
material. For the shortlist of 28 taxa I found 75
localities in museums (collections and databases) and
literature that could be georeferenced.
A first rough analysis in Maxent revealed a pattern somewhat similar to that I found in Ecuador, however it needs more analysis to find out a realistic distribution. The number of occurrences is higher in Colombia, at least allowing for some analysis on species level.
Anyway, my first impression is that also in this country part of it is seriously undersampled, not only for this genus but for the family as a whole.
A first rough analysis in Maxent revealed a pattern somewhat similar to that I found in Ecuador, however it needs more analysis to find out a realistic distribution. The number of occurrences is higher in Colombia, at least allowing for some analysis on species level.
Anyway, my first impression is that also in this country part of it is seriously undersampled, not only for this genus but for the family as a whole.
Biohistorical notes (1): M.A. Carriker
05-12-2007 20:32
One of the subjects for my M.Sc. study was
biohistory. It has always kept my interest and that
why I'm keen on collector's names when working with
data of museum collections.
During revisionary work for Colombian Orthalicoidea I come across several names again and again. So I decided, as a side line, to look up what I could find of some of them. It quickly turned out that most of them were not malacologists, some even not biologists. But all travelled through South America and collected valuable material.
As we all "stand on the shoulders of giants", I will devote some attention to these men who indirectly have made my contributions to science possible.
The first one is M.A. Carriker, as his name appears on labels, mainly in the ANSP-collection. It is Melbourne Armstrong Carriker (1879-1965)(1):
Melbourne Armstrong Carriker was born in 1879, in Sullivan, Illinois, the first child of Malachi Armstrong Carriker and Mary Catherine Romine. Mary died in 1881, at which time Malachi was Principal of Prairie College. Melbourne Armstrong Carriker, later known as "Meb" by family members, was cared for by Samuel Romine, Mary´s father, in southern Kansas, while Malachi pursued a degree at the Eclectic Medical College, Eclectic Medical Institute, Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1885, following the completion of his medical training, Malachi married Ollie King and Meb joined them in Nebraska City in southeast Nebraska, where Malachi established a successful medical practice.
At age sixteen Meb joined the Nebraska City Naturalist´s Association, and through this association actively explored the wilds of Nebraska. He graduated from high school in 1898 and enrolled the following year at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. At the University he majored in languages and sciences. During his first year he joined the newly formed Nebraska Ornithologists´ Union as a Charter Member. At the end of his first year of college, his adviser and favorite teacher, Dr. Lawrence Bruner arranged a month of field work for Meb and his friend Merrit Cary. Merrit collected butterflies and shot small mammals while Meb shot and mounted birds, in western Sioux County, Nebraska.
In January, 1902, Meb and Merrit accompanied Dr. Bruner on a six-week bird-collecting trip in Costa Rica. They sailed from New Orleans to Limon, Costa Rica. Meb covered his expenses by the sale of bird skins to the Carnegie Museum and mammal skins to the American Museum of Natural History. Dr. Bruner and Merrit returned at the end of six weeks, however, Meb stayed an additional six months. He returned to the University of Nebraska in the Fall of 1902. At the end of the school year in 1903, Meb, having completed two years and one semester of college, returned to Costa Rica.
The life of Melbourne Armstrong Carriker, from which the above has been extracted, is described in Vista Nieve (2) by his eldest son, Melbourne Romaine Carriker. Meb pursued many opportunities and explored much of northern South America. His energies are legendary, and he contributed greatly towards our understanding of the aviafauna of the Neotropics. Most of his income came from the sale of bird skins to museums in the United States. The study of lice began with his first visit to Costa Rica and continued until his death. In 1933 he was interviewed on radio in Philadelphia wherein he reported conditions in 1909 when he was collecting birds along the Rio Caura, Venezuela.
It should be noted that Melbourne Armstrong Carriker used the name M. A. Carriker, Jr., in all his publications and professional correspondence. He was junior, only in the sense that he and his father, Malachi Armstrong Carriker had the same initials. Dr. M. A. Carriker refers to Malachi Armstrong Carriker, M.D..
-----------------------------
(1) Source: http://www.phthiraptera.org/phthirapterists/carriker/carriker.htm
(2) Carriker, Melbourne R., Vista Nieve: The remarkable true adventures of an early twentieth century naturalist and his family in Colombia, South America. 2001. 312 pp. Blue Mantle Press, Rio Hondo, Texas, U.S.A.
During revisionary work for Colombian Orthalicoidea I come across several names again and again. So I decided, as a side line, to look up what I could find of some of them. It quickly turned out that most of them were not malacologists, some even not biologists. But all travelled through South America and collected valuable material.
As we all "stand on the shoulders of giants", I will devote some attention to these men who indirectly have made my contributions to science possible.
The first one is M.A. Carriker, as his name appears on labels, mainly in the ANSP-collection. It is Melbourne Armstrong Carriker (1879-1965)(1):
Melbourne Armstrong Carriker was born in 1879, in Sullivan, Illinois, the first child of Malachi Armstrong Carriker and Mary Catherine Romine. Mary died in 1881, at which time Malachi was Principal of Prairie College. Melbourne Armstrong Carriker, later known as "Meb" by family members, was cared for by Samuel Romine, Mary´s father, in southern Kansas, while Malachi pursued a degree at the Eclectic Medical College, Eclectic Medical Institute, Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1885, following the completion of his medical training, Malachi married Ollie King and Meb joined them in Nebraska City in southeast Nebraska, where Malachi established a successful medical practice.
At age sixteen Meb joined the Nebraska City Naturalist´s Association, and through this association actively explored the wilds of Nebraska. He graduated from high school in 1898 and enrolled the following year at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. At the University he majored in languages and sciences. During his first year he joined the newly formed Nebraska Ornithologists´ Union as a Charter Member. At the end of his first year of college, his adviser and favorite teacher, Dr. Lawrence Bruner arranged a month of field work for Meb and his friend Merrit Cary. Merrit collected butterflies and shot small mammals while Meb shot and mounted birds, in western Sioux County, Nebraska.
In January, 1902, Meb and Merrit accompanied Dr. Bruner on a six-week bird-collecting trip in Costa Rica. They sailed from New Orleans to Limon, Costa Rica. Meb covered his expenses by the sale of bird skins to the Carnegie Museum and mammal skins to the American Museum of Natural History. Dr. Bruner and Merrit returned at the end of six weeks, however, Meb stayed an additional six months. He returned to the University of Nebraska in the Fall of 1902. At the end of the school year in 1903, Meb, having completed two years and one semester of college, returned to Costa Rica.
The life of Melbourne Armstrong Carriker, from which the above has been extracted, is described in Vista Nieve (2) by his eldest son, Melbourne Romaine Carriker. Meb pursued many opportunities and explored much of northern South America. His energies are legendary, and he contributed greatly towards our understanding of the aviafauna of the Neotropics. Most of his income came from the sale of bird skins to museums in the United States. The study of lice began with his first visit to Costa Rica and continued until his death. In 1933 he was interviewed on radio in Philadelphia wherein he reported conditions in 1909 when he was collecting birds along the Rio Caura, Venezuela.
It should be noted that Melbourne Armstrong Carriker used the name M. A. Carriker, Jr., in all his publications and professional correspondence. He was junior, only in the sense that he and his father, Malachi Armstrong Carriker had the same initials. Dr. M. A. Carriker refers to Malachi Armstrong Carriker, M.D..
-----------------------------
(1) Source: http://www.phthiraptera.org/phthirapterists/carriker/carriker.htm
(2) Carriker, Melbourne R., Vista Nieve: The remarkable true adventures of an early twentieth century naturalist and his family in Colombia, South America. 2001. 312 pp. Blue Mantle Press, Rio Hondo, Texas, U.S.A.