Type Locality And Taxonomic Status Of Saltator Plumbiceps "baird, Ms." Lawrence, 1867 (Aves : Passeriformes : Cardinalidae)

2 Pages·1998·0.5 MB·English

by  C A Ludwig

PROCEEDINGSOFTHEBIOLOGICALSOCIETYOFWASHINGTON
111(2):418-419. 1998.
Type locality and taxonomic status ofSaltatorplumbiceps
"Baird, MS." Lawrence, 1867 (Aves: Passeriformes: Cardinalidae)
CraigA. Ludwig
DepartmentofVertebrateZoology,NationalMuseumofNaturalHistory, SmithsonianInstitution,
Washington,D.C. 20560,U.S.A.
—
Abstract. Dueto anerrorinthepublishedtypelocalityforSaltatorplum-
biceps "Baird, MS." Lawrence, 1867, this name has long been considered a
synonymofS. coerulescensvigorsiiGray.Itis,infact,anolderavailablename
forthesubspeciescurrentlyknownasS. coerulescensrichardsonivanRossem.
Van Rossem's richardsoni thus becomes ajunior objective synonymofLaw-
rence'splumbiceps.
The populations ofthe Grayish Saltator, from central Jalisco to western Oaxaca
Saltator coerulescens Vieillot, inhabiting (Paynter& Storer 1970).
thePacific slopeofMexicowereoriginally AlthoughLawrence(1867)publishedthe
known as Saltator plumbiceps "Baird, localityofUSNM29372asMazatlan,Mex-
MS." Lawrence, 1867. InLawrence'sorig- ico, thereisnoevidenceto supportthisas-
inal description, USNM 29372 was desig- sertion. The specimenis anadultmalecol-
natedastheholotype,withMazatlan,Mex- lectedbyJohnXantus (fieldnumber53)in
icoindicatedas its locality. Thisnamewas January 1863.Hisoriginalfieldcatalog,the
applied to birds ranging from Sinaloa to original specimen label, and the museum
Oaxaca (Ridgway 1901), and can still be ledgerentryallindicate "PlainsofColima"
found on labels of USNM specimens col- as the locality. Deignan (1961) made note
lectedpriorto 1910. ofLawrence'serror,butdidnotmentionthe
Van Rossem (1931) discovered an older taxonomic consequences. Clearly, Law-
name applicable to this Pacific coast form, rence's earlier name applies to van Ros-
Saltator vigorsii G. R. Gray, 1844 (a re- sem'ssouthernformrichardsoni,whichhas
naming ofpreoccupied Saltator rufiventris thesametypelocality.Thus,thesubspecies
Vigors, 1839, type locality unknown), and ofGrayishSaltatorthatoccursfromcentral
plumbiceps became a synonym of S. coe- Jalisco to western Oaxaca should be prop-
rulescens vigorsii Gray (Hellmayr 1938). erly recognized as S. coerulescensplumbi-
Whenthistaxonwassplitintonorthernand cepsLawrence.
southern forms (van Rossem 1938), the
typelocalityofvigorsii(thenorthernform) Acknowledgments
was restricted to Mazatlan. This action re-
tainedplumbicepsasasynonymofvigorsii, IappreciatethecommentsmadebyR.C.
with the southern form being named Sal- Banks, G. R. Graves, and S. L. Olson on
tator grandis richardsoni van Rossem, the manuscript.
1938, type locality Plains ofColima, Coli-
ma, Mexico (holotype BM 1894.7.1.1180). Literature Cited
Thesetwosubspeciesarestillrecognizedas
S. coerulescensvigorsiiGray,rangingfrom DeignanU,niHt.edG.Sta1t9e6s1.NaTtiyopnealspMeucsiemeunms.oUfnbiitreddsSitnatthees
Sinaloa to northern Jalisco, and S. coeru- National Museum Bulletin 221, Washington,
lescens richardsoni van Rossem, ranging 718pp.
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