f\) j- \r ( | | LJ HARVARD UNIVERSITY cal LAS LIBRARY OF THE Museum of Comparative Zoology } bf , a! 7 * 7 j F a | jie a | ee | “LS —ta vu ; Bs) " iD | Tr | i i Pee POSTIELA NOG a 7 : ; 4 ; Pa ee ee POSTIELA NOS. 1250 MARCH 1950 — JUNE 1961 MUS, Comp. ZOOL LIBRARY APR 23 1969 HARVARD UNIVERSITY, PEABODY MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY YALE UNIVERSITY, NEW HAVEN, CONN. CONTENTS List of Papers 5 Author Index 8 List of New Genera 9 List of New Species 9 asteot New Subspecies. 2%. oe. san6. seeks: | 10 List of Maps and I]lustrations — 11 et ed radere > Ole No. nw Or =~ LIST OF PAPERS Notes on Indian Birds, III. Birds from Assam. S$. Dillon Ripley. March, 1950. Rare Migration and Wintering Records from the Yucatan Peninsula. Raymond A. Paynter, Jr. March, 1950. A Small Collection of Birds from Argentine Tierra Del Fuego. S. Dillon Ripley. April, 1950. A New Tanager from Mexico. Raymond A. Paynter, Jr. May, 1950. A Large Pyenodont from the Niobrara Chalk. Joseph T. Gregory. December, 1950. Notes on Indian Birds, IV. Some Recently Collected Birds from Assam. S. Dillon Ripley. February, 1951. New Passerine Birds from the Indo-Chinese Subregion. H. G. Deignan. May, 1951. Bassariscus in’ Miocene Faunas and “‘Potamotherium Lycopotamicum Cope.” Joseph T. Gregory and Theodore Downs. May, 1951. Birds Collected and Noted Round Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrein Island. S. Dillon Ripley. May, 1951. Three Birds from the Mountains of Muscat. S. Dillon Ripley. November, 1951. Geographical Variation in Garrulaw Sannio Swinhoe. H. G. Deignan. March, 1952. A New Genus of Thrush from Eastern Africa. S. Dillon Ripley. April, 1952. The Thrushes. S. Dillon Ripley. September, 1952. A New Race of Black-Throated Babbler from Assam. S. Dillon Ripley. December, 1952. Typothorax Seutes from Germany. Joseph 'T. Gregory. May, 1953. Typothorax and Desmatosuchus, Joseph 'T. Gregory. June, 1953. Notes on Indian Birds, V. S. Dillon Ripley. December, 1953. Three New Birds from the Yucatan Peninsula. Raymond A. Paynter, Jr. March, 1954. Birds from Gough Island. S. Dillon Ripley. July, 1954. » 6 38. LIST OF PAPERS Notes on Indian Birds, VI. Additional Comments on the Wren-Babbler, Spelaeornis. S. Dillon Ripley. July, 1954. A New Fruit Pigeon from the Philippines. S. Dillon Ripley and D. 8S. Rabor. February, 1955. Additions to the Ornithogeography of the Yucatan Penin- sula. Raymond A. Paynter, Jr. April, 1955. A New White-Throated Spinetail from Western Brazil. S. Dillon Ripley. October, 1955. A Thresher Shark from Long Island Sound. James E. Morrow. December, 1955. Avifauna of the Jorullo Region, Michoacan, Mexico. Raymond A. Paynter, Jr. March, 1956. Cuban Bird Notes. S. Dillon Ripley and George E. Watson, 3rd. May, 1956. Meteorites in the Collections of Yale University. Kurt Servos. September, 1956. The Species of Notharctus from the Middle Eocene. Peter Robinson. January, 1957. A Redefinition of the Subspecies of Fodiator Acutus. James E. Morrow. February, 1957. Notes on the Horned Coot, Fulica Cornuta Bonaparte. S. Dillon Ripley. February, 1957. New Birds from the Western Papuan Islands. 8. Dillon Ripley. March, 1957. Additional Notes on the Horned Coot, Fulica Cornuta Bonaparte. S. Dillon Ripley. June, 1957. On a New Species of Anisops (Hemiptera, Notonectidae) from the Moluccas. G. E. Hutchinson. November, 1957. Notes on an Additional Example of the Fruit Bat, Sco- tonycteris Ophiodon Pohle. Alvin Novick. March, 1958. Notes on Indian Birds, VII. S. Dillon Ripley. April, 1958. On the Doubtful Validity of T'achypleus Hoeveni Pocock, an Indonesian Horseshoe Crab (Xiphosura). Talbot H. Waterman. June, 1958. A Note on the Firethroat and the Blackthroated Robin. S. Dillon Ripley. September, 1958. Comments on Birds from the Western Papuan Islands. 5S. Dillon Ripley. April, 1959. ~ LIST OF PAPERS On Makaira Nigricans of Lacépede. James E. Morrow, Jr. May, 1959. A New Species of Grammatostomias (Family Melano- stomiatidae) from the Western North Atlantic. James E. Morrow, Jr. May, 1959. Birds from Djailolo, Halmahera. S. Dillon Ripley. Sep- tember, 1959. Character Displacement in Indian Nuthatches (Sitta). S. Dillon Ripley. December, 1959. Two New Birds from Angola. S. Dillon Ripley. January, 1960. Sinopa from the Cuchara Formation of Colorado. Peter Robinson. February, 1960. Notes on the Embryolog gy and Evolution of the Mega- 4 podes (Aves: Galliformes). George A. Clark, Jr. Febru- ary, 1960. Fossil Amphibians from Quarry Nine. Max K. Hecht and Richard Estes. June, 1960. Additions to the Avifauna of Northern Angola, I. S. Dillon Ripley and Gerd H. Heinrich. July, 1960. Rodents and Lagomorphs from the Miocene Fort Logan and Deep River Formations of Montana. Craig C. Black. January, 1961. Results of Research in the Antofagasta Ranges of Chile and Bolivia. Luis E. Pena and Ruth Patrick. June, 1961. The Avifauna of Mount Katanglad. S. Dillon Ripley and D. S. Rabor. June, 1961. AUTHOR INDEX Black, Craig C., 48 Clark, George A., Jr., 45 Deignan, H. G. 7, 11 Downs, Theodore and Joseph T. Gregory, & Estes, Richard and Max K. Hecht, 46 Gregory, Joseph T., 5, 15, 16 Gregory, Joseph IT’. and Theodore Downs, 8 Hecht, Max K. and Richard Estes, 46 Heinrich, Gerd H. and 8. Dillon Ripley, 47 Hutchinson, ‘G. E.., 33 Morrow, James E., Jr., 24, 29, 39, 40 Novick, Alvin, 34 Patrick, Ruth and Luis E. Pena, 49 Paynter, Raymond A., Jr., 2, 4, 18, 22, 25 Pena, Luis E. and Ruth Patrick, 49 Rabor, D. S. and 8. Dillon Ripley, 21, 50 Ripley, Sz Dillon, 1,3, 6, 9,10, 12, 13, 14,47 lO oO BL, GOs Oi GO, 41, 42, 43 Ripley, S. Dillon and Gerd H. Heinrich, 47 Ripley, S. Dillon and D. S. Rabor, 2/, 50 Ripley, S. Dillon and George E. Watson, 3rd, 2¢ Robinson, Peter, 28, 44 Servos, Kurt, 27 Waterman, Talbot H., 36 Watson, George E., 3rd, and S. Dillon Ripley, 26 . 30 LIST OF NEW GENERA Comobatrachus aenigmatis, 46: 6 Comonecturoides mirshi, 46: 8 Modulatria, 12: 2 Niglarodon, 45: 2 LIST OF NEW SPECIES Amphora atacamana, 49: 50 Amphora boliviana, 49: 51 Amphora carvajaliana, 49: 52 Anisops sylvia, 33: 1 Dikkomys woodi, 48: 13 Eumys eliensis, 48: 7 Erythrura coloria, 50: 18 Grammatostomias circularis, 40: J Hadrodus marshi, 5: 1 Megalagus dawsoni, 48: 17 Monarcha julianae, 3S: 9 Navicula atacamana, 49: 45 Navicula carvajaliana var, carvajaliana, 49: 45 Navicula luisti, 49: 48 Navicula pseudosepta, 49: 49 Nectarinia sororia, 43: 2 Niglarodon koerneri, 48: 3 Paciculus montanus, 48: 10 Ptilinopus arcanus, 21: 1 Serinus mindanensis, 50: 18 LIST OF NEW SUBSPECIES Acridotheres cristatellus fumidus, 1: 4 Aepypodius arfakianus misoliensis, 31: 1 Ammomanes deserti insularis, 9: 6 Anthus similis travancoriensis, 17: 2 Arborophila torqueola interstincta, 6: 1 Collocalia esculenta nubila, 41: 4 Crateroscelis murina fumosa, 31: 3 Dendrocolaptes certhia legtersi, 18: 1 Dendrocopos darjellensis fumidus, 6: 3 Ducula badia carolinae, 17: 1 Dumetella glabrirostris cozumelana, 18: 3 Eos squamata attenua, 31: 2 Galerida cristata thomsi, 10: 1 Garrulaxw sannio comis, 11: 3 Garrulax sannio oblectans, 11: 3 Gerygone magnirostris occasa, 31:3 Horeites flavolivaceous alewanderi, 6: 6 Indicator xanthonotus fulvus, 6: 2 Nectarinia sericea mariae, 3S: 13 Oligura castaneo-coronata ripleyt, 7: 3 Parus major vauriet, 1: 2 Pellorneum ruficeps vocale, 7: 2 Pericrocotus flammeus gonzalesi, 50: 8 Phrygilus unicolor ultimus, 3: 10 Phylloscopus fuscatus mariae, 6: 5 Piranga roseo-gularis tincta, 4: 1 Platyrinchus mystaceus timotheit, 18: 2 Prinia gracilis anguste, 9: 10 Psalidoprocne albiceps suffusa, 43: 1 Pycnonotus leucotis dactylus, 9: 8 Pyrrhula leucogenys coriaria, 50: 17 Spelacornis chocolatinus chocolatinus, 20: 4 Spelaeornis chocolatinus nagaensis, 6: 4 Stachyris nigriceps coei, 14: 2 Sturnus contra sordidus, 1: 38 Turnia nana insolata, 47: 2 Nanthotis chrysotis austera, 31: 4 10 List OF MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS MAPS “sag se localities of Gerd Heinrich in North Angola 1957- 58, doetihen orientation of species of Sitta, 42: 6 Jorullo region, Michoacan, Mexico, 25: 12 Map of areas visited by Luis Pena, 49: 7 Mindanao Island, 50: 7 ILLUSTRATIONS Alopias vulpinus from Long Island Sound, 24: 3, fig. 1 A portion of the malpais seen from Jorullo, 25: 11, fig. 2 Comobatrachus aenigmatis, 46: 15, 17, pl. 1, figs. 2, 4, 6, pl. 2, fig. 2 Comonecturoides marshi, 46: 17, pl. 2, figs. 3, + Comparative series of urodele eae 46: 19, pl. 3, figs. 1-9 Diatoms from the alimentary tract of Phoenicoparrus jamesi (Sclater), 49: 57,.pl. 1, figs. 1-12 Eobatrachus agilis Marsh, 46: 15, 17, pl. 1, figs. 1, 3, 5, pl. 2, fig. 1 Head of Fulica cornuta, 30: 5 Horned Coot contrasted with Larus serranus, 30: 3 Horseshoe crabs (Xiphosura), 36: 15, 15; 17, pls. I, II, IU, figs. 1-11 Inacaliri marshes and tolar region, 49: 9 Jorullo from the plain at La Puerta, 25: 11, fig. Laguna Colorada in Bolivia, 49: 11 Male “parina chica,” Phoenicoparrus jamesi (Sclater), 49: 27 Notharctus gracilis (Marsh), 28: 25, 27, pl. 1, figs. 1, 2, 4-8, pl. HH, figs. 2, 3,.6 Notharctus robustior Leidy, 28: 27, pl. I, figs. 1, 4-5 > mils Notharctus tenebrosus? 28: 25, pl. 1, fig. 3 Notharctus tenebrosus Leidy, 28: 25, 27, pl. I, figs. 9-10, pl. LD, fig: Phoenicoparrus jamesi (Sclater), 49: 5 Senor Pena at Laguna Verde, 30: 3 11 ibe LIST OF MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS Serinus mindanensis and Erythrura coloria, 50: 5 Sinopa cf. vulpecula Matthew, 44: 2 Toconce and Paniri volcanoes, 49: 16 Traversay drawing of Makaira nigricans, 39: 2, fig. 1 Unidentified anuran, YPM 1394, 46: 17, pl. 2, figs. 5, 6 Unknown reptile, YPM 1568, 46: 15, pl. 1, figs. 7, 8 Where Io YALE PEABODY MUSEUM oF Natur:t History Number 1 March 10, 1950 New Haven, Conn. NOTES ON INDIAN BIRDS III BIRDS FROM ASSAM S. Ditton RieLrey I have recently been checking over specimens of birds from Assam, some kindly presented to me by Mr. Salim Ali, and others recorded by me on a recent survey for the Assam Govern- ment. The following notes appear worthy of setting down here. Alcippe rufogularis Comparison of a freshly-collected specimen of the Red- throated Tit-babbler from Gabru, Belsiri River, north Assam, on the edge of the Bhutan Duars (type locality of rufogularis), with a fresh specimen from Tezu, near Sadiya in the Mishmi Hills, shows that there are two races of this species as follows: 1. Alcippe rufogularis rufogularis Mandelli (type locality Bhutan Duars). Characters: brown above and paler, more gray below. Range: Bhutan Duars and northern Assam north of the Brahmaputra east presumably to the Dihang. 2. Alcippe rufogularis collaris Walden (type locality Sadiya). Characters: much darker on the crown and rufescent on the back. Flanks more heavily washed with brown. Range: northern Assam east of the Brahmaputra and Dihang, south to Manipur. Only fresh specimens of this species are worth comparing, as is the case with some other members of the genus. I am most grateful to Mr. H. B. Usher for help in comparing my material with the types and other specimens in the British Museum. 2 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 1 Parus major I have examined thirteen fresh skins from Nepal, Bengal, and Assam as well as older skins borrowed with the courteous cooperation of the authorities concerned, from the U. S. Na- tional Museum and the American Museum of Natural History. I agree with Ticehurst (Jour. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 36, 1933, p. 921) that nipalensis differs from cinereus of Java by the greater amount of white on the second outer rectrix. On the mainland there appears to be a continuous cline in color with topotypical nipalensis from Nepal being somewhat paler on the back than birds from Bengal or Burma. Birds from northern Assam have a much reduced area of white on the second outer rectrix, comparable in this respect to cinereus, but they differ from that form in being more suffused with grayish-smokey on the flanks. I, therefore, propose: Parus major vauriei subsp. nov. Type: ¢ ad. (Peabody Mus. Nat. Hist. Yale No. 9334), collected December 21, 1946, by S. Dillon Ripley at Chabua, Northeastern Assam. Diagnosis: from nipalensis this race differs by having re- duced white patches on the second outer rectrices and a darker smokier wash on the flanks. From cinereus this race differs by the smokier wash on the under surface. From ambiguus this race differs by having somewhat more white on the second outer rectrix and by being darker, smokier on the flanks. From decolorans it differs by smaller size. Measurements of type: wing 59, tail 53.5, culmen 10.5, white area on second outer rectrix (measured on inner web) 9mm. Range: Northeastern Assam. I have not been able to de- termine from fresh material the extent of the range of this form into central Assam. It is possibly another of the races which attain a climax of saturation in Lakhimpur. Mar. 10, 1950 Notes on Indian Birds III 3 Remarks: it gives me great pleasure to name this race for Dr. Charles Vaurie of New York, who has been most helpful with identifications on numerous occasions. Two new races of Sturnidae Sturnus contra sordidus subsp. nov. Type: ? ad. (S. Dillon Ripley Coll. No. 1802, deposited in Peabody Mus. Nat. Hist. Yale), collected November 21, 1946, by Salim Ali at Sadiya, Northeastern Assam. Diagnosis: from contra contra Linnaeus, described from “India” and hereby restricted to Calcutta, Bengal, this race differs by having the streaklets on the shoulders much reduced, and quite lacking on the nape. In color these streaklets are sepia rather than vinaceous or drab. This race also differs from contra in the much darker underparts which are deep vinaceous-drab in tone. The thighs also are streaked with black rather than dark brown as in the nominate race. From superciliaris and floweri this race differs as does contra, in not having the forehead streaked with white, in lacking the broad supercilium of those races, and in being very dark on the back. Measurements of type: wing 120, tail 71, bill (from skull) 32. Range: Northern Assam from Dibrugarh and Margherita north to the foothills around the Brahmaputra gorges and east through the Lohit Valley. North Cachar birds are some- what intermediate, showing a cline in coloration between contra and sordidus, but are better placed in contra. Remarks: Whistler (Jour. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 36, 1933, p. 725) expresses doubt about the race dehrae Baker, set up for the more western and southern population of this star- ling in India. I agree with him after having examined freshly- collected Indian specimens from Nepal and Central India, and suggest that dehrae be made a synonym of contra. 4 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 1 Acridotheres cristatellus fumidus subsp. nov. Type: ¢ ad. (S. Dillon Ripley Coll. No. 1803, deposited in Peabody Mus. Nat. Hist. Yale), collected November 21, 1946, by Salim Ali at Sadiya, Northeastern Assam. Diagnosis: from fuscus (restricted to east Bengal by Baker) this race differs by being darker, more sooty on the upper parts particularly on the rump, and darker, more smokey on the abdomen and belly. In fuscus this area is pinkish-ashy; in fwmidus the pale color is much reduced in area in most speci- mens, and darker in tone. The thigh coverts also are blackish rather than dark vinaceous-gray as in the nominate form. From grandis this race differs in the color of the bill and in the darker plumage. Range: Assam in north Cachar and north to Lakhimpur and the Mishmi Hills. Remarks: there is some variation in the extent of the color of the underparts in this form, but none are as pale on the abdomen as Indian specimens. The literature on this species is extensive and somewhat confusing. Much remains to be learned about the relationship of the species and its sibling, albocinctus in Burma. N.B.: Previous notes in this series appeared in JourNat Bomspay Narurat History Socrety 47, No. 4, August 1948, and Zootocica 33, pt. 4, December 1948. SEP eB 1950 YALE PEABODY MUSEUM oF Naturat History Number 2 March 27, 1950 New Haven, Conn. RARE MIGRATION AND WINTERING RECORDS FROM THE YUCATAN PENINSULA Raymonp A. Paynter, JR. Osborn Zoological Laboratory While collecting ornithological specimens from October, 1948 to August, 1949 in the territory of Quintana Roo, on some of the islands off the east coast of the peninsula, and for a short while in the state of Yucatan, a number of wintering and migrating North American species were taken. Some of these specimens constitute new, or rare, records for the penin- sula and cast additional light on the winter range and migra- tion routes of common North American birds. The specimens referred to hereinafter are incorporated in the collections of the Peabody Museum. A comprehensive report on my Yucatan Peninsula collection is in preparation. Numenius americanus Bechstein Long-billed Curlew The Long-billed Curlew has been recorded from Cozumel Island by Salvin (Ibis, 1889: 379) but never from the main- land of the peninsula. However, on March 31 while at Vigia 2 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 2 Chico, an abandoned village on Ascension Bay, Quintana Roo, a flock of five curlews was seen flying about a quarter of a mile off shore. On April 7, again at Vigia Chico, eight curlews were found on a sand-bar a short distance from the shore. They could be studied with binoculars with ease but were too far out to be collected. Catoptrophorus semipalmatus inornatus (Brewster) Western Willet The only example of this species seen was a male which was collected in southern Quintana Roo at Xcalac on Febru- ary 3. The willet has been recorded from Yucatan by Lawrence (Ann. Lye. N. Y., 9: 210, 1878) and on Cozumel Island by Salvin (Ibid.: 379). Ridgway (Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 50 (8): 317, 1919) has listed these records under C. s. semipalmatus but apparently he did not examine the specimens and merely assumed only the eastern race occurred on the peninsula. It seems probable that both races do occur there but, until the old specimens can be examined, inornatus is the only race definitely recorded. Steganopus tricolor Vieillot Wilson’s Phalarope Wilson’s Phalarope has never been recorded from the Yuca- tan Peninsula. There are numerous records from central Mexico and the migration of the species through the lower portion of the peninsula is not unexpected. The only specimen seen was a lone male which was taken on May 19 at Laguna Chacanbacab (also called Laguna Alton), a large shallow body of water in Quintana Roo near the border of Campeche at the Mar. 27, 1950 Yucatan Records 3 base of the peninsula. The date is unusually late for a bird so far south (see, ¢.g., Bent, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 142: 28, 1927) but the specimen was exceedingly thin and may have been unable to migrate farther north. Caprimulgus carolinensis Gmelin Chuck-will’s-widow On April 5, at Cayo Culebra, Ascension Bay, a single speci- men of this species was secured. No others were seen or heard. It has never been found on the peninsula or nearby islands and presumably does not winter there. During the first week of April the arrival of a wave of migrants composed of a number of diurnal species was noted and presumably this species was among them. Tyrannus tyrannus (Linnaeus) Kingbird On April 3 we began field work on Cayo Culebra and secured two specimens of this species from the great number which was present. The Kingbird was not found on the mainland previous to this date but, upon our return on April 7, it was seen quite frequently during the months of April and May whenever we were in rather open country. Both Salvin (Ibid.: 362) and Boucard (Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1883: 448) reported the species abundant in northern Yucatan in the same months. yy Bombycilla cedroruwm Vieillot Cedar Waxwing A very rare species on the mainland of the peninsula. A single waxwing was seen feeding in the sea-wrack at Xcalac on February 2 and another bird was seen and collected at 4 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 2 Tabi (an Indian village about twenty miles northwest of Carrillo Puerto, Quintana Roo) on March 12. The only pre- vious mainland record was a bird which was taken at Izalam, Yucatan in February, 1879 (Boucard, [bid.: 442). Griscom (Amer. Mus. Novit. No. 236: 4, 1926) found the species abundant on Cayo Centro, Chinchorro Bank in January, 1926, but it was not present during my field work in February, 1949. V Vireo virescens virescens Vieillot Red-eyed Vireo One specimen was taken at Carrillo Puerto on April 8 and another at Chetumal, Quintana Roo on April 14. These were the only ones seen. The Red-eyed Vireo apparently passes through the Yucatan Peninsula in early April and has moved north by the time Vireo v. flavoviridis returns in large numbers in mid-April. Boucard (Ibid.: 441) records a specimen taken at Silam, Yucatan, in November by Gaumer but he notes, “No specimens sent to me.” It would seem that the record is an error since no one has collected this vireo during the fall or winter months in spite of extensive collecting. The only pre- vious record was a bird heard singing on April 3 by Cole at Chichen Itza (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., L (5): 136, 1906). Limnothlypis swainsonii (Audubon) Swainson’s Warbler A specimen taken on February 12, forty-six kilometers west of Chetumal, is the third record of this species for the Yucatan Peninsula. Although rare, it seems to occur regularly in the lower portion of the peninsula where little collecting has been done. Mar. 27, 1950 Yucatan Records 5 Helmitheros vermivorus (Gmelin) Worm-eating Warbler The Worm-eating Warbler has been recorded twice before from the mainland and once from Cozumel Island. The fourth record for the region was secured forty-six kilometers west of Chetumal on February 17. Vermivora pinus (Linnaeus) Blue-winged Warbler Boucard (Ibid.: 440) reported the only previous record of this species which presumably was collected in Yucatan. On March 12, while at Tabi, a single specimen was seen and collected. Vermivora peregrina (Wilson) Tennessee Warbler A male was collected on Cayo Culebra, Ascension Bay, on April 6. The few existing records for this species are from Cozumel Island. It has not yet been found on the mainland. Dendroica tigrina (Gmelin) Cape May Warbler This warbler regularly winters in the West Indies. The only previous Mexican records are both from the Yucatan Penin- sula. Boucard (Ibid.: 440) reported a bird in Yucatan and Peters collected one in Quintana Roo (Auk, X XX: 387, 1913). I secured one on Cayo Norte, Chinchorro Bank on February 4. Its presence on Chinchorro is not surprising since these small islands have great West Indian affinities, as does Cozumel Island to the north. 6 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 2 Dendroica caerulescens caerulescens (Gmelin) Black-throated Blue Warbler One specimen taken on Cozumel Island on January 12. This is the second record of this species for the island, again indicating the island’s affinities with the Antilles. Dendroica castanea (Wilson) Bay-breasted Warbler One of the most interesting discoveries resulting from the work on the Yucatan Peninsula was the presence of the Bay- breasted Warbler in great numbers in early May. The only other Mexican record I have been able to discover was a bird taken at Tehuantepec (Lawrence, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus. 4: 15, 1876). Unfortunately, I was present in Chetumal only two days during the migration of the species and my data is not so abundant as might be desired. Previous to the days in Chetumal I was in the city of Merida, and after that time in the rainforests in the middle of the peninsula. In neither local- ity did I see the species. However, on May 6 two specimens were taken at different localities in the low second growth out- side the town of Chetumal. On the next day one specimen was taken, on a short trip to the outskirts of the town, and five more were seen mixed in with a flock of yellow warblers (Den- droica aestiva) and Magnolia Warblers (Dendroica magnolia). It would appear then, from the lack of records from central Mexico, that the species migrates through Central America and up through the Yucatan Peninsula and then across the Gulf of Mexico. Mar. 27, 1950 Yucatan Records a Piranga olivacea (Gmelin) Scarlet Tanager The Scarlet Tanager appears to be another species which migrates through the peninsula in the manner of the Bay- breasted Warbler. The first specimen seen was collected on April 1 outside of Chetumal. Field work took me to regions less suitable for the species during the month but on May 5 another specimen was taken at Chetumal. There are only a few other records for the peninsula although Boucard (Jbid.: 443) states it is common near Merida, presumably in the spring. Lesa LIBRARY SEP 22 195i HARVARD MVERSTY YALE PEABODY MUSEUM or Naturat History Number 3 April 3, 1950 New Haven, Conn. A SMALL COLLECTION OF BIRDS FROM ARGENTINE TIERRA DEL FUEGO S. Ditton Rieiey In the spruig of 1948, Mr. Stephen Sanford generously suggested that a representative of the Peabody Museum of Yale accompany his party on a brief visit to Tierra del Fuego for collecting purposes. Unfortunately the group was some- what delayed in arrival due to difficulties with weather and planes, but in mid-April they arrived at Rio Grande on the east coast. Mr. Sanford was accompanied by his wife, Mr. Van Campen Heilner and Mr. Migdalski. The first part of their stay was at Estancia “Sara”? near Rio Grande where the country was very open and treeless, but Mr. Migdalski was later able to go farther north to the Estancia of the Bridges family where there were trees in some number. During his actual collecting time April 27th to May 20th, Mr. Migdalski was able to collect 78 specimens of 35 species, a difficult assignment due to the severe autumnal weather and many of the species having already migrated north. One advantage, however, was the fact that all the birds were in fresh plumage, although an additional difficulty was the heavy deposit of fat which all specimens carried. Some species showed definite gonadal enlargement, presumably correlated with the migratory season, and heavy fat deposition. 2 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 3 The grateful thanks of the Museum must go to Mr. and Mrs. Sanford for assisting so generously in securing this valuable material, as well as to the authorities of the American Museum of Natural History and the Museum of Comparative Zoology for permission to examine specimens in their care. Color notes are by Mr. Migdalski. List of the Species Phalacrocoracidae Phalacrocorax brasilianus brasilianus (Gmelin): Brazilian Cormorant. A female cormorant was shot on May 16. Mr. Migdalski has noted the soft parts as: “iris brown; eyelids yellow; bill, upper mandible dorsally brown, laterally greenish-yellow, lower mandible greenish-yellow, skin of throat yellow; legs black.” This bird is in immature plumage. It measures: wing 226 mm., tail 149 mm., culmen 44 mm. Ardeidae Nycticorax nycticorax obscurus Bonaparte: Chilean Night Heron. A male taken May 20 is of this dark-bellied form. Soft parts: ‘iris red; ocular skin greenish-yellow; bill, upper mandible brownish-black, yellowish-green at the base, lower mandible distally for 1/3 of the length brownish-black, remainder yel- lowish-green; legs, suffrago, posterior tibio-tarsus, anterior tibio-tarsus greenish-black; feet black, pads yellow.” Wing: 349. Threskiornithidae Theristicus caudatus melanopis (Gmelin): Black-faced Ibis. A single female of the ibis of Tierra del Fuego was collected Apr. 3, 1950 Birds from Argentine Tierra del Fuego 3 April 29. Soft parts: “iris red; bill and facial skin black; legs purplish-red.” Anatidae Cygnus melancoryphus (Molina): Black-necked Swan. A male Black-neck was shot on April 30. It has a wing measurement of 436. Soft parts: “iris brown; bill, upper mandible dark slate, tip fleshy gray; facial skin red; legs and webs fleshy.” Coscoroba coscoroba (Molina): Coscoroba Swan. A male Coscoroba taken May 4 is in partial immature plum- age. A few feathers on the crown and a considerable area of the upper back, a few scapulars, tertials, median wing coverts and upper tail coverts are tipped with brown. The primaries are blackish terminally. This immature plumage is very swan- like. Soft parts: “iris light brown, bill reddish purple, legs and webs pinkish-flesh.” Wing: 145. Not common. Found only on inland ponds. Lophonetta specularoides specularoides (King): Crested Duck. The most abundant duck at this season. Three males were skinned out of a good number shot on April 28 and 29. Two males are in very worn plumage. One bird is in extremely fresh plumage indicating the closeness of the moult. Soft parts: “iris red (2), light brown (1); bill, upper mandible bluish-black, lower pinkish-orange; legs and webs brownish- gray.” Wing: 257.5, 259 (worn), 2765. Chloéphaga poliocephala Sclater: Ashy-headed Goose. A male Ashy-head weighing five pounds was taken on May 1. Normally these birds leave about the seventh of April, and Mr. Migdalski consequently found this the least common of t Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 3 the geese. It is in fact the least common species in the Rio Grande area. Soft parts: “iris dark brown; bill black; tibio- tarsus orange with black mottling; feet, middle toe and webs black, inner and outer toes black with orange sides.” Wing: 363. This bird is in worn plumage although the tail and wing feathers have been largely freshly moulted in. Chloéphaga rubidiceps Sclater: Ruddy-headed Goose. A pair and a young female were taken April 27 and 29. This, the second most common species in the area, is said to leave normally by April 15. They return in early September and usually begin to breed about October 24. The clutch size ranges from 4 to 11 eggs. Birds are flocking for migration by about April 10. One adult weighed 4 pounds 8 ounces. These birds are in wing moult. They measure: wing ¢ 325, 2 314, im. 2 329. The adult female seems to be growing a new set of primaries, while the males’ are being partially shed. The tarsus of these specimens measures: 66.5, 64, im. 65. Chloéphaga picta picta (Gmelin) : Upland Goose, Caiquen. This is the most numerous species in the San Sebastian region. An adult and an immature male and an adult female were collected on May 1 and 2. These are the Barred Upland type, the predominant type in this area. Mr. Migdalski failed to find the white males during his stay. Local information claimed that most males were of the barred type, and that the pure white birds were a color phase. This species arrives in the area in early September and seldom begins breeding before October 17. The average clutch is seven eggs which take the normal incubation period. By the end of February most of the young can fly. Migration begins the last week in April and by May 20 nearly all birds have left. Those few that stay over the winter usually suffer from frozen feet and become very thin. Local estimates report that seven to ten geese eat as much grass as one sheep. Apr. 3, 1950 Birds from Argentine Tierra del Fuego 5 Geese are said actually to be drawn by the sheep, as they prefer cropped grass. Thus the density of the geese is greater in the sheep grazing areas. Where they are heavily concen- trated the amount of goose excrement is said to become so great that sheep are driven away. Consequently for many years now the upland geese have been a pest and a bounty is paid for their destruction, at the rate of 4 cents (Argen- tine) an egg, 15 cents per gosling and 50 cents for an adult bird. In 1947-8 alone the Estancia “Sara” staff at Rio Grande broke 35,000 eggs, and another nearby estancia broke 75,000 eggs. The cook and her husband on one estancia during that season collected 4,000 eggs, 900 young and 400 adults for the bounty. These specimens measure: wing ¢ 427 (worn), 2 892; tail 6 177, 2 156; culmen ¢ 33, 2 32; tarsus 3 84, 2 77. Weight ¢ 6 pounds 4 ounces, 2 6 pounds. Chloéphaga hybrida hybrida (Molina): Kelp Goose. A pair of Kelp Geese were collected at Viamonte on May 11 and 15. They were wary and difficult to approach. Migdalski never saw them farther than 60 yards from the shore, once or twice on sheltered small ponds near the beach. The “Kelpers” as they are called locally, arrive in March and leave in September in contrast to the other species. Soft parts: “iris dark brown, bill black, legs, feet and webs bright yellow; iris brown, bill fleshy, legs, feet and webs bright yellow.” Wing: ¢ 381, 2 344. Both birds are freshly moulted and weigh: ¢ 5 pounds 12 ounces; 2 4 pounds 8 ounces. Tachyeres patachonicus (King): Flying Steamer Duck. Two females were taken May 1 and 4. One is subadult and is in moult. The reddish throat patch is prominent in this bird. Wing: ad. 296, subad. 260. Soft parts: “iris dark brown; bill (ad) greenish-yellow basally, distal half bluish- 6 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 3 black, (im) yellowish-green, tip black; legs and feet yellow, webs grayish-black.” The flightless species does not occur so far north. Anas versicolor fretensis King: Southern Gray Teal. A single male, taken April 29, measures: wing 219. Soft parts: “iris dark brown, bill, upper mandible black, basal half excluding culmen yellow, lower mandible bluish-gray; legs and feet greenish-gray, webs black.” Anas georgica spinicauda Vieillot: Brown Pintail. A female was collected April 27. The tail is worn but the wings are freshly moulted and measure: 229. The bird was very fat and greasy. Soft parts: “iris dark brown; bill, upper mandible yellow, culmen and tip black, lower mandible yellow, tip black; legs and toes gray, webs black.” Anas flavirostris flavirostris Vieillot: Yellow-billed Teal. With the Crested Duck, the commonest species at Rio Grande. Birds were taken the end of April, all fat, freshly moulted and in good condition. Wing: ¢ 179 (m), 2 191, 192. Soft parts: “iris dark brown; bill, upper mandible yellow, culmen and tip black; lower mandible yellow, tip black; legs and feet gray, webs black.” Anas sibilatriz Poeppig: Chiloe Widgeon. A single male, freshly moulted, was collected April 29. Accipitridae Buteo polyosoma polyosoma (Quoy and Gaimard): Rufous- backed Buzzard. Two varicolored immature birds, presumably a male and female, were secured on May 2 and 15. Soft parts: “iris Apr. 3, 1950 Birds from Argentine Tierra del Fuego fi creamy-brown, yellowish-brown; bill greenish-gray, black tip to upper mandible; cere greenish-yellow; legs yellow.” Wings: $ 2? 440, 2 ? 500. Falconidae Milvago chimango chimango (Vieillot) : Chimango. Three females were collected at Rio Grande in late April. They are tame confiding birds. Soft parts: “iris dark brown; bill horny-gray, cere fleshy ; legs bluish-gray.” Wing: 283-304. Polyborus plancus plancus (J. F. Miller): Carancho or Caracara. A male was collected at Rio Grande May 4. Soft parts: “iris light brown; bill creamy-white, touch of light blue at the base; cere orange; ocular skin orange; legs yellow.” Wing: 415. Falco sparverius cinnamominus Swainson: Chilean Kestrel. A female with a wing measurement of 205 was taken May 2. Haematopodidae Haematopus leucopodus Garnot: Magellan Oyster-catcher. A pair were found at Viamonte May 3 and 16. They measure: wing 6 261, 2 256. Both are rather worn. Soft parts: “iris orange red; eyelids yellowish-orange; bill, upper mandible dark brown, reddish-orange at base, lower mandible basally orange red, distally dark brown; light grayish with fleshy touches.” Haematopus ater Vieillot and Oudart: Quoy’s Black Oyster- catcher. A male taken May 3 has a wing measurement of 271. Soft 8 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 3 parts: “iris orange red; eyelids orange red; bill red; legs light creamy-flesh.” Thinocoridae Attagis malouinus (Boddaert): White-bellied Seed Snipe. Two males, a female and a specimen in alcohol were taken in late April and May. These birds are in fresh plumage, wing ¢ 165, 175, 9172. Soft parts: “iris brown; bill dark horn; legs creamy gray.” Charadriidae Oreopholus ruficollis (Wagler): Slender-billed Dotterel. A male with a wing measurement of 167 was collected May 3. This is a very late date for this Dotterel. No other shore birds were taken or seen. This bird was extremely fat. Laridae Larus marinus dominicanus Lichtenstein: Kelp Gull. A single male of April 27 has soft parts: “iris brownish-gray ; eyelids pinkish-orange; bill yellow, distal third of lower mandible reddish-orange; legs greenish-cream.” Strigidae Bubo virginianus nacurutu (Vieillot): Magellan Horned Owl. A female with a wing of 350 was shot at Viamonte May 11. Soft parts: “iris yellow; bill and cere black.” Picidae Campephilus magellanicus (King): Magellan Woodpecker. A pair were taken in a patch of forest fifteen miles inland from Viamonte on May 19. The female has slightly enlarged Apr. 3, 1950 Birds from Argentine Tierra del Fuego 9 ovaries. Soft parts: “iris orange; bill and legs grayish-brown.” Wang) 6) 221.5; 2216. Furnariidae Aphrastura spinicauda spinicauda (Gmelin): Thorn-tailed Creeper. Common in the trees at Viamonte. Soft parts: “iris brown; bill, upper mandible black, lower whitish-flesh, tip black; legs greenish-brown, pads greenish-yellow.” Wing: 4 64, 65, 2 60-62. This race is more pure brown, less rufous than specimens from Southern Chile, which should be separated as twpinieri. Pygarrhicus albogularis (King): White-throated Tree-Runner. Another common spiney-tail about Viamonte. Soft parts: “iris brown, dark brown; bill, upper mandible black, lower grayish-white, dark tip (¢), light grayish-white, dark tip (2°); legs brown.” Wing: 4 85-88, 2 83-85. Tyrannidae Aolmis pyrope (Kittlitz): Fire-eyed Pepoaza. Two males taken May 13 and 14 were the only tyrannids seen. Soft parts: “iris red.” Wing: 120, 122.5. Muscicapidae Turdus falcklandti magellanicus King: Magellan Robin. Some of these thrushes, taken between May 11 and 15, are 10 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum \ No. 8 coming into breeding condition. All specimens are very fat and freshly moulted. Wing: 6 187.5-144, 2 1381, 132. Fringillidae Phrygilus unicolor ultimus, subsp. nov: Tierra del Fuego Plumbeous Finch. Type: ¢ ad. (Yale Peabody Museum No. 9335.) collected at Viamonte, Rio Grande, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, on May 16, 1948, by E. C. Migdalski. Description: similar to wnicolor (type locality Tacna, restricted by Hellmayr) but larger, the adult females with somewhat darker, more blackish streaks. From tucwmanus and inca this race differs as does unicolor. From grandis these birds differ by being lighter gray in color in the male, and in the females by being lighter, less rufescent on the back, with lighter streaking. Measurements: wing 6 98.5, 2 94.5, 95: tail ¢ 72.5, ? 65, 66: culmen (from skull) ¢ 13, 2 12.5 (2). A series of eleven birds from Chile and northern Argentina measure: wing 6 88-92.5, 2 81-88; tail ¢ 60-68.5, 2 59-61.5; culmen ¢ 1-12, 12-71 T-11.5. Remarks: These birds are in fresh plumage. Soft parts: ‘iris brown; bill, upper mandible dark horn, lower light horn; legs brown.” Zonotrichia capensis australis (Latham) : Patagonian Sparrow, Chingolo. Two males were collected in mid-May. Both birds have con- siderable streaking on the crown. Wing: 78, 84. Icteridae Notiopsar curaeus (Molina): Chilean Blackbird. Not uncommon about Viamonte in mid-May. One male had slightly enlarged testes. Wing: ¢ 137, 1388, 2 129, 1382. Apr. 3, 1950 Birds from Argentine Tierra del Fuego 11 Trupialis militaris militaris (Linnaeus): Red-breasted Star- ling, Pecho Colorado. Common at Rio Grande in April and May. Soft parts: “iris brown; bill, upper mandible dark horn, lower light grayish- horn; legs slate gray (some with a brownish tint).” YALE PEABODY MUSEUM oF Naturau History Number 4 May 22, 1950 New Haven, Conn. A NEW TANAGER FROM MEXICO Raymonp A. Paynter, JR. Osborn Zoological Laboratory Piranga roseo-gularis tincta subsp. nov. Type: ¢ ad. (No. 9153, Peabody Mus. Nat. Hist., New Haven), collected at Chetumal, Territory of Quintana Roo, Mexico, Nov. 12, 1948, by Raymond A. Paynter, Jr. Diagnosis: Compared with typical roseo-gularis the male differs in being more saturated gray above, grayer on the breast, and washed with buffy on the abdomen. Compared with cozumelae it is equally dark above but with a reddish tinge, slightly deeper pink on the throat, and faintly streaked with pink on the breast and upper abdomen. The tail is shorter than in either race. The female of this form is more buffy below than roseo- gularis and lighter on the pileum than typical cozwmelae. Immature specimens of both sexes are highly variable and are inseparable from roseo-gularis and cozumelae. Measurements: Ridgway (Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus. 50 (2):99) states that cozumelae has a longer tail and a shorter wing than roseo- gularis. However, in my series of specimens, the difference between the mean tail length of the males of tincta and the means of the other two races is the only statistically significant interracial differ- ence in external measurements. P<.02. Adult Males Adult Females Standard] No. Standard error of | Speci- error of Character Race tincta roseo-gularis cozumelae 2 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 4. Three adult males of tincta collected in Chetumal during Novem- ber and December had a mean weight of 24.83.21 grams, whereas two males of the same race from Carrillo Puerto taken in March weighed 22.90+.40 grams. The difference between the two means is statistically significant. P<.02. A female collected in January at Chetumal weighed 22.00 grams. The only weights available for roseo-gularis are two males taken at Xcan and Kantunil Kin in April which weighed 23.40 and 22.60 grams, and two females from Tabi and Kantunil] Kin, taken in March and April, which weighed 23.20 and 20.70 grams. A male and female of cozumelae, taken in January, weighed 22.30 and 22.90 grams respectively. Range: The more humid regions of the central and southern portions of the Yucatan Peninsula including Campeche and Quintana Roo. The range of roseo-gularis should be amended to include only the more arid portion of the peninsula, roughly consisting of the entire state of Yucatan and the northern tip of Quintana Roo. Material Examined: 54 specimens of all races. roseo-gularis: 26 specimens from Chichen Itza, Yuc., Xocempich, Yuc., Xbac, Yuc., “Yucatan,” Kantunil Kin, Q. Roo, Xcan, Q. Roo, and Tabi, Q. Roo. tincta: 19 specimens from Chetumal, Q. Roo, Carrillo Puerto, Q. Roo, Acomal, Q. Roo, Palmul, Q. Roo, Chunyaxche, Q. Roo, and Pacaitun, Camp. cozumelae: 9 specimens from Cozumel, Q. Roo. Discussion: The specimens from Pacaitun, Campeche, approach roseo-gularis clinally in the coloration of the back but they have been placed with tincta because of their shorter tails. The variations in the weights of the males of tincta are extremely interesting. Greater weight is possibly an additional racial character of tincta. From the few available data the birds from Chetumal are definitely more heavy than those from Carrillo Puerto. It may be that Chetumal is an area where the racial characters are most strong and Pacaitun, Carrillo Puerto, etc., are areas which show a gradation toward roseo- gularis. Variations in color and tail length seem to support this hypothesis. Weight variation may be seasonal but exam- ination of the gonades indicates that it is not correlated with the development of these organs. I wish to thank the authorities of the Museum of Compara- tive Zoology, the Chicago Natural Museum, and the American Museum of Natural History for permitting me to examine material in their care. hatelle LE PEABODY MUSEUM or Natura History may 1/1951 wravera «= yMIseTTY Number 5 December 29, 1950 New Haven, Conn. A LARGE PYCNODONT FROM THE NIOBRARA CHALK JosEPH T. GREGORY Among the fossils collected on the Yale Scientific Expedi- tion of 1872 are fragments of the skull and dentition of a large pycnodont fish. These were found by O. C. Marsh in the Cretaceous chalk exposures along the Smoky Hill River in Kansas on November 6, 1872. They are of particular interest as an example of extreme reduction of the dentition in an aberrant member of this family of durophagous fishes, and also because of their unusually large size. The specimens confirm the distinctness of a genus described by Leidy from the Cretaceous of Mississippi. It is quite fitting that the species should be named for their discoverer. CLASS PISCES (OSTEICHTHYES) Order Pycnodontoidea FAMILY PYCNODONTIDAE Hadrodus marshi new species Type: Premaxillary, left and part of right splenials, and frag- ments of skull roof of one individual, Y.P.M. Catalogue of Vertebrate Palentology, no. 1950. Type locality: “South side Smoky Hill River, 2 miles east of North Fork.” This places it in Logan Co., Kansas, about five miles west of Russell Springs. 2 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 5 Formation and age: Probably upper Niobrara Chalk, early Senonian. Diagnosis: Two-thirds the size of Hadrodus priscus Leidy, premaxillaries shorter and much higher than in that species and not excavated anteriorly; anterior prehensile tooth smaller than posterior. Splenials with 4 rows of irregularly oval teeth, some of which bear apical cusps; teeth of the lateral row slightly larger than the others; 4 to 5 teeth in each row. DESCRIPTION Premaczillary: A left premaxillary lacking the dorsal ex- tremity is tall and short, of fairly stout proportions, more similar to Gyrodus (Hennig, 1906, pl. X) than to such forms as Proscinetes |Microdon]|. There is no trace of a horizontal process along the border of the mouth. It is about twice the size of that of the large specimen of Gyrodus circularis Agassiz figured by Hennig. The median surface is straight and bears throughout its length a suture for the opposite premaxillary ; these bones must have been closely united throughout their length, in a normal fashion, not diverging as they have been restored in Gyrodus (Hennig, 1906, p. 148, pl. X). On its posterior margin is a large oval, vertically elongate depression, its upper end merging with the lateral surface of the bone. Two large, bicuspid, prehensile teeth are ankylosed to the oral margin. These differ from those of H. priscus figured by Leidy (1873, pl. 19, figs. 17-20) in somewhat greater disparity in size, and in the less distinct groove separating the cusps on the outer surface of the crown. They lack the posterior concavity characteristic of most pycnodont “incisors.” The premaxillary bone itself differs markedly from Leidy’s figure in its relatively greater height—which may be due to incompleteness of that specimen—and in the absence of an excavation in the anterior border. Leidy (1873, p. 294) interpreted the excavations above the roots of the teeth as spaces for developing replace- ment teeth. In the opinion of most students of the pyenodonts Dec. 29, 1950 A Large Pycnodont 3 (cf. Woodward, 1895, p. 194) there was no tooth replacement. Neither the form of the cavity in the premaxillary of Hadrodus nor its remoteness from the dentigerous border suggests that it was an alveolus; however, Saint-Seine (1949, p. 121) has observed unworn replacement teeth in just this position in Proscinetes |Microdon| sauvanausi Thiollitre. Hence Leidy’s inference may be correct, although the mechanism of replace- ment and ankylosis of the teeth to the premaxillary remains an enigma. A more plausible interpretation is offered by Smith- Woodward (1895, p. 193) who suggests that the excavation lodged the nasal capsule. Measurements of the Premaxillary mm. Maximum length, anteroposterior ..................... 26.0 Height as preserved, including” teeth: 2222. 5...../2s6a.- 66.0 Wenrthwotwhirst) too bly s..).smierscsraescie ns siciaseciaete mies cles 10.1 VACUA O PCTS Ea COOL 5 a tie etapateccetbicteisy seas 6 oe aa lio laiclt eta atone 7.3 engin or Second. LOGY 2/2). 20 ore siajc ste ee Weices 3 (ete ewe Sal ela 12.4 Wadthvofssecondstoothans adc ae eects ere eiacicteinie 8.7 B Figure 1. Hadrodus marshi, n. sp. Type specimen, Y.P.M. 1950. A. Medial view of premaxillary showing interpremaxillary suture and pocket for olfactory capsule in posterior border. B. Lateral aspect of premaxillary. Kees 4 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 5 Splenials: A large left splenial with extremely deep anterior symphysis and only moderate coronoid process, and the pos- terior part of its left homologue show that the lower jaw of this genus differed in detail from other pycnodonts. It is only slightly longer than that of G. circularis, but much deeper, especially anterior to the front teeth where it reaches its maximum depth. The symphysial area is short, deep, with a straight posterior boundary. Its lower fourth forms a nearly round facet separate from the remainder of the denticulate suture. Possibly this small area met the opposite splenial, and the coarser suture was with the dentary. If so, the latter bone was further reduced than in Mesturus (Woodward, 1895, pl. 15; Saint-Seine, 1949, p. 107, fig. 38) or Gyrodus (Hennig, 1906, pl. X and Weitzel, 1930, p. 93), but perhaps no more than in Proscinetes [Microdon] (Saint-Seine, p. 112, fig. 41). There is no indication of contact with the dentary on the lateral surface of the splenial, except possibly at the extreme front. This is a characteristic pycnodont condition and sup- ports the reference of Hadrodus to this Order in spite of considerable differences in dentition. The large size of the upper prehensile teeth suggests that lower incisors should likewise have been prominent. It is pos- sible that the dentary was larger than suggested above and the lower jaw as a whole about twice the size of that of Gyrodus circularis, with proportions similar to that species. Four rows of irregularly oval teeth with one to three cusped crowns are present. Unlike other pycnodont genera, the lateral row contains the largest teeth; they are subequal in size, about 9 mm. in their long diameters, separated by spaces of about 1 mm. The most posterior bears three cusps in a straight line along its crown; the second from the front bears an obscure single, laterally placed cusp. In the second and third rows the teeth are slightly smaller and more variable in shape. A single large tooth with two apical cusps forms the fourth, innermost row. Variability in both number and shape of the teeth is indicated by the fragment of the right splenial in Dec. 29, 1950 A Large Pycnodont 5 Figure 2. Hadrodus marshi, n. sp. Type specimen, Y.P.M. 1950. A. Left splenial, lateral aspect. B. Left splenial, medial aspect. C. Right splenial, dorsomedial aspect. x 1. 6 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 5 which the posterior tooth of the lateral row, as displayed on the left side, is absent, and the teeth of the second row are nearly as large as those of the lateral row. The crowns of the teeth are smooth except for the papilla- like tubercles at the apex. In this they differ markedly from Gyrodus and are more similar to Gyronchus [Mesodon] or Proscinetes [Microdon]. There is no trace of the tendency toward transverse broadening of the teeth seen in Coelodus or Anomoeodus. Similar papillae are present on the crowns of tritoral teeth of Acrotemnus faba Agassiz. That species, how- ever, differs from Hadrodus in the much greater transverse width of its tritoral teeth, in the presence of a marked trans- verse ridge along their crowns, and in having a group of papillae adjacent to but not upon this ridge line. In Hadrodus the papillae are upon the ridge, if any is present, and tend to be oriented anteroposteriorly if more than one papilla occurs. Measurements of the Splenials mm. Anteroposterior length (reconstructed from both) ...... 120 Depthrmeiront of crushing: teeth. {22 --. eas. en eae 48 Anteroposterior length dental battery .................. 47 Roofing bones: Several fragments of thick skull bone orna- mented by closely but irregularly spaced, rounded tubercles are present. Most probably they are portions of opercular bones, although insufficient borders remain to determine their exact position. None shows traces of canals of the lateral line system. Some fragments show a lower radiating type of sculpture near the thin margins such as Hennig (1906, p. 161) describes on the preoperculum of G. circularis. The thick tu- berculated Jayer of ganoine above extremely cancellous bone is characteristic of pycnodonts; Hadrodus shows coarse tu- berculation commensurate with its large size. Such strong sculpture is found in Gyrodus and in Gyronchus [Mesodon] Dec. 29, 1950 A Large Pycnodont 7 hoeferi, the earliest appearing pycnodont; other members of the family are said by Hennig (Ibid., p. 179) to have considerably weaker tuberculation. DISCUSSION Dr. David H. Dunkle has called my attention to the re- semblance of this specimen to certain semionotids. Bifid pre- hensile teeth are characteristic of Dapediwm, whereas the incisors of pycnodonts have single crowns, concave internally. Dapedium also has crushing palatal teeth. However the shape of the premaxillary of Hadrodus differs greatly from that of Dapedium in its great vertical and short horizontal extent, and also in the absence of surface ornamentation. Conceivably the premaxillary of Hadrodus could be derived from that of the early Jurassic Dapediwm by shortening and dorsal ex- tension, but as Dapediwm had already attained a deep body and relatively high, short skull without vertical elongation of the premaxilla, it seems unlikely that such a change would have occurred. Aside from the form of the incisors, there is no reason to postulate this relationship. The form of the splenial teeth, particularly the develop- ment of one or a few papillae on the crown, is not unlike that of some species of Lepidotes such as L. mantelli Agassiz. Wide and irregular spacing of the splenial teeth, and lack of dif- ferentiation of these teeth into rows of small and large tritors are most unlike normal pycnodonts and far more like Lepidotes. Also, the deep anterior portion of the splenial is suggestive of that genus. No trace of tooth succession can be found, however, and the shape of the premaxillary bone is very unlike Lepidotes in which there is a well-developed alveolar ramus along the oral margin and a slender ascending process arising from the anterior end (Saint-Seine, 1949, p. 138, fig. 161, p. 140). Nor is there any trace of a separate coronoid bone such as occurs in the semionotids. The splenial alone forms the major portion of the lower jaw and its coronoid process, as 8 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 5 in other pycnodonts. Thus the resemblances lack detail in- dicative of relationship and may reasonably be ascribed to convergence. Only one other species of pycnodont is known from the Niobrara formation, Micropycnodon kansensis (Hibbard and Graffham). This is a small fish, scarcely one-third the size of Hadrodus marshi, which may readily be distinguished by its more typically pycnodontid splenial dentition, with two rows of small teeth lateral and one row internal to the principal row of enlarged crushing teeth. Coelodus streckert Hibbard from the underlying Carlisle shale of Kansas is also of Turonian age. Pycnodonts are more numerous in the lower Cretaceous of the Gulf of Mexico embayment, several genera having been reported (Williston, 1900, Gidley, 1913). The type locality and horizon of Hadrodus priscus Leidy are uncertain; Columbus, Mississippi, is on the Eutaw forma- tion but only a short distance from the base of the Selma Chalk. The horizon may well be equivalent to the Niobrara and close to that of H. marshi. Whether the characters here used to seperate these species are valid remains to be deter- mined by future discoveries of more complete material from these and other localities. Differences in the form of the pre- maxillary seem sufficient for specific distinction of the two forms. Although it is difficult to estimate the size of the fish from such fragments as are available, especially when the pro- portions of the genus are not accurately known, it seems worthwhile to point out that Hadrodus may well have been the largest of the pycnodonts. If its proportions were similar to those of Gyrodus circularis, it may have exceeded a meter in length. The premaxillary is twice the size of that of a large specimen of G. circularis described by Hennig, and the splenial exceeds those of that species by 30 to 50 per cent. Hadrodus shows the most reduced and specialized dentition thus far known among the pycnodonts. Reduction in number of Dec. 29, 1950 A Large Pycnodont 8) teeth, increase in size of the external row and corresponding decrease in importance of the next to mnermost row of the splenial teeth, and development of a diastema between teeth of the dentary and splenial are all divergent from the general trend of pycnodont evolution, and separate Hadrodus sharply from all other described genera. Closest resemblances, in denti- tion, appear to be with Gyronchus [Mesodon] and certain species of Proscinetes [Microdon], in which the crushing teeth are irregular in size and distribution. It is interesting to note that the dental evolution of the pycnodont line leading from Gyronchus to Hadrodus parallels that of the placodont rep- tiles from Paraplacodus through Placodus and Cyamodus to Henodus (von Huene, 1936). Four main types of dentition have evolved among the pycno- donts. Eomesodon, the earliest form, and Gyronchus |Mesodon] have smooth crowned crushing teeth arranged in irregular rows and uneven in size. In Mesturus and Proscinetes | Micro- don] the teeth attain regular arrangement in longitudinal rows; their crowns are smooth or with apical pits. This type of dentition persists into the Eocene Pycnodus. Gyrodus has similar rows of teeth, but the crowns are ornamented with concentric rings of mamillary papillae. Coelodus shows diver- gence in the transverse broadening of the enlarged teeth, beginnings of which may be observed in some species of Prosci- netes. Anomoeodus may represent a further development of this line, with degeneration of the lateral rows of teeth. Finally, Hadrodus has greatly reduced the number of teeth and shifted emphasis from internal to external rows. It will be most in- teresting to discover the vomerine dentition which accompanied this modification. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am indebted to Dr. David H. Dunkle of the United States National Museum for critical comments and advice. The il- lustrations were prepared by Miss Shirley Glaser. 10 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 5 REFERENCES Dunkle, D. H. and Hibbard, C. W. 1946. Some comments upon the structure of a pycnodontid fish from the Upper Cretaceous of Kansas. Univ. Kan. Sci. Bull., vol. 31, pt. I, pp. 161-181, 3 pls. Gidley, J. W. 1913 Some new american pycnodont fishes. Proc. U. S. Nat. Museum, vol. 46, pp. 445-449. Hennig, E. 1906. Gyrodus und die Organisation der Pyknodonten. Pa- laeontographica, Bd. 53, pp. 137-208, pls. 10-13. Hibbard, C. W. 1939. A new pycnodont fish from the Upper Cretaceous of Russell County, Kansas. Univ. Kan. Sci. Bull., vol. 26, pp. 373-375, 1 pl. Hibbard, C. W. and Graffham, A. 1941. A new pycnodont fish from the Upper Cretaceous of Rooks County, Kansas. Ibid., vol. 27, pp. 71-77, 1 pl. Leidy, Joseph. 1857. Notices of some remains of extinct fishes. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1857, pp. 167-168. 1873. Contributions to the extinct vertebrate fauna of the Western Territories. Rept. U. S. Geol. Surv. of the Territories (F. V. Hayden), vol. 1, pp. 14-358, 37 pls. Saint-Seine, P. de. 1949. Les Poissons des Calcaires lithographiques de Cerin (Ain). Nouvelles Archives du Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle de Lyon, Fasc. II, vii + 351 pp., 26 pls. Weitzel, K. 1930. Drei Reisenfische aus den Solnhofener Schiefern von Langenaltheim. Abh. Senckenbergischen Naturforschenden Gesellschaft, Bd. 42, pp. 85-113. Williston, S. W. 1900. Cretaceous fishes—selachians and pycnodonts. The University Geological Survey of Kansas, vol. 6, pp. 237-256, 1900. Woodward, A. S. 1895. Catalogue of fossil fishes in the British Museum (Natural History), part III, 544 pp., 18 pls. iy TU CoERAN 18 8" i a ache Pine why: oe ; he ¥, f v 4 { ’ { ; s At eae? 4. : ») ‘i ’ j Ar 4 } a) 7 . j ‘ i iff Pha r A — batilla oF Natura History Number 6 February 28, 1951 New Haven, Conn. NOTES ON INDIAN BIRDS IV* SOME RECENTLY COLLECTED BIRDS FROM ASSAM S. Ditton RIPLey During a collecting trip this autumn and winter in Assam’s eastern Naga Hills and Manipur, a number of interesting specimens were secured which seem to warrant preliminary description prior to further publication. The localities of all these forms are within the Naga Hills District or the Chief Commissioner’s District of Manipur (formerly Manipur State), and will be dealt with in detail in a later paper. I am most grateful to the authorities of the British Museum, the United States National Museum, and the American Museum of Natural History for allowing me to examine comparative material in their care. Arborophila torqueola interstincta, subsp. nov. Type: ¢ ad. (Yale Peabody Museum No. 12006) collected November 30, 1950, by S. Dillon Ripley on Mt. Zephu, 93 miles east of Kohima, eastern Naga Hills, Assam. Diagnosis: from torqueola of the Sikkim Himalayas this race differs by being more heavily and distinctly barred on the back and inner wing coverts in both male and female * Previous papers in this series have appeared in the Journat, Bompay Natourat History Society 47, 1948, p. 622; Zootocica 33, 1948, p. 199; and Postiiua, 1950, No. 1. 2 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 6 plumage. The lower parts in both sexes are richer and darker chestnut, and richer and darker rufous-buff on the thighs and upper under tail coverts. Compared to batemani of Mt. Victoria and the Chin Hills, this form differs as does torqueola, lacking the greater degree of chestnut on the sides of the neck and the greater area of chestnut on the scapulars. From griseata of Tonkin this popu- lation differs in having richer, darker chestnut streaking on the flanks with more pronounced and distinct white drops on the centers of the feathers, and with the black central patch on the feathers of the under tail coverts much reduced in extent. Measurements (mm.): wing tail culmen (from skull) 4d ¢ 144.5-156 53-62 19-21 2 150 56 19 Range: Upper Chindwin River drainage area in eastern Naga Hills of Assam and Burma. Indicator xanthonotus fulvus, subsp. nov. Type: ¢ ad. (Yale Peabody Museum No. 12001) collected December 11, 1950, by S. Dillon Ripley at Pfutsero, eastern Naga Hills, Assam. Diagnosis: from zanthonotus of the Himalayan Range this race differs by being darker, more blackish on the upper parts and darker, more blackish on the abdomen, thighs and under tail coverts. The streaking of the abdomen though blackish, is less in extent, thus less prominent. On the forehead the golden patch extends somewhat less far back on the crown, and the edging to the feathers of the back and scapulars is reduced. Soft parts: iris brown; bill yellowish-horn, distal half of upper mandible and lower mandible brown; feet grayish-brown. Weight: 29 grams. Feb. 28, 1951 Notes on Indian Birds IV 3 Measurements (mm.): wing tail culmen se) 90 57 11 S 86 56 10 Range: Naga Hills, Margherita (?) Assam, and Myitkina District, north Burma. Remarks: An opportunity to examine the material in the British Museum showed at once the existence of a dark eastern race of the Yellow-backed Honeyguide. The only specimen from Burma is the one recorded by Smythies (Ints, 91, 1949, p. 645) with which my type agrees. An additional character of this race may be slightly smaller size, but more material would be needed. I include Margherita in the range of the form as Stuart Baker’s sight record (Fauna Bair. Inpia IV, 1927, p. 182) presumably refers to this form. My male specimen is moulting out the feathers of the nape. Both near Pfutsero, 28 miles east of Kohima at 6000 feet altitude, and on the slopes of Mt. Japvo, 10 miles southeast of Kohima at 7000 feet, we found cliffs abounding in wild bee nests, and both were investigated for Honeyguides. Birds were present, but the height of the nearby trees and the thick vegetation as well as the comparatively short duration of our stay made collecting very difficult. The Angami Naga name is “Mephi Tsu Kelie Para.” The body of the type is preserved in alcohol. Dendrocopos darjellensis fumidus, subsp. nov. Type: ¢ ad. (Yale Peabody Museum No. 12002) collected November 9, 1950, by S. Dillon Ripley on Mt. Japvo, Naga Hills, Assam. Diagnosis: from darjellensis this subspecies differs by be- ing darker, more smoky on the underparts, particularly the lower throat and breast and with a more richly colored vent patch. The nuchal patch also is darker. There appears to be a tendency in these birds to heavier streaking below, although I am not sure whether this character would hold in a large 4 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 6 series. Specimens of fwmidus are smaller also than typical darjellensis, although Burmese examples, which in color repre- sent darjellensis, are also small. Measurements (mm.): wing tail culmen 3 126.5 83.5 32 22 123, 126 76 31, 32 Range: higher hills in Cachar, Naga Hills and Manipur from 5000 to 9000 feet. Spelaeornis chocolatinus nagaensis, subsp. nov. Type: 6 ad. (Yale Peabody Museum No. 12004) collected November 12, 1950, by S. Dillon Ripley on. Mt. Japvo, Naga Hills, Assam. Diagnosis: compared to chocolatinus this race is much more olivaceous-brown, less rufous above, the lores, cheeks and sides of the head grayish-brown rather than reddish-brown. The throat is white, the breast pale brownish-white, narrowly spotted, with terminal blackish edgings to the feathers. There is dimorphism in this subspecies, females being much more rufescent below, in this approaching the two existing unsexed specimens of chocolatinus although by no means matching them. The type and paratype of chocolatinus may thus both be females. In any case the fine spotting on the underparts and the white throat at once distinguish this race from the nominate form. From oatesi this race differs by being more grayish-brown about the head, and the spots and terminal edgings on the feathers of the lower surface being strikingly different, much finer and more delicate in pattern and form. From reptatus this subspecies differs by having a white throat and far more pronounced spotting below. Feb. 28, 1951 Notes on Indian Birds IV 5 Measurements (mm.): wing tail culmen 466 49-52 41-44 13-14 200 49, 52.5 42 (2) 12.5, 18 ”: 48 41.5 12.5 Range: Naga Hills. Remarks: In my review of this genus (Aux. 67, 1950, p. 390) I had no material from the Naga Hills. Thus it may be now supposed that longicaudatus must occur from the Khasia Hills southeast across southern Cachar without enter- ing the eastern Barail Range, for it apparently does not occur on Mt. Japvo. Phylloscopus fuscatus mariae, subspec. nov. Type: ¢ ad. (Yale Peabody Museum No. 12005) collected October 19, 1950, by S. Dillon Ripley at Moirang, Manipur. Diagnosis: upper parts dark olive brown, rump hair brown, a distinct supercilium varying in tone from cinnamon-rufous to ochraceous-buff, lores and ear coverts blackish-brown, cheeks and sides of throat ochraceous-buff mixed with hair brown, the latter becoming predominant on the sides of the breast. Throat and center of breast whitish to pinkish-buff. Flanks and thighs cinnamon brown, under tail coverts and under wing coverts ochraceous-buff. Outer edges of tail feathers tinted with olive green. Rictal bristles three extending nearly to end of nasal groove. Nasal hairs extending nearly to end of nasal groove. Measurements (mm.): wing tail culmen 32 3 57.5-63.5 50-55 10.5-11 9 57 43 (m.) 10 Wing formula: 2= 8. Sixth primary emarginate on the outer web. First primary exceeds the coverts by 12-14 mm. Third, fourth or fifth primary longest. 6 Postilla Yale Peabody Musewm No. 6 Soft parts: (different labels note varieties in color) iris brown; bill, upper mandible brown, dark brown, black; lower mandible basally yellow, distally brown, yellowish-brown, brown tip, yellowish horn; feet brownish-yellow, light brown, greenish-brown; pads yellow. Weight: 3 ¢ 7-8.5 grams; ?8 grams. Range: four specimens were taken at Kanglatongbi and Moirang in Manipur. Remarks: This form is closest to Phylloscopus fuscatus from which it differs in darker coloration, a richer, more ochraceous-buff tone to the cheeks, sides of the under parts, and under wing and tail coverts, a shorter bill, and, presum- ably, a slightly different wing formula, the third primary equalling or exceeding the fifth and fourth primaries. The subspecies may have been overlooked in collections due to the difficulty of identifying willow warblers in general, and foxing. The specimens collected by us were in low bushes and long grass in swampy areas, behaving rather like Phylloscopus subaffinis in this respect. They were often near cultivation. It is undoubtedly a wintering bird and should be looked for in similar situations in the northern plains of Assam. It gives me great pleasure to name this subspecies of willow warbler after my wife who worked tirelessly as a member of the recent Yale-Assam Expedition. Horeites flavolivaceous alexanderi, subsp. nov. Type: @ ad. (Yale Peabody Museum No. 12003) collected November 21, 1950, by S. Dillon Ripley on the Phek-Meluri Road, 60 miles east of Kohima, Naga Hills, Assam. Diagnosis: from flavolivaceous of the Himalayas this race differs by being much darker below, more olive buff with dark buffy breast and flanks. Compared to weberi of Mt. Victoria this race is richer, more olive buff on the breast and flanks. Compared to both preceding races, this form is darker above Feb. 28, 1951 Notes on Indian Birds IV ui and intermediate in size apparently, the bill larger than webert. From the Shan form, imtricatus, these birds may be dis- tinguished by being much darker, more buffy below and darker above. Measurements (mm.): wing tail culmen 2 g 48, 51 538.5, 54 12, 12.5 Soft parts: iris brown; bill black, base of lower mandible pinkish-horn; lower mandible yellowish, tip brown; feet flesh, pale brown. Weight: 6, 7 grams. Range: eastern Naga Hills. Remarks: This is a difficult species to collect, skulking in high grass and light second growth scrub. The call is a wren- like “‘tsick.” The area where we found this race is in the Chindwin drainage, so it may well extend into the Naga Hills of Burma. This form is named for my friend Horace Alexander, the well-known field student of Indian birds who accompanied me on part of my journey into the eastern Naga Hills. ay ata vai Out RN te ve ont at i) i W, : ah, | , nite mts ist | ; Sy TAMAR NOM ya ae i j tet : waite, syed Hit: Hh a Hal c/a iea 2 RM HR ae Bi i et \ 1 j Su nan Wie nat i A | dg” OMI OC iD Pur aty Pie WOM Ra Non 5 ye ult haat eras TANG Raye SPLAT: etnies we MOAG ban. yi Litt Oh jareeatit Heist Te, AMEE! Pes yh 7 | , a i ty ‘ { Pty Aor PF itn in (int : aU Pt Veh colby " ny . aati! eA ne we wi i ft, i ra Ae 1 AT pst one Xi erat KG Hebd 5 eegpneteg tt a 7: oe Mors y! ‘aikanjruds ¢ Git As nals ha AAR 4 HOWL 9 ie Ht ‘om BA CAD hy <4 ¥ i , ' ' t a vy ny q ey Vy Io aby 4) ef ees it att, A os bee. "F mes M4 Me AU ay f ‘ mn brig, ( ei A Rodd 5 ee SSA *. o Ve i ‘ J d ), Lik pu reel ) } i , y } : : i i. vii " rea nih : ah it: one i pe A bf Pi ue i iy Le te ‘Ais ¥, vai} ys a] ih Nai voy ‘Nai WAM dh ‘Sain Ae it le ie “Abii ‘iy Aes Var bibviacay asia, Gs in . veld! a Bd i, arth ; baie we aut aN wi a | bh BY: yt ont wih oe her Path COD, EA SR Th (tue ap) 1h my) 4 \ i i i i gel a ee ya ‘ TC in i iy) 4) , my ; i+) im iy i ial an TP Ae EL a i nary! Prorc) Seen Wes et att ranean Hit hay Ue Ls vypite: ‘hia : Wi Annie aH} Ant i i iH) nb dtd ait Y Tit AIAN SI wih, «Ni Mae INA a as ' Te a {i é i ; ; Hh) biel i} ei ry ' ’ i ‘ ‘ } Iho N¢ it) Wr hte i re vi vi si Men i ‘i . Kon ii : v ii mi i vane ust i 3 Aaa L ’ } ‘ i a Witt aril ’ | Laan? j . tN m M wh ti be aries es ay “ mei i ke hia di ra a MUS. COMP. ZOOL. LIBRARY elf UN 1 0 1952 CALLLLA HARVARD UNIVERSITY | YALE PEABODY MUSEUM |__UMVESE or NaTurAL History Number 7 May 10, 1951 New Haven, Conn. NEW PASSERINE BIRDS FROM THE INDO-CHINESE SUBREGION* H. G. Dricnan Aware of my interest in the races of the babbling thrush, Pellorneum ruficeps Swainson, Dr. Dillon Ripley has sent for my examination five specimens of this bird recently collected by him in the hill country of eastern Assam. Three of them, from the Naga Hills District, prove to agree very well with P. r. chamelum Deignan and serve to extend northeastward the range of this form, which is otherwise known from the Garo Hills, Khasi Hills, and Cachar Districts. The remain- ing two, from Manipur, are the first I have seen from that District, and are apparently sufficiently distinct from all other described populations of Assam and Burma to justify the erection of yet another subspecies, which, at Dr. Ripley’s kind invitation, is named below. For the loan of material for comparison with that in the Yale Peabody Museum and the United States National Mu- seum, I am indebted to Dr. Dean Amadon and the authorities of the American Museum of Natural History. * Published with permission of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. 2 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 7 Pellorneum ruficeps vocale, subsp. nov. Type: ¢ ad. (Y.P.M., No. 12007) collected at Kangla- tongbi (ca. lat. 24°59’N., long. 93°54’E.), elev. 2933 ft., Chief Commissioner’s District of Manipur (formerly Manipur State), October 19, 1950, by S. Dillon Ripley (original number 33). Diagnosis: while inseparable by characters of the under parts from P. r. chamelum (Cachar District), the new form differs from chamelum by having the forehead, crown, and nape chestnut (rather than rufous) ; the blackish-brown cen- ters to the feathers of the uppermost back obsolescent (rather than sharply defined) ; the olivaceous brown of the remaining upper parts deeper in tone. From P. r. hilarum (Pakkoku District, Burma), it differs in having the forehead, crown, and nape chestnut (rather than rufous); the blackish-brown centers to the feathers of the uppermost back more clearly defined; the olivaceous brown of the remaining upper parts much deeper in tone; the under parts more strongly washed with buff, and with the central streaks of the feathers of the breast and sides of the abdomen broader and more numerous. Range: the valley of central Manipur. Remarks: I have given detailed comparisons of the new race only with the two that occur nearest its range, one to the west and northwest of Manipur, the other to the southeast. From such more distant forms as ripleyi (Lakhimpur District south of the Brahmaputra) and stageri (Myitkyina District, Burma), it is immediately separable by its obsolescent (not well-defined) dark centers to the feathers of the uppermost back, as well as by other characters. Ef. I have for some time been aware that the population of Oligura castaneo-coronata (Burton) inhabiting Szechwan and northwestern Yunnan could not properly be combined with May 10, 1951 New Passerine Birds 3 either of the recognized races, the nominate one from the Himalayas or O. c. abadiei (Delacour and Jabouille). Again I am indebted to the authorities of the Yale Peabody Museum and the American Museum of Natural History for the loan of comparative material that enables me to define the characters of the new form. Oligura castaneo-coronata ripleyt, subsp. nov. Type: ¢ ad. (U.S.N.M., No. 296605) collected in the Likiang Mountains, Yunnan Province, China, in June 1923, by Joseph F. C. Rock (original number 584). Diagnosis: from O. c. castaneo-coronata separable by sig- nificantly greater length of wing and tail (see measurements below) and the slightly paler and brighter orange-rufous of the pileum. From O. c. abadiei distinguishable by slightly greater length of wing and tail and the distinctly paler and brighter orange- rufous (without brownish cast) of the pileum, which is, moreover, sharply defined from the olive green of the mantle, rather than insensibly intergrading with it. Measurements (mm.): O. c. castaneo-coronata (16 specimens) Wing: 45-50 (avg. 16 spec.: 47.25) Tail: 21-26 (avg. 12 spec.: 23.5) O. c. ripleyit (7 specimens) Wing: 52-57 (avg. 7 speg.: 55.4) Tail: 28-32 (avg. 7 spec.: 30.3) O. c. abadiei (4 specimens) Wing: 50-53 (avg. 4 spec.: 51.5) Tail: 27-29 (avg. 4 spec.: 28) 4 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 7 Remarks: Delacour (Isis, 84, 1942, p. 515), removing this species from the genus Tesia, has established for it the new generic name Chlorotesia (there misspelled Chorotesia; but see ibid. the seventh line below), in the belief that Oligura, like Tesia, has Tesia cyaniventer Hodgson for genotype. This is, however, not the case. Oligura of Hodgson first appeared in Gray’s ZooLocicaL Misceviany, 1844, p. 82, as a nomen nudum, with mention of Oligura (Tesia) cyaniventer and O. flaviventer. The genus was first properly diagnosed in PRocEEDINGS OF THE ZooLoGicaL Society oF Lonpon, 13, 1845, p. 25, with reference to the same two species, in reverse order. In THe Genera oF Birps, /, 1849, p. [156], G. R. Gray affirms that T'[esia]. castaneo-coronata (Burton), of which Tesia flaviventer Hodgson is listed as a synonym, is the geno- type of Oligura Hodgson, as he does again in CATALOGUE OF THE GENERA AND SUBGENERA OF Birps ConTaINnEeD IN THE British Museum, 1855, p. 31 (where, for the first time, he treats Oligura as a valid genus). Thus, since 1849, Sylvia? castaneo-coronata Burton has been the genotype of Oligura Hodgson, by subsequent designation of G. R. Gray. Having shown that Oligura Hodgson is properly applied to Sylvia? castaneco-coronata Burton, I must now discuss its homonym, Oligura Riippell. The former first appeared in August 1845, the latter in “1845,” and it is not possible to prove that Hodgson’s name has priority of publication. The genotype of Riippell’s name is T'roglodytes micrurus Riippell — Sylvietta brachyura micrura (Riippell), a mere sub-species of Sylvietta brachyura Lafresnaye, the genotype of Sylvietta Lafresnaye, 1839. Riippell’s name never achieved wide currency and can almost certainly never in the future be brought into use; Hodgson’s, on the other hand, has been employed by authors for a century. In the circumstances, it seems best simply to assume that Hodgson’s name antedates Riippell’s (as I have done above), and to consign Delacour’s Chlorotesia to its synonymy. S~NA-N r Mex: ~4 anveyy 4 MUS. COMP. ZO6L. | : / / LIBRARY oslt aA JUN 1 0 1959 YALE PEABODY MUSEUM |! — PAAvars URIVERS oF Naturat History UNIVERSITY | Number 8 May 10, 1951 New Haven, Conn. BASSARISCUS IN MIOCENE FAUNAS AND “POTAMOTHERIUM LYCOPOTAMICUM COPE” JosEPH T. GrEGoRY AND THEODORE Downs INTRODUCTION Cope described a fragment of the lower jaw of a small carnivore from the “Loup Fork of Cottonwood Creek, Oregon,” as Lutrictis ? lycopotamicus (1879, p. 67). The type has been lost, but was figured (Cope - Matthew, 1915, pl. 119c, figs. 5 and 5a). Matthew (1904, p. 254) corrected the generic reference to Potamotherium (as Cope himself also had done at the time the plate was prepared), and noted the loss of the type and absence of other specimens. He considered it a small species and later (1915, loc. cit.) suggested that it was related to Sthenictis. Also, in 1915, he gave the locality as Pawnee Creek, Colorado, a lapsus calami. In 1922 Thorpe referred two specimens in the Yale Peabody Museum collec- tions to this species. Although these are from the Niobrara River fauna of Nebraska, they may well contain the key to the identity of the Oregon form. Restudy of the specimens described by Thorpe and examina- tion of additional material from the Niobrara River fauna and of fragments from the Crooked River region in Oregon 2 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 8 lead us to the conclusion that they belong to a genus of pro- cyonid carnivores, which is inseparable from the living Bas- sariscus Coues on the basis of lower jaws and teeth alone. A maxillary, described below, which appears referable to the same species, differs markedly from the Recent form, how- ever, and suggests that were more known of these animals, a distinct genus might be indicated. Potamotherium Geoffroy, of which Lutrictis Pomel is a synonym, is a European otter dis- tinguishable from Bassariscus (and from these fossils) by its larger size, stouter jaw, more anteriorly placed single mental foramen, much shorter M., more posteriorly situated metaconid of M,, and characters of skull and upper dentition too numer- ous to mention here. Bassariscus PARVUS HALL FROM THE Nroprara River Fauna Direct comparison of the specimens described by Thorpe (1922, pp. 444-445: Y. P. M., Nos. 12825, 12834) and an additional lower jaw (from locality V3218, U. C. M. P., No. 33147) [see Stirton and McGrew, 1935, p. 127], with Bas- sariscus astutus (Lichtenstein) shows close agreement in such important features as the straight and slender horizontal ramus of the lower jaw; four premolars, the first single rooted ; presence of two mental foramina situated beneath P, and P;; and the form of the lower carnassial with a high trigonid, including a well developed metaconid, and a basined heel. The form of the premolars in Yale Peabody Museum No. 12825 also agrees with Bassariscus. These specimens differ from B. astutus and agree with the type of B. parvus from Cedar Mountain, Nevada, in the greater crowding of the premolars and relatively shorter trigonid of M,. One specimen from locality V3218, University of California Museum of Paleon- tology No. 29225, shows as much crowding as the type of B. parvus. None of the 13 specimens of B. a. raptor (Baird) in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology which were examined show this condition. Niobrara River specimens are below the average May 10, 1951 Bassariscus In Miocene Faunas 3 length of B. astutus, although within the range of variation of the recent species, as shown by the following tabulation. The length of M, in the type of B. parvus is less than in any of the recent specimens, although the deviation is not significant. Measurements in Millimeters Length of M, Coefficient Number Observed Standard of Specimens Extremes Mean Deviation Variability B. astutus (Hall, 1927) 40 6.9-8.0 749 + 0.04 0.265 +.0.030 3.54 + 0.40 B. parvus, type 6.8 B. parvus, Niobrara River 2 7.0-7.3 7.15 Length talonid M, Coefficient Number Observed Standard of Specimens Extremes Mean Deviation Variability B. astutus (Hall, 1927) 4.0 2.4-3.0 2.70 + 0.02 0.1504 0.017 5.56 + 0.62 B. parvus, type 2.7 B. parvus, Niobrara River 2 2.4-2.5 2.45 Errors are standard errors. A maxillary with P?-M?, U.C.M.P. No. 31983, from locality V3218, Niobrara River fauna, (fig. 1) occludes so well with U.C.M.P. No. 33147 that it may have come from the same individual. It differs from a series of 13 specimens of B. astutus raptor in: P* crowded by P*; P* with relatively larger parastyle, with smaller protocone, and without hypo- cone; M! with somewhat stronger parastyle; M* with para- style more prominent and hypocone deflected more posteriorly ; infraorbital foramen more elongate dorsoventrally. The num- ber and height of cusps and general shape of the teeth other- wise resembles B. a raptor. This maxillary bears considerable 4 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No.8 resemblance to that of foxes in the absence of a cusp posterior to the protocone of the upper carnassial, in the strong para- styles on M! and P*, and in the vertical enlargement of the infraorbital foramen. It differs from that of the kit fox, Vulpes macrotis arsipus (Elliot) (4 specimens from Yuma Co., Ari- zona, in M.V.Z.) in: more crowded P*-P*; shorter carnassial shear; more prominent parastyle and less developed hypocone of M’, the latter cusp not so deflected posteriorly ; protoconule and metaconule less developed on M'; M? proportionately shorter and with less developed cingula and hypocone. Figure 1. Bassariscus parvus Hall. Left maxillary, U.C.M.P. No. 31983, x2. Drawing by Owen J. Poe. As McGrew pointed out (1938, pp. 326-327) the principal distinctions between Bassariscus and the primitive fox, Pseu- docynodictis, lie in the presence of a posterointernal cusp and more anterior protocone on the upper carnassial, relatively larger metaconule of M', and greatly reduced cingula and absence of hypocone on M? in the former genus. The specimen May 10, 1951 Bassariscus In Miocene Faunas 5 here described resembles Pseudocynodictis gregarius (Cope) in the absence of a posterointernal cusp on P*, large parastyle of M', narrow anteroposterior diameter across the protocone of M', somewhat vertical infraorbital canal, and nearly similar size; it differs in the relatively lesser width across the proto- cone of P*, weaker hypocone of M', and undeveloped inner cingulum (smaller hypocone) of M?. Nothocyon lemur (Cope) differs more markedly in having a still more prominent meta- conule and larger hypocone on M' (thus approaching Procyon) and greater anteroposterior length of the inner part of M?. If correctly associated with the Bassariscus-like jaws, this specimen reveals that the late Miocene B. parvus retained a primitive, essentially canid pattern in the upper dentition although the lower jaws are scarcely distinguishable from the recent B. astutus. 'Two other procyonid genera, Cynarctus and Cynarctoides, (McGrew, 1938) lack the postero-internal cusp of the upper carnassial, but these have progressed much farther from the primitive condition typified by Pseudocyno- dictis in their molar pattern. Confirmation of the association of these specimens would probably justify erection of a new subgenus for Bassariscus parvus and related forms in which the upper carnassial lacks a fourth cusp, but material here described does not warrant proposal of a new name. The dis- tinctness of B. parvus from B. astutus, not demonstrable on features of the lower jaw alone, is supported by the tentative association of this maxillary dentition with its unique charac- ter combination. ? Bassariscus LycopoTamicus (Corre) FROM OREGON As figured by Cope the type jaw was slender and straight like that of Bassariscus, and contained four premolars in life. Cope described the trigonid of the carnassial as low, and the illustration shows it worn down almost to the level of the talonid. It is difficult, especially in the absence of the type specimen, to judge whether this wear could have been pro- 6 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No.8 duced on a Bassariscus tooth with its tall trigonid, or whether the tooth was originally lower crowned as in Sthenictis. The type of Bassariscus antiquus matthewi (Merriam), U.C.M.P., No. 12539, is a heavily worn specimen and the trigonid and talonid of M, are worn to nearly the same level. Although P, of this specimen is broken at the crown it still shows less wear than M,. A similar difference in relative wear is apparent in the figure of Potamotheriwm? lycopotamicum, so it seems possible that the type of that species could have been a Bas- sariscus. Unfortunately the number of molars behind the carnassial cannot be determined as the specimen is broken off directly behind M,. A specimen from Paulina Creek, Oregon, in the collection of Yale Peabody Museum, No. 14313, bears much resemblance to Bassariscus. Its ramus is straight and slender but broken off in front of the greatly defaced M,;. Mz is absent. The talonid of M, is preserved and has a basin with distinct ento- conid and hypoconid. Although somewhat smaller than the B. parvus specimens from Nebraska there is little in this frag- mentary material to distinguish it from them. Paulina Creek is in the Crooked River region and could be either a Mascall (Miocene) or Rattlesnake (Pliocene) locality. The locality data given by Cope for P. ? lycopotamicum likewise is inade- quate to identify the source formation. No other specimens have been found to verify the location and even in 1907 Mer- riam and Sinclair (p. 195) pointed out that mixture of ma- terial from the Mascall and Rattlesnake formations is easily possible. It thus seems that “Potamotherium” ? lycopotamicum is probably referable to Bassariscus, and may have come from either Miocene or Pliocene. The limited material available is insufficient to demonstrate its affinities with other species. OruEer MiocENE OCCURRENCES OF BASSARISCUS Fossil cacomistle remains have been found in the Lower Snake Creek fauna (B. antiquus Matthew and Cook), the May 10, 1951 Bassariscus In Miocene Faunas 4 Virgin Valley fauna (B. antiquus matthewi Merriam), and Cedar Mountain fauna (B. parvus [Merriam] Hall). B. antiquus was distinguished from the Recent B. astutus by its larger paraconids on M, and M,, and by the slightly wider heel of M,. Merriam (1911, p. 246) sought to establish a new genus, Probassariscus, on these characters, but Hall (1927, p. 438) has pointed out that the variability within the Recent genus is such that the fossils should not be accorded more than subgeneric distinction. B. antiquus matthewi was not satisfactorily distinguished from the Snake Creek species, and Hall (loc. cit.), although recognizing the possibility that better material might reveal differences, maintains that the fossils can not even be shown to be subspecifically distinct. B. parvus Hall (B. nevadensis Merriam, 1916, non G. S. Miller, 1913) was considered by Merriam to be nearly indistinguish- able from the Recent “miners cat” of California, and Hall based most of his distinctions from Bassariscus astutus on the crowding of the premolars and size of trigonid of My). The material here described suggests that the species may be valid. At present then, the following extinct species of Bassariscus can be recognized: B. antiquus Matthew and Cook, Lower Snake Creek, Virgin Valley B. parvus Hall, Cedar Mountain, Niobrara River ? B. lycopotamicus (Cope), Mascall or Rattlesnake All are founded upon lower dentitions and differ only in minute characters from the living Bassariscus astutus (Lichtenstein). The lower teeth of this genus have undergone extremely little change since Oligocene time. The upper molars also are con- servative, the principal distinction from Pseudocynodictis be- ing a reduction of M?, but the upper carnassial has become 8 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 8 modified in the Recent genus through addition of a postero- internal cusp and greater development of the internal cingu- lum on P*. A specimen from the late Miocene Niobrara River fauna suggests that this feature had not been acquired at that time. Oruer AMERICAN SPECIES REFERRED TO PoTAMOTHERIUM Potamotherium still appears in some faunal lists of North America* so it seems advisable to point out that those Ameri- can fossils which have been identified with this European otter are not at all related to it. Brachypsalis pachycephalus Cope was referred to Potamotherium by Hay (1902, p. 768); it is a far larger and stouter animal than P. valetoni (the geno- typic species) and the type of a now well-known American genus of Mustelinae (not Lutrinae). Potamotherium lacota Matthew from the Pliocene of South Dakota is likewise larger and referable to Brachypsalis; it appears close to B. modicus Matthew. As shown above, Potamotheriwm ? lycopotamicum Cope is probably not a mustelid at all but Bassariscus. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We are grateful to Dr. R. A. Stirton for assistance and permission to examine pertinent specimens in the University of California Museum of Paleontology, and to Dr. Alden H. Miller for access to comparative material in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. Valued comments concerning the material or manu- script have been received from Donald E. Savage, Robert W. Fields, Wann Langston, and Walter Wheeler. Owen J. Poe, artist of the University of California Museum of Paleontology, prepared the illustration. * Not, however, in Simpson’s Classification of Mammals. Bassariscus In Miocene Faunas May 10, 1951 6ESCIL ‘ON Ad WO ATTA UISITA snnbyun *g STEP ‘ON ‘WdA YI2I19 eulned U——_. (adog) ———_— addy, snovupjodooh) *g ¢ rag Ov V'é oP 3:0 : GL i Th 18 Gh "9 T8 i 69 0°9 gh ae VS GG reat) : VS os S6 ; Gs Le 8'9 A ee) OL rend 1% oe GG oF oP ae Lv VG ST mas 1G es 8's “ UP oo6 CT a0 oor 89L61 GG8cI PESSI LYLEE ‘ON 'd ‘WOT %“ON'Wd A ‘ON'NWd A “ON ‘dW ureyuno jy MA 38 snured ssouyory J, “| ye snurea Jo yydaq “AL ye snurea Jo yydoq *q ye snuesr jo yy}doq ®q ye snuier jo yydoq ee teeeees pruopey yqsue, ‘xoidde pruoye} ye yypIA "+ puostay} ye yprM oe oe iepag ‘eddy, W——— vuney Joarty vaerqoiN ——————” —__—__——— ey snawnd ‘g ——__———__ sel I9MO'T SIOPIUT|[TTAY UL SPUIULIANSBI]AT Yysus] ysozeois "PW * UQPIaA ysozyeois *g * yySugl ysoqzeors *g * YPIA ysoqyvois *g * yydug] jsozyeois &g " YIPIA ysoyvaid “gq * yQsugl ysozyeois 7g 10 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 8 Measurements in Millimeters U.C.M.P. No. 31983, upper dentition Greatest Anteroposterior anteroposterior Transverse diam. across diameter diameter protocone SRA C Nyala egal etaloievete etsy ate a iers 4.2 2.1 | Ea eS SRA are Sh AL 6.5 4.0 J lig eet ves atthe as cig eee 5.2 Us 3.7 Pa SCREEN daha sm EVIE ORE ETA 3.2 4.9 2.2 BisLioGRAPHY Cope, E. D., 1879. Observations on the Faunae of the Miocene Tertiaries of Oregon. Bull. U. S. Geol. and Geogr. Survey of the Territories, vol. 5, pp. 55-69. Cope, E. D. and Matthew, W. D., 1915. Hitherto unpublished plates of Tertiary Mammalia and Permian Vertebrata. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., Monograph series No. 2. Hall, E. R., 1927. Species of the mammalian sub-family Bassariscinae. Univ. Calif. Publ., Bull., Dept. Geol. Sci., vol. 16, pp. 435-448. Hay, O. P., 1902. Bibliography and catalogue of Fossil Vertebrata of North America. U. S. Geol. Survey, Bull. 179. Matthew, W. D., 1904. New or little known mammals from the Miocene of South Dakota. Amer. Mus. Expedition of 1903. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., Bull., vol. 20, pp. 241-268 [p. 254]. Matthew, W. D. and Cook, H. J., 1909. A Pliocene fauna from western Nebraska. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., Bull., vol. 26, pp. 361-414 [p. 377, fig. 6]. McGrew, P. O., 1938. Dental morphology of the Procyonidae with a description of Cynarctoides gen. nov. Field Mus. of Nat. Hist., Geol. Series, vol. 6, no. 22, pp. 323-339. Merriam, J. C., 1911. Tertiary mammal beds of Virgin Valley and Thousand Creek in northwestern Nevada, Part II, Vertebrate Faunas. Univ. Calif. Publ., Bull., Dept. Geol., vol. 6, pp. 199-304. Merriam, J. C. and Sinclair, W. J., 1907. Tertiary faunas of the John Day Region. Univ. Calif. Publ., Bull., Dept. Geol., vol. 5, pp. 171-205. Stirton, R. A. and McGrew, P. O., 1935. A preliminary notice on the Miocene and Pliocene mammalian faunas near Valentine, Nebraska. Amer. Jour. Sci. (5), vol. 29, pp. 125-132. Thorpe, M. R., 1922. Some Tertiary Carnivora in the Marsh Collection, with descriptions of new forms. Amer. Jour. Sci. (5), vol. 3, pp- 423-455. “ae a : } en ae ls y i ee if en vane it as i ee, Dd Ck Le ie Das aie aM ath i ie 2 alt A ir real ; f ey ay + i a tie vis id) an Ie les ALN Natty { b : fl t rR Z Fi C 1. Or eT, | rr folie ee OUSE We gil fhe hh a ltd Ree, pte Sa LTS, lie er " eae ri . “ed i: ; iy ? ‘ , 2 = i ty yy ' ae _ aie: it } 1 Ht ay. © a AV 7 Le Wa hee a | (ie at Wet) em * a | etsy i ah ea) i ; a Shy : iA An ae 7 rs ri peed fA 2\ ip + ‘ , is 7 } ry Ae ie re oy an Mtg ae ; if : i any iw xa ‘ -! ' i ant 5 ‘te = Ray * ' a ST | i. ’ a oe pa tl aS cy ee Co Manes La Ls eh de ear a ie? ‘ F ' , ; ie 2 xy he a) Oh a ae ere ad { Hes Sh 0! ‘ag aie, 70 ae rae ce oe : 4 a os er eet Ae i, ‘ve ih TURE ee ey eg as Ue We Bs ai AO hee Aleem! ey hie BO ' ‘ y ; r Hy en fl Tr) ily Pita ‘y.. ae ’ a y de ht ey ae a) Wii aera | rs ¥ ve ip, ; ’ wh, ALP an ih ‘ : Vern « m.\ “1 il | cite BANE aoa He i 7 Opts: 5 aN hag te Ae : Pros : J ae ay 4 fe - aa : ft: i i oe : f : NOt aoa Ea a - 2 LATA v4.8 ua ae sii ne i y ' ki ce Puy f Ae side nur W ane: Vn ioe a) y i Ce ee jai) tie Bae ccna ; ’ PR ar id ath any aes TAN CE ae ie hae Ware i 4, ) 5 } P ‘ hey Atta) bs A ox \ yy, FET Al 7," ein f } ¥ ve a ee i Nae ily toe, ah MELD Sb i ie ieee j " \ % hi } ‘ : f 4 s i F 4 Noa sl ‘ ‘ ‘ h " i » } ‘ we. ‘ ' y y bg - f { . | fais vant Sia Fi) i ee Me Pea TD \ pale ee ani" ’ ( nits Wy | ; : iS Iran ‘ j vp nie sift Pe ALIN ANY ey ‘KARTE MOT HOA x7 Olt tas , , Lf iif ath! / ' } i i 7 om ay ¥ . ok *) i, ‘ A \ ; ty Kee 4 “ ou it Ps at ene 7! | } ‘ ‘ it at ‘ , a Ah abe ah AEN ss 1 i i { R ws ‘ ’ a) | ; ’ ” 7 \ ih . i - 4 j i { ’ rye ( sannio. 2. Garrulax sannio oblectans, subsp. nov. Type: ¢ ad. (U.S.N.M., No. 277649) collected near Ipin [Suifu], elev. 1400 ft., southwestern Szechwan Province, China, November 22, 1923, by David C. Graham. Diagnosis: separable from G. s. sannio (Fukien) by having the several browns of the pileum, mantle, rectrices, throat and breast, belly, and under tail coverts more saturate and strongly rufescent (not olivaceous). From G. s. comis (Yunnan), it differs in the same characters as from G. s. sannio, but also by having the postocular stripe brownish black (not light rufescent brown) and by having the supercilium unsullied white or creamy (not suffused with rufescent brown above and behind the eye). Range: Chinese province of Szechwan, elev. 1,000-6,000 ft., and northern Kweichow. 4 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 11 Remarks: Garrulax sannio may be considered an autochthon of southern China, which probably originated as a species in northwestern Yunnan or southeastern Sikang, where is found a race (comis) that shows in the adult certain charac- ters (such as the light rufescent-brown postocular stripe) that appear in other races only in the immature plumage. From this center it has pushed out in two directions: west- ward across northern Burma as far as Manipur and adjacent parts of Assam (albo-superciliaris), where it is rare, and southeastward along the rivers as far as the Southern Shan States, northern Laos, northernmost Annam, and Tongking, in all of which it is common at elevations from 2800 to 4900 feet. Specimens from these southeastern regions represent popu- lations of individuals variably intermediate between topo- typical comis and topotypical sannio (Fukien), which there- fore cannot definitely be named. The majority, however, from localities west of the Black River-Red River divide (western Tongking) are nearer comis, while the majority of those from east of the divide are nearer sannio; this line might then, simply for convenience, be considered the boundary between the two forms. It may be supposed that the species next advanced north- eastward through the southeastern provinces of China, where, as the race sannio, it now occupies the hills of Kwangsi, Kwangtung, Fukien, Kiangsi, and northeastern Hunan (Yo- yang [Yochow]). Having reached the valley of the Yangtze in Kiangsi and Hunan, and by now accustomed to elevations much lower than those of the ancestral homeland, the species readily ad- vanced westward up the great river into the lowlands of Szechwan, here to give rise to the race oblectans (birds from southwestern Hupeh are already oblectans > sannio). Thus, while the ranges of comis and oblectans are contigu- ous, it may be seen that these two are farthest apart in distance traveled from the original home, and, by the same March 26, 1952 ‘Garrulax sannio Swinhoe 5 token, of all Chinese populations farthest apart in external characters. Interbreeding of the two races, with consequent masking of their differences, is inhibited by the fact that they occupy distinct altitudinal ranges. That the geographi- cally distant G. s. sannio should be the intermediate between them is accounted for by the history of specific expansion I have hypothesized above. So far as is now known, the range of G. s. albo-superciliaris is wholly isolated from those of its Chinese cousins and, as might be expected, this is a very distinct form by the deep (scarcely rufescent) brown of its pileum, the cold dark olivaceous brown of its mantle, and the strong vinaceous wash over its entire under parts. Its postocular stripe is blackish brown in the adult. Since the birds of this genus are subject to alteration of color by wear, I should mention that my diagnoses have been based wholly upon fresh-plumaged adult specimens. The pos- sibility of post-mortem change has also been considered and discounted, since skins of G. s. comis taken twenty-nine years ago do not differ significantly from one collected in 1945, and the oldest specimens of each race are roughly equivalent in age and should therefore have altered to the same degree. For the record, I should state that I have examined 40 examples of comis from Yunnan and Sikang, taken in 1923, 1928, 1929, 1980, and 1945; three of sannio from Fukien, taken in 1923 and 1930; forty of oblectans from Szechwan, taken in 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1928, 1929, 1931, 1932, 1933, and 1934; three of albo-superciliaris, taken in 1950. Of the birds of Laos and Tongking, intermediate between comis and sannio, I have had 36, collected in 1924, 1929, 1930, 1938, 1939, and 1941. iy * / bs Aired el fet TRL es Rua eR A Ape he | ah hig earl hy ied Pega ard ie aad hi 1% a Maddie io Tie een PP avai’ Lat aye te aes sake VO) PT Leen ead Ad 1 + } RNY Soe find 5 ie 1h ST eR ES Shy ot! ’ * bic to? Pa ie. ht Oe Ree eee Pam Vs iy SAL ae ee ay Mithril) PPAR Ae Mm cis ahh) 1 Aide Rae ARS Ae 1 eae tay Fh 3 mi he i eae wh j 4 cdl vil iw ita ert. ity eis dhe bee Vey 4 A" ems | : ‘ 4 7 Vili td Ete ee eT ae y not ra th ee [ rity ; F ie yt 4 4 ve | i h § f ae 4 Ml -. i ¥ 4 + ' i a va oe es 4 ¥, j Bin! iy . ; } A i An bee » i / Nd uf ‘ } if i 1 . 7 Atk ht as Ap) t ’ Pi i ie : ¥ - fpr Wie : 7 Ls 7 é 7 \ - : 4 ' ras f +, ‘ ; A 7 ‘ | bea | ae, awl ips . * Cn 4 Aba pane Anh re fi aot ee a ; a ivy } ‘ o & a / i Be Ma eA | Rees ae 2) ie et Peas 4 Mais ; AY ne ee Pay ihs q A / ae : ‘ yee ae 1. 4 a Ne he r ' 7 : ; | : pee tes p) ma j ea. ata. at : aA oe j A x “7 i Wy as A i ; Ma Pont [ere a, i ee A ati Ain’ & : * i . é J j ry 16: ) ’ \) ) i! .% te PAL heath RP wet ie sie tay an Were ke ty id.) bares hia Ont Mine eh Eby an sili die: Sr pha de ae a hae ay ee pees é * pot \ j ‘ 4 | 7 ; tH 7 a ve 7 4 4 s i ( 6 } A TeAst i * nh § } y \ ! tin ae rat ‘Airn iS hy _N/- NUS. COMP. ZO8L. LIBRARY UN i OF 1952 HARVARD UNIVERSITY prion YALE PEABODY MUS or NaturaL History Number 12 April 2, 1952 New Haven, Conn. A NEW GENUS OF THRUSH FROM EASTERN AFRICA S. Ditton RireLtey In connection with a revision of the thrushes, I have examined specimens of T'urdinus stictigula Reichenow through the courtesy of the authorities of the American Museum of Natural History. This rare and seldom observed species found only in the hills in parts of Tanganyika was described as a babbler and placed in Illadopsis by W. L. Sclater (Systema Avium “thiopicarum, 1932 :363). In his revision of the bab- blers (L’Oiseau, 1946, 16:13) Delacour has pointed out that the Spot-throat is certainly a thrush and not a babbler in the lengthening of its narrow bill, and its long and slender tarsus and toes. M. Delacour placed the species provisionally in Cossypha, noting that it bore a slight resemblance to anomala and archeri. Virtually nothing was known of the habits of the Spot- throat until Moreau published his observations (Ibis, 1932: 672 and 1938:302). He noted particularly its thrush-like habits and beautiful voice. He further described the nest, eggs, and nestlings, all reasonably thrush-like, but unfor- tunately the nestlings were destroyed before he could observe the juvenal plumage. In its uniform coloration, spotted throat, and wing and tail formation, stictigula differs notably from the members of the genus Cossypha, and I therefore propose the erection of a new genus. Modulatrix, n. gen. Type.—Turdinus stictiguia Reichenow 1906. This genus is similar to Cossypha Vigors 1825 in its narrow bill and its long tarsi and toes; but the wing, which is rounded, has the sixth primary longest rather than the fifth and the first primary is less than two-thirds the length of the second (shorter than in species of Cossypha). The tail, which is shorter than the wing and of 12 feathers, is slightly rounded rather than squared, the individual rectrices being somewhat pointed. The color pattern of Modulatriaz is distinc- tive uniform deep olive brown on the crown and back, with a faint tendency to terminal barring on the feathers of the center of the back. The tail is rich rufescent. Below, the throat is buffy-gray with terminal black spots; the abdomen is rufous. The flanks are dark brown. There is no tendency to a white eyebrow, crown or presuperciliary spot or stripe, so uniform a feature of Cossypha. Measurements of three males are: wing, 79-81; tail, 71-72; culmen, 16; and tarsus, 29-30 mm. Two forms of this genus have been described: 1. Modulatrix stictigula stictigula (Reichenow) 2. Modulatriz stictigula pressa (Bangs and Loveridge) “Moduatria,” a smger Tertull. pstilla MUS. COMP. ZOOL. LIBRARY. YALE PEABODY MUSEUM APR 238 1968 HARVARD UNIVERSITY. Number 13 September 18, 1952 New Haven, Conn. or NaturaL History THK THRUSHES S. Ditton Rietey “The merle, the mavis, and the nichtingale, With mirry notis mirthfully forth burst,” from May by Gavin Douglas, 1513. The thrushes are one of the most cosmopolitan of the groups of birds. References to the nightingale as Procne rather than as Philomela occur in the work of Apollodorus, about sz. c. 140. By the time of Ovid, 3. c. 43-18 a. p., Philomela had become the nightingale and so continued through early legend and poetry. The Persian bulbul of the eastern poets was un- doubtedly the nightingale which was supposed to pour forth its strain of melody while pressing its breast against a rose thorn to ease its heart’s pain. Thrushes of numerous sorts have been noted as superlative songsters in many countries since earliest times. By the Nineteenth Century Seebohm (1881) and other stu- dents of birds were inclined to list the thrushes as the most highly developed among the birds on account of their singing qualities and the development of the plantar tendons. Newton (1893) citing Cabanis (1847) and W. K. Parker (1872-1873) disagreed, and later arrangers from Stejneger to Stresemann 2 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 13 have listed the crows and their allies as the highest group of the Oscines. The work of Seebohm (op. cit.), however, and that of Seebohm and Sharpe (1898-1902) have certainly been, historically, the most important monographs on the thrushes. These authors felt, as I do, that the thrushes represent a subfamily, the Turdinae, closely allied to the warblers, Sylviinae, from which they differ by not possessing a complete double molt, and by having in nearly all cases a spotted plumage in the young. Thrushes also, in most cases, have a booted rather than a scutellated tarsus. But even these rather generalized characters tend to have exceptions. Perhaps in such closely related groups as those within the Passeres, exceptions tend to prove the rule. Hartert (1910) also listed the thrushes as a subgroup within the Muscicapidae, and this arrangement has been followed recently by Mayr and Amadon (1951). The principal objections to such a classification have been expressed by Witherby, Jourdain, Ticehurst, and Tucker (1938). In actual effect the objections to listing the thrushes as a subfamily may be reduced to the simple fact that the group is a very large one numerically, and that to lump them together with such other large groups as the warblers, babblers, and flycatchers into a single family may be an exceedingly unwieldly arrange- ment. This of course is true, but against this must be balanced the lack of well-defined characters, morphological or otherwise, to separate these groups. If categories, and especially higher categories in the Class Aves are to have comparable validity to those in other classes of animals it would be well to be some- what more conservative in these matters than many systematists have been in the past. It has been amply demonstrated in recent years that many of the minutiae, the characters set up by avian taxonomists to create such categories as subgenera, genera, subfamilies, and the like, based on the relative differ- ences between the length of the tarsus and the wing or tail, the length of bristles versus the bill length and so on, are extremely plastic in nature. Too much reliance on such relative- ly trivial morphological characters serves rather to obscure than to define relationships. My inclination then to list the thrushes as a subfamily is September 18, 1952 The Thrushes 3 based not only on the consideration of morphological and evolutionary characters, but also on the desire to be consistent. The characters separating the groups of the Muscicapidae are so few and inconstant that to keep the groups as separate families serves only to damage the concept of the term, family. Within the Muscicapidae, the differences between the numerical- ly largest subfamilies may be listed as follows: Juvenile Double Rictal Subfamily plumage molt Tarsus bristles weak, Muscicapinae spotted uncommon scutellate strong Timaliinae unspotted uncommon scutellate present scutellate Sylviinae unspotted usual primarily distinct booted or Turdinae spotted uncommon scutellate variable RELATIVES Besides the above closely related subfamilies, the dippers, Cinclinae, seem to me to be nearly related to the thrushes as suggested by Stejneger (1905), and I am inclined to agree with Mayr and Amadon (op. cit.) in making them a subfamily of the Muscicapidae. The mockingbirds, Mimidae, recently have been considered a separate family, but formerly were included as a subfamily of the wrens (Coues and others). Perhaps both wrens and mock- ingbirds should be placed in the Muscicapidae as suggested recently by Mayr and Amadon (op. cit.). The tarsus of the mockingbirds is barely scutellate. The internal anatomy of this group differs only slightly in the narrowness of the anteorbital region of the skull, the rather narrow descending process of the nasal bone and the slightly differently shaped coracoid, sternum, and the narrow pelvis. In Dumetella the maxillo-palatines ap- proach the thrushes exactly in shape, rather than being clavi- form as in the other mimine genera. These differences are no 4 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 13 more compelling than those between other subfamilies of the Muscicapidae. Ridgway (1907) erected a family for Zeledonia, the aber- rant wren-thrush of Costa Rica on the basis of its possessing 10 tail feathers. The young also are not really spotted, hav- ing only a tendency to pale edgings on the feathers of the lower parts. In view of the diversity of the thrushes, and from the appearance, anatomy (Pycraft, 1905), and of what is known of its habits, I consider Zeledonia to be a relict member of the Turdinae, and a geographical representative allied to the short-wings, a group of South Asian chat-thrushes of the genus Brachypteryz. The hedge-sparrows (Prunella) are kept by most authors as a separate family. Field and museum study inclines me to the belief that these birds are a subgroup within the thrushes as proposed by Baker (1924). The hedge-sparrows have scutel- late tarsi, but the structure of the tibiotarsus in Sazicoloides seems to me intermediate and leading directly to Prunella. The musculature of the cheek in the hedge-sparrows puts this genus into the chat-like thrushes according to Beecher (personal communication), as does the immature plumage which is streaked or mottled. I consider, therefore, that the hedge-sparrows are a group of the chat-like thrushes which has become secondarily bunting-like in its food adaptations. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am most grateful to the authorities of the American Museum of Natural History and the United States National Museum who have loaned me material in their care. Several individuals have been particularly helpful in discussions, notably Dr. J. P. Chapin who has generously shared with me his wealth of knowl- edge on the African thrushes. Without his advice I should have been unable to consider many of these peculiar genera. The comments of Messrs. Amadon, Beecher, Deignan, Delacour, Friedmann, and Peters have all been sought and freely given. Their advice has been most welcome and instructive. September 18, 1952 The Thrushes ii DistTRIBUTION The thrushes would seem to be primarily of Palaearctic origin, I believe. The greatest number and complexity of forms occur in the Old World. Africa, also, has been an important evolutionary center in this subfamily, especially in the chat- like forms. From Eurasia there have been several invasions into the New World, even reaching outlying groups such as Hawaii and isolated Tristan da Cunha. In the other direc- tion invasions have penetrated into the Australian region, and into Polynesia. New Zealand apparently has not been reached. Turnagra, formerly considered the New Zealand thrush, now appears to be nearer the shrike-billed flycatchers (Oliver, 1945). No continental area, however, is without some member of the thrush group. ARRANGEMENT In general the thrushes fall into two large groups or tribes, the chats and the true thrushes. The name for the second group is a convenient one in that the word, thrush, conjures-up to the mind a generalized bird of a definite size; a bird which might be a robin in the United States, a song thrush in England, a mistle thrush, fieldfare, or blackbird in many parts of Europe and northern Asia, or their equivalents in such a variety of places as Tierra del Fuego and the Solomon Islands. These birds are all of a roughly equivalent size and shape and even have roughly similar types of song. The chats on the other hand are in general small, skulking, often very difficult to see or observe if they belong to jungle-living species, and do not generally convey the impression of being thrushes at all except to the initiated, aside from those species which happen also to possess fine songs. Cuat THRUSHES The chats seem to me to represent the earlier forms of the subfamily. They are all smaller; many are more specialized 6 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 138 for tropical or subtropical habitats; they are less uniform as a group, and generally present the impression of containing more end-lines of evolution and differentiation among them, more relicts. The exceptional cases of unturdine-like characters such as unspotted young, scutellate tarsus, prominent bristles and so forth occur among the chat-like aggregation. As a tribe, then, they would seem to have had a longer history. Some genera are transitional between thrushes and warblers. Others resemble the flycatchers. In general the chat tribe might be characterized as being smaller, possessing more slender legs, more diverse nesting habits, weaker song, and a tendency to brighter, more variegated plumage in adult and young. Diverse as they are, however, they seem to stand closer together as a group, distinct from the larger, more compactly evolved true thrushes. Mr. William Beecher’s anatomical researches on the musculature of the cheek of passerine birds inclines him, also, to this division into two main groups within the Turdinae (personal communication). The largest development numerical- ly of the chat thrushes has taken place in Africa and may well have commenced there for all that we know geologically or climatologically speaking. The most primitive of the chat thrushes would seem to consist of two types, the short-wings, personified by Brachypteryx and Zeledonia, which I feel are equivalent tropical relict forms of the Old and New World, and the genus Erythropygia, which seems rather like a link between the warblers and the thrushes. Near Erythropygia may come the aberrant Drymodes of Australia and New Guinea, a relationship suggested to me by Dr. Amadon. I had previously thought these scrub-robins nearer the true thrushes, the group with closer geographical connections. In pattern of coloration there are many similar- ities even though the longer tail in Drymodes, longer than the wing in all cases, is certainly proportionally different from that in Erythropygia. From such warbler-like origins have developed the robins, Erithacus, with their bewilderingly diverse complex of relatives in Africa, the magpie-robins, Copsychus, the fork-tails, Enicu- rus, the solitaires, Myadestes, of the New World, an early suc- cessful invader of that area with its own offshoot, Phaeornis, September 18, 1952 The Thrushes 7 and its Old World relict relatives, Cochoa (?), and possibly Stizorhina (?). The remaining subdivisions of the chat thrushes are more uniform, running from the redstarts, Phoenicurus, again through an array of African relatives, to Cercomela and the chats, Saxicola, beyond which in the evolutionary scale would seem to lie the wheatears and the rock-thrushes. Low down in the chat thrush group lies the small twig leading off through Saxicoloides to Prunella. True THRUSHES The true thrushes consist of a more uniform group of birds in size, almost all of which have fine powers of song. These birds range from open heath in the temperate and subarctic regions to deepest tropical jungle. They have strong tarsi, strong bills lacking frontal hairs in most cases, and they molt from immature plumage in the first autumn directly into the adult plumage. These thrushes have certain seemingly more primitive off- shoots among them, notably Myiophoneus of the Indo-Malaysian region, several isolated genera in Celebes and New Guinea, and at least three separate invasions of the New World. The earl- iest of these would seem to be represented by the forest thrush of the West Indes, Cichlherminia, and the Tristan da Cunha thrush, Nesocichla, which I feel shows New World rather than Old World affinities. A second invasion has produced the distinctive birds grouped currently in the genera, Hylocichla and Catharus, birds of the forest or the forest edge which in their habits and song seem almost intermediate between the nightingale-robin group of the Old World, and the true thrushes. A third rather inter- esting minor invasion in terms of end results has left two stranded species of the Zoothera assemblage in western North America and Mexico. A final invasion has populated the whole of both continents with a multitude of true thrushes of the genus T'wrdus which I would rank as the most highly developed genus of the subfamily. Whatever the varying points of view 8 Postilla Yale Peabody Musewm No. 13 may be as to its place in the evolutionary sequence, it is certain- ly the most widespread of all the genera. Tue GENERA Sharpe (1903) listed 75 genera in his “Hand List” in the family Turdidae. Excluding Turnagra and Ephthianura, and adding eight genera placed by him in the Timaliidae and Sylvi- idae, namely Drymodes, Chaétops, Cataponera, Myiophoneus, Arrenga, Brachypteryx, Heteroxenicus, and Agrobates raises his total to 81. In the list following I propose that the number recognized be 46, a reduction of 45 per cent. 1) CHAT THRUSHES Among the chat thrushes several generic names seem more usefully dropped than retained. The genus Heterowxenicus Sharpe, a new name for Drymochares Gould, was separated from Brachypteryx on the basis of having a tail less than twice the length of the tarsus. The type of Heteroxenicus cruralis is now considered a subspecies of the species B. montana of most authors, so unimpressive does this tail character appear. The same character was used for the species stellatus, type of Drymochares. The genus Heinrichia was erected by Stresemann for the species calligyna discovered on Celebes by Heinrich. It is similarly, if somewhat somberly colored to Brachypterya, but happens to be somewhat larger than the other species. I can glean no indication of its habits or structure being in any way different from a typical Brachypteryz. In the genus Erythropygia I include T'ychaédon, a renaming by Richmond of Sharpe’s Aedonopsis, erected for the species signata of South Africa. In color pattern and habits this brown robin-chat seems to belong with the scrub-robins and should be placed there. The fact that the culmen in signata is longer Turdus ), Zoothera Nesocichla fa’ = Cathorus ll we Cichlherminia Cataponera Amalocfchl Oenanthe ee Pentholaea Ec Geomalia Saxicola Myiophoneus Myremecocichla Cercomela Chaetops Emarginata Thamnolaea Phaeornis Prunella S Myadestes Cochoa Enicurus Saxicoloides Sialia Myiomela Grandala frania Phoenicurus se SATE Copsychus Hodgsonius Alethe ctchladusa Pinarornis Ree Cercotrichas LJ ~ Erithacus Cossypha
? 2?
”? ?
9 >
September 18, 1952
The Thrushes 21
Brachypterys montana saturata Salvadori
>?
2?
”?
erythrogyna Sharpe
‘ss montana Horsfield
‘i floris Hartert
II. Zeledonia coronata Ridgway
wT. Lrythropygia coryphaeus coryphaeus (Lesson)
abbotti Friedmann*
hamertoni Ogilvie-Grant*
leucophrys lecoptera (Riippell)
eluta Bowen
vulpina Reichenow
brunneiceps Reichenow
soror Reichenow
jugens Bowen*
vansomerni Sclater
ruficauda Sharpe
zambesiana Sharpe
munda (Cabanis)
pallida Benson
sclateri Grote
pectoralis A. Smith
leucophrys (Vieillot)
a kabalii White
hartlaubi Reichenow
galactotes galactotes (Temminck)
4G minor (Cabanis)
syriaca (Hemprich and
Ehrenberg)
familiaris (Menetries)
paena benguellensis Hartert
” — damarensis Hartert
paena A. Smith
leucosticta collsi Alexander
‘< leucosticta (Sharpe) *
reichenowi Hartert
barbata erlangeri Reichenow*
‘a greenwayi Moreau*
quadrivirgata (Reichenow)
rovumae (Grote)
3 barbata (Finsch and Hartlaub)
wilsoni Roberts*
signata (Sundevall)
>
2?
>?
Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 13
LE Drymodes brunneopygius brunneopygius Gould
pallidus (Sharpe)
superciliaris colcloughi Mathews
i beccarii (Salvadori)
superciliaris Gould
is ‘ brevirostris (De Vis)
nigriceps Rand
Vi Enthacus erythrothorax erythrothorar (Hartlaub)
gabonensis (Sharpe)
zanthogaster (Sharpe)
mabirae (Jackson)
sharper sharpei (Shelley)
. usambarae (Macdonald)*
gunningi gunning (Haagner)
is 3 bensoni (Kinnear) *
sokokoensis (van Sommern)
cyornithopsis cyornithopsis (Sharpe)
lopezi (Alexander)
if ge acholiensis (Macdonald) *
bangsi (Friedmann)
houghtoni (Bannerman)
aequatorialis (Jackson)
Cea ai ruwenzorii (Ogilvie-Grant)
guttifer (Reichenow and
Neumann)
elgonensis (Ogilvie-Grant)
keniensis (Mearns)
macarthuri (van Sommern)
orientalis (Fischer and
Reichenow)
johnstoni (Shelley)
transvaalensis (Roberts)*
sf lebombo (Roberts)
margaritatus (Sundevall)
swynnertoni (Shelley)
rubecula melophilus Hartert
rubecula (Linnaeus)
vanthothorax Salvadori and Festa
sardus Kleinschmidt
superbus Koenig
witherbyi Hartert
atlas Lynes
9? >
> 2?
3? »?
2? >)
September 18, 1952 The Thrushes 23
Erithacus rubecula tataricus Grote
33 + caucasicus Buturlin
‘fi 4 hyrcanus Blanford
sibilans (Swinhoe)
luscinia (Linnaeus)
megarhynchos caligiformis (Clancey and
von Jordans )*
megarhynchos (Brehm)
re ie corsa (Parrot)*
‘i i hafizi (Severtsov)
i 4 lusciniodes (von Jordans)*
44 ms africana (Fischer and Reichenow)
akahige akahige (‘Temminck)
+ tanensis Kuroda
kobayashii (Momiyama)
calliope camtschatkensis (Gmelin)
iy cs beicki (Meise)
‘i ‘i calliope (Pallas)
svecicus svecicus (Linnaeus)
a a namnetum (Noirmoutier)
occidentalis (Zarudny)
cyaneculus (Wolf)
luristanicus nom. nov.
pallidogularis (Zarudny )*
i A abbotti (Richmond)
tianschanicus (Tugarinov)*
kaschgariensis (‘Tugarinov)*
2? ?
‘< * altaicus (Sushkin)
4 ‘i saturatior (Sushkin)
s is weigoldi (Kleinschmidt)
przevalskii (‘Tugarinov)*
kobdensis (Tugarinov)*
pectoralis pectoralis (Gould)
oe a confusus (Hartert)
és a ballioni (Severtsov)
tschebaiewi (Przevalski)
si ruficeps (Hartert)
if wickhami (Baker)
pectardens (David)
29 2?
2 Erithacus svecicus magnus (Zarudny and Loudon), 1904, is preoccupied
by Philomela magna Blyth, 1833 (a nomen nudum in synonymy with
Luscinia luscinia Linnaeus),
24 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 13
Erithacus hachisukae nom. nov.*
a cyane cyane (Pallas)
3 ” — bochaiensis (Shulpin)
brunneus (Hodgson)
komadori komadori (Temminck)
im ” namiyei (Stejneger)
“ f subrufus (Kuroda)
cyanurus cyanurus (Pallas)
C + rufilatus (Hodgson)
practicus (Bangs and Phillips)
i. ‘ pallidor (Baker)
albocoeruleus (Meise)
ussuriensis (Stegmann)
chrysaeus chrysaeus (Hodgson)
. ie whistleri (Ticehurst)
i if vitellinus (Stresemann)
indicus indicus (Vieillot)
A ” — yunnanensis (Rothschild)
formosanus (Hartert)
- hyperythrus (Blyth)
johnstoniae (Ogilvie-Grant)
? >>
>? »)
Vi: Cossyphicula roberti roberti (Alexander)
” rufescentior (Hartert)
VII. Cossypha insulana insulana Grote
a granti Serle
kungwensis Moreau
polioptera polioptera Reichenow
* ie tesmanni Reichenow
nigriceps Reichenow
bocagei Finsch and Hartlaub
archeri Sharpe
‘ isabellae isabellae G. R. Gray
* - batesi (Bannerman)
natalensis natalensis A. Smith
ms ¥ hylophona Clancey*
garguensis Mearns
“4 dichroa (Gmelin)
semirufa semirufa (Riippell)
> ”?
” ”
”? »”
3 As Marquess Hachisuka has noted (in litt.) Erithacus obscura Berezow-
ski and Bianchi, 1894, is preoccupied by Cyanecula obscura Brehm 1831,
a synonym of Erithacus svecicus cyaneculus (Wolf), 1810.
September 18, 1952 The Thrushes
Cossypha semirufa donaldsoni Sharpe
2?
intercedens (Cabanis)
heuglini heuglini Hartlaub
ic ” subrufescens Boacage
intermedia (Cabanis)
cyanocampter cyanocampter (Bonaparte)
si . periculosa Sharpe
% os bartteloti Shelley
caffra iolema Reichenow
i ” kivuensis Schouteden
caffra (Linnaeus )
namaquensis Sclater
albigularis albigularis (Reichenow)
maclounii (Shelley)
2? >?
2? >?
>? >?
njombe Benson
anomala (Shelley)
a humeralis (A. Smith)
niveicapilla niveicapilla (Lafresnaye)
‘ ss melanonota (Cabanis)
2 albicapilla albicapilla (Vieillot)
4 x, giffardi Hartert
yi iy genderuensis Reichenow
omonensis Sharpe
sharpei sharpei G. R. Gray
i ” erythronata Lavauden
imerina Hartlaub
>”? ?
WITT: Modulatrix suictigula stictigula (Reichenow)
pressa (Bangs and Loveridge)
IX. Cichladusa guttata guttata (Heuglin)
>
rufipennis Sharpe
arquata Peters
i ruficauda (Hartlaub)
2?
X. Alethe castanea castanea (Cassin)
2?
a9
woosnami Ogilvie-Grant
poliophrys Sharpe
fiilliborni fiilliborni Reichenow
is usambarae Reichenow
poliocephala poliocephala (Bonaparte)
castanonota Sharpe
carruthersi Ogilvie-Grant
>>
25
porotensis (Bangs and Loveridge)
26 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 13
Alethe poliocephala akeleyae Dearborn
diademata (Bonaparte)
choloensis choloensis Sclater
ii fe namuli Vincent*
sharpei (Shelley )*
XI. Xenocopsychus ansorgei Hartert
5.1 Cercotrichas podobe podobe (P. L. S. Miiller)
melanoptera (Hemprich and
Ehrenberg) (?)+
XIII. Pinarornis plumosus Sharpe
XIV. Copsychus saularis saularis (Linnaeus)
ceylonensis Sclater
andamanensis Hume
prosthopellus Oberholser
amoenus (Horsfield)
erimelas Oberholser
nesiotes Oberholser
zacnecus Oberholser
nesiarchus Oberholser
masculus Ripley
pagiensis Richmond
javensis Chasen and Kloss
problematicus Sharpe
pluto Bonaparte
| ts adamsi_ Elliott
mindanensis (Gmelin)
seychellarum Newton
albospecularis albospecularis (EKydoux and
Gervais)
¥ is pica Pelzeln
inexpectatus Richmond
malabaricus malabaricus (Scopoli)
i = indicus (Baker)
‘i i leqggei (Whistler)
‘f ‘a albiventris (Blyth)
2? >
4'Two specimens of this form in the collection of the Bombay Natural
History Society from S. W. Arabia have brownish quills and a rufous
patch on the inner webs, but they are very worn specimens.
September 18, 1952
The Thrushes 27
Copsychus malabaricus interpositus (Robinson and Kloss)
»”?
minor (Swinhoe)
mallopercnus (Oberholser)
Hf tricolor (Vieillot)
melanurus (Salvadori)
opisthopelus (Oberholser)
javanus (Kloss)
omissus (Hartert)
“3 ochroptilus (Oberholser)
heterogynus (Oberholser)
eumesus (Oberholser)
Ks abbotti (Oberholser)
suavis Sclater
nigricaudus (Vorderman)
stricklandii Motley and Dilwyn
barbouri (Bangs and Peters)
luzoniensis luzoniensis (Kittlitz)
>?
parvimaculatus (McGregor)
superciliaris (Bourns and
Worcester)
9?
niger niger (Sharpe)
2?
cebuensis (Steere)
pyrropygus (Lesson)
XV. TIrania gutturalis (Guérin)
XVI. Phoenicurus alaschanicus (Przewalski) )
>>
erythronotus (Eversman)
caeruleocephalus Vigors
ochruros gibraltariensis (Gmelin)
aterrimus von Jordans*
af ochruros (S. G. Gmelin)
semirufus (Hemprich and
Ehrenberg)
phoenicuroides (Horsfield and
Moore)
zerophilus Stegmann
¥ rufiventris (Vieillot)
phoenicurus phoenicurus (Linnaeus)
a algeriensis (Kleinschmidt)
samamiscus (Hablizl)
turkestanicus Zarudny*
hodgsoni (Horsfield and Moore)
2?
2»?
28
KVIT:
XVIII.
XIX.
XX.
Postilla Yale Peabody Musewm No. 13
Phoenicurus frontalis frontalis Vigors
‘3 ”\ \wsinae THartert*
schisticeps schisticeps (Gray)
e ‘ beicki Stresemann
auroreus auroreus (Pallas)
a % leucopterus Blyth
moussieri (Olphe-Gaillard)
erythrogaster erythrogaster (Giildenstadt)
maximus Kleinschmidt
fe si grandis (Gould)
leucocephalus leucocephalus Vigors
% 3 pamirensis (Zarudny and
Moltchanow )
i bicolor (Ogilvie-Grant)
‘o fuliginosus fuliginosus Vigors
i i affinis (Ogilvie-Grant)
i frontalis frontalis (Blyth)
7? >?
orientalis (Delacour and Jabouille)
Hodgsonine phoenicuroides phoenicuroides (Gray)
" ichangensis Baker
Myiomela leucura leucura (Hodgson)
4 i cambodiana (Delacour and Jabouille)
diana sumatrana (Robinson and Kloss)
ie ” diana _ (Lesson)
ie frontalis (Blyth)
Grandala coelicolor coelicolor Hodgson
‘ ‘ florentes Bangs and Peters
Sialia sialis sialis (Linnaeus)
" ” grata Bangs
episcopus Oberholser
fulva Brewster
azurea Swainson?
meridionalis Dickey and van Rossem*
mexicana mexicana Swainson
4 4 australis Nelson*
anabelae Anthony
occidentalis Townsend
”? »”»
”? >
5 Replaces guatemalae Ridgway.
September 18, 1952 The Thrushes 29
Sialia mewicana bairdi Ridgway
* —_ currucoides (Bechstein)
XXI. Enicurus scouleri scouleri Vigors
. i. fortis (Hartert)
velatus sumatranus (Robinson and Kloss)
ai q velatus Temminck
ruficapillus Temminck
immaculatus (Hodgson)
schistaceus (Hodgson)
leschenaulti indicus Hartert
‘ s sinensis Gould
a % frontalis Blyth
borneensis (Sharpe)
is ii leschenaulti (Vieillot)
chaseni de Schauensee
maculatus maculatus Vigors
a ‘4 guttatus Gould
is (i omissus Rothschild
a 7 robinsoni Baker
XXII. Cochoa purpurea Hodgson
a viridis Hodgson
azurea beccarii Salvadori
is < azurea (Temminck)
2”?
XXIII. Myadestes townsendi townsendi (Audubon)
i a calophonus Moore
obscurus obscurus Lafresnaye
e ‘ oberholseri Dickey and van Rossem
occidentalis Stejneger
cinereus Nelson
insularis Stejneger
a elisabeth elisabeth (Lembeye)
‘a x retrusus Bangs and Zappey
genibarbis solitarius Baird
‘ fe montanus Cory
dominicanus Stejneger
genibarbis Swainson
sanctae-luciae Stejneger
sibilans Lawrence
¢ ralloides ralloides (d’Orbigny)
q ‘k plumbeiceps Hellmayr
venezuelensis Sclater
> ”
30 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 13
Myadestes ralloides candelae de Schauensee
i - coloratus Nelson
melanops Salvin
unicolor unicolor Sclater
i ” veraepacis Griscom
pallens Miller and Griscom
leucogenys leucogenys (Cabanis)
i : gularis (Salvin and Godman)
peruvianus (Hellmayr)
re . chubbi (Chapman)
- leucotis (Tschudi)
coracinus Berlepsch
9) >?
>? >
”? >?
XXIV. Phacornis obscura obscura (Gmelin)
lanaiensis Wilson
rutha Bryan
oahensis Wilson and Evans
myadestina Stejneger
palmeri Rothschild
XXV. Stizorhina fraseri fraseri (Strickland)
” — rubicunda (Hartlaub)
i ” — vulpina Reichenow
i finschii (Sharpe)
XXVI. Neocossyphus rufus gabunensis Neumann
” — arrhenii Lonnberg
rufus (Fischer and Reichenow)
poensis poensis (Strickland)
” praepectoralis Jackson
granti Alexander
> 2?
> ”
XXVIII. Emarginata sinuata (Sundevall)
* schlegelii benguellensis (Sclater)
x * namaquensis (Sclater)
is oe schlegelii (Wahlberg) *
i. 4 polluz (Hartlaub)
XXVIII. Cercomela fusca (Blyth)
% dubia (Blundell and Lovat)*
< melanura melanura (Temminck)
September 18, 1952
The Thrushes 31
Cercomela melanura neumanni nom. nov.°®
>»? >>
> 9
”? >>
”? >?
familiaris
lypura (Hemprich and Ehrenberg)
aussae Thesiger and Meynell*
airensis Hartert
ultima Bates*
scotocerca scotocerca (Heuglin)*
spectatriz S. Clarke
furensis Lynes*
turkana van Someren
enigma Neumann and Zedlitz
sennaarensis (Seebohm)*
omoensis (Neumann)
falkensteini (Cabanis)
angolensis Lynes
gambagae (Hartert)
hellmayri (Reichenow)
galtoni (Strickland)
familiaris (Stephens)
liibberti (Reichenow)
a) sordida sordida (Riippell)*
erlangeri Reichenow*
schoana Neumann
ernesti Sharpe
hypospodia Shelley
olimotiensis Elliott*
XXIX. Saxicola rubetra (Linnaeus)
macrorhyncha (Stolicza)
insignis (Gray)
oh dacotiae dacotiae Meade-Waldo
2? >?
29 ?
murielae Bannerman
torquata theresae Meinertzhagen
hibernans (Hartert)
rubicola (Linnaeus)
maura (Pallas)
desfontainesi Blanchet*
archimedes Clancey*
variegata (Gmelin)
indica (Blyth)?
6 The name erlangeri Neumann and Zedlitz, is preoccupied in the genus
Cercomela.
7I include indica, as I believe the breeding form of the Himalayas
differs from the Palaearctic race, maura. This whole species seems in need
of critical examination and revision, but I have not seen enough material.
32
2?
a? >?
> >>
Postilla Yale Peabody Museum
Sazicola torquata przewalskii (Pleske)
yunnanensis (LaTouche)
stejnegeri (Parrot)
jebelmarrae Lynes
» a avillaris (Shelley)
promiscua Hartert
moptana Bates*
nebularum Bates
adamauae Grote
salax (Verreaux)
sibilla (Linnaeus)
voeltzkowi Grote
¢ tectes (Gmelin)*
delacouri David-Beaulieu*
caprata bicolor Sykes®
burmanica Baker
caprata (Linnaeus)
francki Rensch
cognata Mayr
aethiops (Sclater)
belensis Rand
jerdoni (Blyth)
ferrea Gray
gutturalis gutturalis (Vieillot)
luctuosa Bonaparte*
armenica Stegmann*
ig i leucura (Blyth)
gabrielae Neumann and Paludan
“\ i felix Bates
albofasciata Riippell
pallidigula (Reichenow)
robusta (Tristram)
torquata (Linnaeus)
ankaratrae Salomonsen
nilgiriensis Whistler
af iy atrata (Blyth)
albonotata Stresemann
pyrrhonota (Vieillot)
i? 7 fruticola Horsfield
No. 18
wahgiensis Mayr and Gilliard
8 Stresemann (Ibis, 1952, 94:520), shows that Gmelin’s name must be
used rather than borbonensis Sclater.
9I include rossorum (Hartert) in bicolor, vide Dementiev (Systema
Avium Rossicarum, Paris, 1935, p. 254).
September 18, 1952 The Thrushes 30
XXX. Pentholaea albifrons albifrons (Riippell)
4 pachyrhyncha Neumann
frontalis (Swainson)
limbata Reichenow
clericalis Hartlaub
melaena (Riippell)
9 >
29 9?
XXXI. Thamnolaea cinnamomeiventris cinnamomeiventris
(Lafresnaye)
albiscapulata (Riippell)
subrufipennis Reichenow
bambarae Bayes
cavernicola Bates*
coronata coronata Reichenow
‘ ‘a kordofanensis Wettstein
semirufa (Riippell)
XXXIT. Chaetops frenatus frenatus (Temminck)
As aurantius Layard
DOCK TTT. Myrmecocichla tholloni tholloni (Oustalet)
3 chaboti (Menegaux and
Berlioz)
bifasciata (‘Temminck)
aethiops aethiops Cabanis
‘i by buchanani Rothschild
“s « sudanensis Lynes
cryptoleuca Sharpe
formicivora formicivora (Vieillot)
3 minor Roberts
nigra nigra (Vieillot)
ss ” stoehri Sclater
arnotti leucolaema Finsch and
Reichenow
9? 2?
collaris Reichenow
arnotti (Tristram)
harterti Neunzig
XXXIV. Ocenanthe tractrac tractrac (Wilkes)
* ik albicans (Wahlberg)
isabellina isabellina (‘Temminck)
‘3 ie bottae (Bonaparte)
frenata (Heuglin)
2? 9?
34 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 13
Ocnanthe isabellina heuglini (Finsch and Hartlaub)
”
campicolina (Reichenow)
xanthoprymna xanthoprymna (Hemprich
and Ehrenberg)
chrysopygia (de Filippi)
kingit (Hume)
oenanthe leucorhoa (Gmelin)
‘ nivea (Weigold)
oenanthe (Linnaeus)
virago Meinertzhagen
Ai seebohmi (Dixon)
phillipst (Shelley)
deserti oreophila (Oberholser)
” —— atrogularis (Blyth)
deserti (Temminck)
homochroa (Tristram)
hispanica hispanica (Linnaeus)
4 melanoleuca (Giildenstidt)
finschit finschii (Heuglin)
i barnesi (Oates)
picata (Blyth)
lugens boscaweni Bates
” — lugentoides (Seebohm)
persica (Seebohm)
lugens (Lichtenstein)
” halophila (Tristram)
vaurei Meinertzhagen*
lugubris lugubris (Riippell)
a schalowi (Fischer and Reichenow)
monacha ('Temminck)
alboniger (Hume)
pleseliazing pleschanka (Lepechin)
cypriaca (Homeyer)
leucopyga leucopyga (Brehm)
ernesti Meinertzhagen
leucura leucura (Gmelin)
” —— riggenbachi (Hartert)
syenitica (Heuglin)
monticola monticola Vieillot
iF atmorii (Tristram)
# albipileata (Bocage)
moesta moesta (Lichtenstein)
‘4 theresae Meinertzhagen
2?
>)?
>
2?
?
September 18, 1952 The Thrushes 35
Oenanthe moesta brooksbanki Meinertzhagen
‘ pileata pileata (Gmelin)
‘ i livingstonii (Tristram)
XXXV. Sazicoloides fultcata cambaiensis (Latham)
stuartbakeri Koelz
intermedia Whistler and Kinnear
fulicata Linnaeus’®
leucoptera (Lesson)
XXXVI. Prunella collaris collaris (Scopoli)
ii iN subalpina (Brehm)
sj if montana (Hablizl)
ii ‘; rufilata (Severtzov)
whymperi (Baker)
nipalensis (Blyth)
fe ‘4 tibetana (Bianchi)
ripponi Hartert
kwenlunensis (Buturlin)*
erythropygia (Swinhoe)
himalayana (Blyth)
rubeculoides rubeculoides (Moore)
iy 4 muraria (Meinertzhagen)
strophiata sirotensis Koelz*
2? >?
a i jerdoni (Brooks)
i + strophiata (Blyth)
ij ‘+ multistriata (David)* ?
montanella (Pallas)
fulvescens fulvescens (Severtsov)
i ef dresseri Hartert
dahurica (Taczanowski)*
2? 9?
+) i ocularis (Radde)
if a fagani (Ogilvie-Grant)*
4 atrogularis atrogularis (Brandt)
Si a huttoni (Moore)
koslowi (Przewalski)
10 Stresemann (Jbis, 1952, 94:521), points out that fulicata must be
restricted to Pondichery on the peninsula of India. Ptymatura, restricted
by Whistler (Jour. Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc., 1935, 38:286) to Pondichery
thus becomes again a synonym of fulicata.
11 Rufirenter Swainson 1831, based on “Le traquet 4 queue striée” of
Levaillant (Oiseaux d’Afrique, pl. 188) is hereby restricted to Pondichery
also. This leaves Lesson’s name (1840) for the Ceylon bird.
36 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum
Prunella modularis modularis (Linnaeus )
9
a occidentalis (Hartert)
hibernica Meinertzhagen
lusitanica Stresemann
enigmatica Dunajewski*
orientalis (Sharpe)
. obscura (Hablizl)
rubida (Temminck and Schlegel)
immaculata (Hodgson)
True THRUSHES
XXXVII. Monticola rupestris (Vieillot)
22
explorator explorator (Vieillot)
2?
brevipes brevipes (Waterhouse)
9?
hebrideum Meinertzhagen
tenebriformis Clancey*
No. 13
pretoriae Gunning and Roberts*
rufocinereus rufocinereus (Riippell)
>?
sclateri Hartert
tenuis (Friedmann)
angolensis Sousa
saxatilis (Linnaeus)
gularis cinclorhynchus (Vigors)
” — qularis (Swinhoe)
rufiventris (Jardine and Selby)
solitarius solitarius (Linnaeus)
hy longirostris (Blyth)
scortecciti Moltoni*
behnkei Niethammer*
magnus (LaTouche)
>
2?
ea philippensis (P. L. S. Miiller)
pandoo (Sykes)
madoci Chasen
XXXVIII. Myiophoneus blighi (Holdsworth)
melanurus (Salvadori)
glaucinus castaneus Ramsay
”?
>
borneensis Sclater
robinsoni Ogilvie-Grant
horsfieldii horsfieldii Vigors
glaucinus (Temminck)
September 18, 1952 The Thrushes 37
M gaciphonens horsfieldi insularis Gould
caeruleus turcestanicus Zarudny
fs = teminckii Vigors
eugenei Hume
caeruleus (Scopoli)
crassirostris Robinson
dicrorhynchus Salvadori
v flavirostris (Horsfield)
XXXIX. Geomalia heinrichi heinrichi Stresemann
a yi matinangensis Stresemann
XL. Zoothera schistacea (Meyer)
ii dumasi dumasi (Rothschild)
He ” — joiceyi (Rothschild and Hartert)
interpres interpres (Temminck)
i ‘ leucolaema (Salvadori)
minima (Hachisuka)
erythronota erythronota (Sclater )
ie p dohertyi (Hartert)
ir i mendeni (Neumann)
a wardi (Blyth)
cinerea (Bourns and Worcester)
peroni peronii (Vieillot)
‘a ” — audacis (Hartert)
everetti (Sharpe)
sibirica sibirica (Pallas)
" a davisoni (Hume)
citrina citrina (Latham)
a ” — eyanota (Jardine and Selby)”
melli (Stresemann)
aurimacula (Hartert)
se ” innotata (Blyth)
andamanensis (Walden)
gibson-hilli_ (Deignan)
> >
»” a albogularis (Blyth)
»” 2 rubecula (Gould)
3 ” orientis (Bartels)*
aurata (Sharpe)
piaggiae piaggiae (Bouvier)
12 Comparison of material in New York inclines me not to recognize
the race, amadoni (Biswas), 1951.
Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 13
Zoothera piaggiae hadii (Macdonald) *
kilimensis (Neumann)
rowei (Grant and
Mackworth-Praed)*
y if williamsi (Macdonald) *
oberlanderi (Sassi)
gurney gurneyi (Hartlaub)
otomitra (Reichenow)
usambarae (Neumann)
raineyi (Mearns) *
chuka (van Somern)*
princet princei (Sharpe)
cameronensis (Sharpe)
graueri (Sassi)*
at “a batesi (Sharpe)
crossleyi crossleyi (Sharpe)*
‘4 % pilettei (Schouteden)*
naevia naevia (Gmelin)
ih ” — meruloides (Swainson)
pinicola (Sclater)
spiloptera (Blyth)
ws talaseae (Rothschild and Hartert)
margaretae (Mayr)
andromedae (‘Temminck)
mollissima whiteheadi (Baker)
is i simlaensis (Baker)
griseiceps (Delacour)
mollissima (Blyth)
‘3 dizoni (Seebohm)
dauma imbricata Layard
x ” — neilgherriensis (Blyth)
dauma (Latham)
miharagokko (Momiyama)*
toratugami (Momiyama)*
aurea (Holandre)
major (Ogawa)
horsfieldi (Bonaparte)
choiseuli (Hartert)
eichhorni (Rothschild and Hartert)
papuensis (Seebohm)
% ” — machiki (Forbes)
ii ” — -heinet (Cabanis)
lunulata (Latham)
2? 2?
>? a?
> >
a> 2?
September 18, 1952 The Thrushes 39
XLI.
XLII.
RIT:
XLIV.
XLV.
Zoothera dauma halmaturina (Campbell)
2?
macrorhyncha (Gould)
monticola monticola Vigors
a 7 atrata Delacour and Greenway*
marginata marginata Blyth
cH 7 parva Delacour
i terrestris (Kittlitz)*
Amalocichla sclateriana sclateriana De Vis
a a occidentalis Rand
incerta incerta (Salvadori)
= a olivascentior Hartert
. = brevicauda (De Vis)
Cataponera turdoides turdoides Hartert
a ne tenebrosa Stresemann
f i abditiva Riley
x m heinrichi Stresemann
Nesocichla eremita eremita Gould
‘ i gordoni Stenhouse*
Cichlherminia Vherminierit Vherminieri (Lafresnaye)*
ra a lawrencit Cory
dominicensis (Lawrence)
sanctae-luciae (Sclater)
22 2”?
2? >>
Catharus gracilirostris gracilirostris Salvin
¥ fg accentor Bangs
griseiceps russatus Griscom
a ‘ griseiceps Salvin
phaeopleurus Sclater and Salvin
aurantiirostris clarus Jouy
of is melpomene (Cabanis)
bangsi Dickey and van Rossem
costaricensis Hellmayr
aurantiirostris (Hartlaub)
ci * birchalli Seebohm
insignis Zimmer
fuscater hellmayri Berlepsch
% . sanctae-martae Ridgway
fuscater (Lafresnaye)
caniceps Chapman
>)
3? ?
bed 29
> 2?
40 Postilla Yale Peabody Musewm No. 13
Catharus fuscater mentalis Sclater and Salvin
occidentalis olivascens Nelson
>
>
fulvescens Nelson
occidentalis Sclater
alticola Salvin and Godman
frantzii Cabanis
>?
2?
2?
dryas dryas (Gould)
maculatus (Sclater)
mexicanus (Bonaparte)
cantator Griscom
fumosus Ridgway
fuscescens fuscescens (Stephens)
>
salicicolus (Ridgway)
fuliginosus (Howe)*
22>
minimus minimus (Lafresnaye)
Fi bicknelli (Ridgway)
ustulatus ustulatus (Nuttall)
2?
swainsoni (Tschudi)
5 almae (Oberholser)
" oedicus (Oberholser) *
guttatus guttatus (Pallas)
2?
nanus (Audubon)
4 slevint (Grinnell)
sequoiensis (Belding)
polionotus (Grinnell)
4 auduboni (Baird)
favoni (Bangs and Penard)
crymophilus (Burleigh and Peters)
mustelinus (Gmelin)
XLVI. Turdus bewsheri bewsheri Newton
”?
3?
comorensis Milne-Edwards and
Oustalet
olivaceofuscus olivaceofuscus Hartlaub
>?
xanthorhynchus Salvadori
nigrilorum nigrilorum Reichenow
>?
poensis Alexander
olivaceus chiguancoides Seebohm
2?
saturatus (Cabanis)
adamauae Grote*
bocagei (Cabanis)
centralis Reichenow
pelios Bonaparte
September 18, 1952 The Thrushes 41
Turdus olivaceus stormsi Hartlaub
* si williami White
graueri Neumann
swynnertoni Bannerman
smithi Bonaparte*
transvaalensis (Roberts) *
olivaceus Linnaeus
abyssinicus abyssinicus Gmelin’
‘i i baraka (Sharpe)
oldearni Sclater and Moreau*
bambusicola Neumann
polius Mearns*
elgonensis (Sharpe)
deckeni Cabanis
uluguru Hartert
roehli Reichenow
¢ 4 helleri (Mearns)*
nyikae Reichenow*
milanjensis Shelley
libonyanus verreauxi Bocage
if ‘e tephrinus Oberholser™*
tropicalis Peters
niassae Rensch*
costae Rensch*
tephronotus tephronotus Cabanis
iy ‘ australoabyssinicus Benson*
menachensis Ogilvie-Grant
e ludoviciae (Phillips)
litsipsirups simensis (Riippell)
is litsipsirupa (Smith)
késteri Neumann*
stierlingi (Reichenow)
fischeri natalicus Grote
<4 ‘ fischeri Hellmayr*
. i belcheri Benson*
s dissimilis Blyth
hortulorum Sclater
unicolor Tickell
cardis Temminck
J} >
2? ”?
13 I am much indebted to Dr. Chapin for suggestions on the arrangement
of this and the following species.
14 Replaces cinerascens Reichenow, a name which is preoccupied in
the genus Turdus.
Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 13
Turdus albocinctus Royle
BS torquatus torquatus Linnaeus
ss i alpestris (Brehm)
amicorum Hartert
‘ boulboul (Latham)
merula ticehursti Clancey
ij ” merula Linnaeus
cabrerae Hartert
azorensis Hartert
agnetae Volse*
mauritanicus Hartert
algirus (Madarasz)
aterrimus (Madarasz)
insularum Niethammer*
syriacus Hemprich and Ehrenberg
maximus (Seebohm)
intermedius (Richmond)
mandarinus Bonaparte
sowerbyi Deignan
nigropileus (Lafresnaye)
spencet Whistler and Kinnear
simillimus Jerdon
7 cs bourdillont (Seebohm)
‘ i kinnisti (Blyth)
poliocephalus erythropleurus Sharpe
i if indrapurae Robinson and Kloss
léseri de Schauensee
javanicus Horsfield
biesenbachi Stresemann*
x ‘i fumidus S. Miller
i r whiteheadi (Seebohm)
seebohmi (Sharpe)
albiceps Swinhoe
thomassoni (Seebohm)
mayonensis (Mearns)*
mindorensis Ogilvie-Grant
nigrorum Ogilvie-Grant
2? >
i" s kelleri (Mearns)
au 4 malindangensis (Mearns)*
A i celebensis (Biittikofer)
hygroscopus Stresemann
sterlingi Mayr
schlegeli Sclater
September 18, 1952 The Thrushes 43
Turdus poliocephalus deningeri Stresemann
versteegi Junge
keyssert Mayr
aN # erebus Mayr and Gilliard
papuensis (De Vis)
canescens (De Vis)*
heinrothi Rothschild and Hartert
renellianus Mayr
bougainvillei Mayr
kulambangrae Mayr
‘e a vinitinctus (Gould)
poliocephalus Latham
xzanthopus Forster
pritzbueri Layard
albifrons (Ramsay)
efatensis Mayr
if ‘A becki Mayr
malekulae Mayr
whitneyi Mayr
placens Mayr
vanikorensis Quoy and Gaimard
ruficeps (Ramsay)
i M layardi (Seebohm)
- m tempesti Layard
xi “ hades Mayr
vitiensis Layard
samoensis Tristram
chrysolaus orii Yamashina
i“ % chrysolaus Temminck
celaenops celaenops Stejneger
Me # yakushimensis (Ogawa)*
niveiceps (Hellmayr)*
rubrocanus rubrocanus Hodgson
‘ x gouldi (Verreaux)
kessleri Przewalski
‘i feai (Salvadori)*
pallidus Gmelin
obscurus Gmelin
ruficollis atrogularis Jarocki
* ie ruficollis Pallas
naumanni naumanni Temminck
i of, eunomus Temminck
pilaris Linnaeus
4A Postilla Yale Peabody Musewm
Turdus musicus coburni Sharpe
>
15 Mayr (Ibis,
a?
musicus Linnaeus?®
ericetorum hebridensis Clarke
2?
VISCLUOTUS
>”
catherinae Clancey*
ericetorum Turton
philomelos Brehm
nataliae Buturlin*
viscivorus Linnaeus
reiseri Schiebel
deichleri Erlanger
theresae Meinertzhagen*
bithynicus Keve-Kleiner*
transcaspius Zarudny*
bonapartei Cabanis
mupipennis mupipennis Laubmann
2?
conquisitus Bangs*
swalesi (Wetmore)
aurantius Gmelin
ravidus (Cory)
plumbeus rubripes Temminck
coryi (Sharpe)
schistaceus (Baird)
plumbeus Linnaeus
ardosiaceus Vieillot
verrillorum (Allen)
(ee ae flavipes Vieillot
venezuelensis (Sharpe)
polionotus (Sharpe)
melanopleurus (Sharpe)
zanthoscelus Jardine
leucops Taczanowski
No. 18
chiguanco chiguanco Lafresnaye and d’Orbigny
>
anthracinus Burmeister
nigrescens Cabanis
fuscater cacozelus (Bangs)
>
”?
gigas Fraser
quindio Chapman
1952, 94:532-534) suggests using musicus for the song
thrush and iliacus for the redwing, on the basis of a reéxamination of
Linnaeus’ Editions of the “Systema” and “Fauna Svecica,” a suggestion
with which I am heartily in accord. Perhaps this question can be finally
voted on and an opinion rendered by the International Commission on
Zoological Nomenclature.
September 18, 1952 The Thrushes 45
Turdus fuscater gigantodes Cabanis
>?
»”?
>
ockendeni Hellmayr
fuscater Lafresnaye and d’Orbigny
serranus infuscatus (Lafresnaye)
4 cumanensis (Hellmayr)
atro-sericeus (Lafresnaye)
serranus Tschudi
nigriceps nigriceps Cabanis
% subalaris (Seebohm)
reevet Lawrence
olivater olivater (Lafresnaye)
” — caucae (Chapman)
sanctae-martae (Todd)
ptaritepui Phelps*
paraquensis Phelps*
duidae Chapman
roraimae Salvin and Godman
maranonicus Taczanowski
fulviventris Sclater
falcklandu falcklandii Quoy and Gaimard
‘i magellanicus King
rufiventris juensis (Cory)
if rufiventris Vieillot
leucomelas albiventer Spix
1 leucomelas Vieillot
cautor Wetmore
amaurochalinus Cabanis
ignobilis differens (Nelson)
plebejus Cabanis
ignobilis Sclater
goodfellowi Hartert and Hellmayr
5 debilis Hellmayr
murinus Salvin
ts arthuri (Chubb)
lawrencii Coues
fumigatus bondi Deignan
personus (Barbour)
aquilonalis (Cherrie)
fumigatus Lichtenstein
haurwelli Lawrence
colombianus Hartert and Hellmayr
parambanus Hartert
obsoletus Lawrence
>>
229
2?
>?
Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 13
Turdus haplochrous Todd
f. nudigenis umbrinus Griscom
i grayi Bonaparte
tamaulipensis (Nelson)
casius (Bonaparte)
incomptus (Bangs)
nudigenis Lafresnaye
‘3 ti extimus Todd
maculirostris Berlepsch and
Taczanowski
jamaicensis Gmelin
albicollis assimilis Cabanis
uf "i renominatus Miller and Griscom
rubicundus (Dearborn)
leucauchen Sclater
parcolor Austin*
atrotinctus Miller and Griscom
oblitus Miller and Griscom
cnephosus (Bangs)
coibensis Eisenmann*
daguae Berlepsch
paraguayensis (Chubb)
a ‘ albicollis Vieillot
crotopezus Lichtenstein
contemptus Hellmayr
spodiolaemus Berlepsch and
Stolzmann
« 4 berlepschi Todd
phaeopygus Cabanis
phaeopygoides Seebohm
minusculus (Bangs)
rufo- palliatus rufo-palliatus (Lafresnaye)
graysoni (Ridgway)
rufitorques Hartlaub
migratorius migratorius Linnaeus
¥ nigrideus Aldrich and Nutt
achrusterus (Batchelder)
caurinus (Grinnell)
propinquus (Ridgway)
phillipsi Bangs
confinis Baird
September 18, 1952 The Thrushes AT
LirerATURE CITED
Baker, E. C. Stuart, 1924. The fauna of British India; Birds. 2d ed., 2:187.
, 1930. Ibid., 7:100.
Bannerman, D. and Priestley, J., 1952. An ornithological journey in
Morocco in 1951. Ibis, 94:427.
Bond, James, 1940. Check-list of birds of the West Indies. Acad. Nat. Sci.,
Phila., p. 108.
Cabanis, J. L., 1847. Ornithologische Notizen. Arch. f. naturges., 13:186-256,
308-352.
Chapin, J. P., 1948. The systematic position of Xenocopsychus ansorgei.
Auk, 65:292.
deBalsac, H. and Mayaud, N., 1951. Sur la Morphologie, la Biologie et la
Systematique de Cercotrichas podobe (P. S. L. Miiller). Alauda,
19:137-151.
Delacour, J., 1942. The whistling thrushes (genus Myiophoneus). Auk,
59 :246-264.
, 1946. Les Timaliinés. L’Oiseau et la Revue Francaise
d@ Ornithologie, 16:13.
Delacour, J., 1946. Notes on the taxonomy of the birds of Malaysia.
Zoologica, pt. 1, 31:3.
, 1951. Commentaires, Modifications et Additions a le Liste
des Oiseaux de l’Indochine Francaise, (II). L’Oiseau et la Revue
Francaise d’Ornithologie, 21:30.
and Mayr, E., 1945. Notes on the taxonomy of the birds of
the Philippines. Zoologica, pt. 3, 30:112.
Dorst, Jean, 1950. Considerations Systematiques sur les Grives du Genre
Turdus. L’Oiseau et la Revue Francaise d’Ornithologie, 20:212-248.
Hartert, E., 1902. Novitates Zoologicae. 9:325.
, 1910. Die Vogel der Palirktischen Fauna. Berlin, Heft. 5, 6,
pp. 640-761.
Lack, David, 1946. The life of the robin. London, pp. 144-147.
Lowe, P. R., 1923. Notes on some land birds of the Tristan da Cunha
group collected by the “Quest” Expedition. Ibis, 11th ser., 5:523-529.
and Amadon, D., 1951. A classification of recent birds. Amer.
Mus. Nov., no. 1496, 42 pp.
Meinterzhagen, R., 1951. Some relationships between African, Oriental,
and Palaearctic genera and species with a review of the genus
Monticola. Ibis, 93:451.
Newton, Alfred, 1893. A dictionary of birds. London, I:72.
Oliver, W. R. B., 1945. Avian evolution in New Zealand and Australia.
Emu, 45:148.
48 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 13
Parker, W. K., 1872. On the structure and development of the crow’s
skull. Monthly Microscopical Jour., pp. 217-226, 253.
, 1873. On the development of the skull in the genus Turdus.
Monthly Microscopical Jour., pp. 102-107.
Pycraft, W. P., 1905. Ibis, 8th ser., 5:1-24.
Ridgway, R., 1907. The birds of North and Middle America. Bull. U. S.
Nat. Mus., Wash., pt. 4, 50:1-179, 885.
Ripley, S. Dillon, 1952. A new genus of thrush from eastern Africa.
Postilla, Apr. 12, no. 12, 2 pp.
Sclater, W. L., 1930. Systema Avium Aethiopicarum. 11:446.
Seebohm, H., 1881. Catalogue of the birds of the British Museum.
5:640-761.
and Sharpe, R. B., 1898-1902. A monograph of the Turdidae.
London, 2 vols.
Sharpe, R. B., 1879. Catalogue of the Passeriformes or perching birds in
the collection of the British Museum. London, 4:2.
, 1881. Catalogue of the birds in the British Museum. London,
6:368.
» 1903. A hand-list of the genera and species of birds.
London, 4:111-184.
Stejneger, L., 1905. The birds of the genus Cineclus and their geographical
distribution. Smith. Misc. Coll., 47:421-430.
Vaurie, Charles, 1949. Notes on the bird genus Oenanthe in Persia, Afghan-
istan, and India. Amer. Mus. Nov., no. 1425.
,» 1950. Variation in Oenanthe lugubris. Ibis, 92:540-544.
Whitaker, J. I. S., 1905. The birds of Tunisia. London, pp. 61-64.
Whitherby, H. F., Jourdain, F. C. R., Ticehurst, N. F., and Tucker, B. W.,
1938. The Handbook of British Birds. 2:1.
Wolters, H. E., 1950. Akad. Verlag. Gust. and Portig. K.-G. Leipzig.
p- 1130.
pe iilla
YALE PEABODY MUSEUM
oF Naturat History
Number 14 December 15, 1952 New Haven, Conn.
A NEW RACE OF BLACK-THROATED BABBLER _
FROM ASSAM MUS. COMP. (GUL. |
LIBRARY
S. Ditton RiP.ey AR 24 1953
RAAVARD
{| UNIVER SHY
The Mishmi Hills in northeastern Assam, India, were so
violently devastated by the great earthquake of August 1950
that whole hillsides for miles along the narrow steep valleys
have been denuded of soil and vegetation. Centuries will be
needed in some areas to restore even an approximate habitat
for the fauna. That this fauna is in many respects unique
was abundantly shown by the Smithsonian-Yale Expedition of
1946-1947, the results of which were discussed in “The Birds
of the Mishmi Hills” by Mr. Salim Ali and myself (Jour.
Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 48(1) :1-37, 1948). It is a sad fact
that the fate of many of these little known bird and animal
species will probably remain unknown for an indefinite period
of time to come.
Meanwhile, reéxamination of specimens of the Black-throated
Babbler from the Mishmi Hills, at the suggestion of Mr. H. G.
Deignan, prompts the recognition of another population of
this species as follows:
Stachyris nigriceps coei, subsp. nov.
Type: é ad. (Y.P.M., No. 9585), collected January 4,
1947, by S. Dillon Ripley at Dreyi, Mishmi Hills, northeastern
Assam, India.
Diagnosis: from typical nigriceps of Nepal and the Hima-
layas ranging east into northern Assam this form differs by
generally darker tone of plumage, and by having a blackish
unstreaked throat and very slightly darker ear coverts.
From spadix of Cachar and the Khasia Hills this popula-
tion differs by being notably darker with a more blackish
throat and dark, really seal-brown, ear coverts. Compared
with coltarti, the subspecies found in Margherita, the Naga
Hills, and north Burma, coei differs by having dark brown
rather than rufous-brown ear coverts, and by being a purer,
less rufescent brown below.
Range: Mishmi Hills, northeastern Assam, India.
Remarks: in describing the subspecies, spadiz (Bull. British
Ornith. Club, 68 :89-90, 1948), I left the Mishmi Hills popula-
tion unnamed as an intermediate. Recent collections in the
Naga Hills in 1950 of coltarti demonstrated anew the fal-
lacy of this course and the necessity for recognizing this
population.
It gives me great pleasure, therefore, to name this new
subspecies for Yale’s notable benefactor and collector of
ornithologica, William Robertson Coe.
MUS. COMP. ZOOL.
LIBRARY
a) | FEB 3 1954
ost A | papeaan
YALE PEABODY MUSEUM
oF NatTuraL History
Number 15 May 12, 1953 New Haven, Conn.
TYPOTHORAX. SCUTES FROM GERMANY
JosEPH T. GREGORY
Among a small lot of Triassic fossils from Wiirttemberg
presented to Professor O, C. Marsh by Dr. Eberhard Fraas
is a lateral dorsal armor plate of a pseudosuchian, Yale
Peabody Museum no. 3694, which bears a small pyramidal
spine. Similar plates were figured by H. von Meyer (1861,
p. 341-342, pl. 43, figs. 4-7) and attributed to “Belodon.”
These plates so closely resemble the corresponding portions
of the armor of T'ypothorax meadei Sawin from the Dockum
formation of Texas that familial or even generic affinity is
suspected. Inasmuch as no horned pseudosuchian has hitherto
been recognized from Europe, they deserve particular notice.
Description: The spine was directed outward and _ back-
ward, but rose little or not at all above the level of the reptile’s
back, which suggests a thoracic position. The dorsal surface of
the plate is slightly convex, triangular in outline as preserved.
The medial portion is broken off so that its full width and
precise shape cannot be determined. Traces of the smooth,
narrow, anterior border which was overlapped by the plate
ahead of it are present; the remainder of the dorsal surface
is covered by a weak sculpture of ridges and grooves radiating
from a pitted area above the junction of the lateral and dorsal
portions of the plate, which might be termed the base of the
spine (fig. 1).
2 Postilla Yale Peabody Musewm
DeEscrIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Left lateral thoracic dermal scute of pseudosuchian allied to Typothoraz,
Y.P.M. no. 3694. From Keuper formation near Stuttgart, Wiirttemberg,
Germany. All figures X 1.
Figure 1. Dorsal surface
Figure 2. Anterolateral surface
The anterior and posterior edges of the spine are acutely
angulate (fig. 3). An angular ridge also runs inward on the
lower side of the spine for less than a centimeter from the
apex and then disappears into the rounded surface which
joins the anterior and posterior faces of the spine and merges
with the lateral face of the plate.
Typothorax scutes from Germany 3
FEB 3 1954
Figure 3. Posterolateral view
Figure 4. Internal surface
The lateral portion of the plate is very short antero-
posteriorly but projects down conspicuously from the nearly
flat dorsal portion, almost at right angles to the latter, below
the base of the spine. Its medial surface (fig. 4) consists of
an anterior inwardly directed narrow band which abruptly
turns upward to merge with the posterior face of the spine.
A shallow depression lies medial to the base of the spine at
the posterior internal junction of the lateral and dorsal parts
of the plate. The dorsal section is flat internally. |
4 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum
Along the anterior face of the bone (fig. 2) a slight ridge
branches from the angle between anterior and dorsal surfaces
and roughly divides the face into equal parts, a lower with
radiate sculpture and an upper “spine” area with weaker orna-
ment of pits. The posterior face of the spine has a weak con-
cavity leading to the internal surface at the angle between
lateral and dorsal sections of the plate.
Measurements:
Length, normal to posterior margin ......... 60 mm.
Length, anterolateral corner to tip spine .... 82 mm.
Height, dorsal surface to tip lateral process .. 46 mm.
Comparisons: The plates from Germany appear to differ
from those of T'ypothorax meadei Sawin in the somewhat
shorter spine which does not curve backward so markedly at
its tip as do those of the lateral dorsal plates of that species.
Also it lacks any indication of the faint dorsal ridge from the
tip of the spine, which occurs on the Texas specimen. It differs
from the lateral plates of Desmatosuchus in its smaller size,
the broader base to the spine which is indistinguishable from
above from the whole dorsal surface of the plate, and in the
fine radial sculpture rather than coarse irregular pitting on
the dorsal surface. These features are essentially those which
distinguish T'ypothorax from Desmatosuchus.
It would appear to differ from Stegomus as Typothorar
does, in the much greater development of the laterodorsal spine
and in the reduced size of the lateral portion of the plate. From
Stagonolepis it apparently differs in the development of a
strong spine and in the more acute angle between dorsal and
lateral faces. This is somewhat uncertain, for although the
limited assemblage of plates figured by Huxley did not include
any like the lateral dorsals of Typothoraa, it is not impossible
that such existed. The mid-dorsal plates of the two genera are
quite similar. T'ypothorax differs from Stagonolepis in its
ventral armor, which consisted of separate small quadrangular
plates (Sawin, 1947, p. 232) instead of the articulating scutes
of the latter genus (Huxley, 1877, p. 10-11).
Typothorax scutes from Germany 5
Dermal “skin plate” armor was first associated with phy-
tosaurs by H. von Meyer in 1861. At that time he figured a
large number of the trapezoidal, longitudinally ridged plates
which have since come to be known as mystriosuchid, and also
a few elongate-rectangular plates bearing knob-like eminences
and showing a coarser sculpture. On the same plate with these
long plates (von Meyer, 1861, pl. 43) he illustrated a lateral
dorsal plate extremely similar to the one described above. All
of these specimens were referred to “Belodon’”’ (ibid, p. 337-
342), but it is clear that there was no association with the phy-
tosaur skeletons; they merely were found in the Stubensand-
stein which also produced the phytosaurs. E. Fraas (1896,
p- 16) definitely described the elongate median dorsal plates
and attributed them to Phytosaurus kapffi. Von Huene (1911,
p- 103) affirmed the association of this type of plate with
Phytosaurus kapffi, and contrasted them with the mystrio-
suchid plates.
In North America this quadrangular type of plate has been
found principally associated with pseudosuchians; Desmato-
suchus and T'ypothoraz have such plates as the median elements
of their dorsal armor; they are found with a pseudosuchian
type pelvis and vertebrae in University of Michigan Museum
of Paleontology no. 13950, described as a “phytosaur” by
Case (1932) at a time when that term was also applied to
Desmatosuchus-like forms. Occasionally such plates have been
found near phytosaur skulls (Camp, 1930, p. 89, and a plate,
Y.P.M. no. 3695, found near a Machaeroprosopus gregori
skull at San Jon, New Mexico), but never demonstrably in
association with them. Camp has expressed his skepticism over
the association of this type of plate with Phytosaurus kapffi,
and the presence of these unmistakably pseudosuchian lateral
armor plates in the Wiirttemberg Triassic strongly suggests
that the specimens figured by von Meyer actually belonged
to Typothoraz or a closely related genus which has otherwise
escaped detection in the German deposits.
Without more material it is impossible to decide whether
the plates from the German Keuper represent Stagonolepis,
Typothoraz, or another as yet unknown genus of pseudosuch-
6 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum
ian. Consequently to propose a name for this almost unknown
form at this time would be most improper. However, the exist-
ence of such a creature seems well established; its presence
serves to strengthen the faunal similarity between the late
Triassic faunas of Europe and North America.
BrsLioGRAPHY
Camp, C. L., 1930. A study of the phytosaurs with descriptions of new
material from Western North America. Univ. Calif. Mem., vol. 10,
174 p., figs. 1-49, pls. 1-6.
Case, E. C., 1932. A perfectly preserved segment of the armor of a
phytosaur with associated vertebrae. Univ. Michigan, Contrib. Mus.
Paleontology, vol. 4, no. 2, p. 57-80, 6 figs., 8 pls.
Fraas, E., 1896. Die Schwabischen Trias-Saurier nach dem Material der
Kgl. Naturalien-Sammlung in Stuttgart zusammengestellt. Festgabe
des K6niglichen Naturalien-Cabinets in Stuttgart zur 42. Versammlung
der Deutschen geologischen Gesellschaft in Stuttgart, p. 1-18, pls. 1-6.
Huene, F. von, 1911. Beitrige zur Kenntnis und Beurteilung der Para-
suchier. Geologische und Palaeontologische Abhandlungen. n.f. Bd. 10,
p- 67-121, pls. 12-19.
Huxley, T. H., 1877. The crocodilian remains found in the Elgin sand-
stones, with remarks on the ichnites of Cummingstone. Memoirs of
the Geological Survey of the United Kingdom, Mon. III, p. 4-58,
(quarto), pls. 1-16.
Meyer, H. von, 1861. Reptilien aus dem Stubensandstein des oberen
Keupers. Palaeontographica, Bd. 7, (1859-1861), p. 253-346, pls. 28-47.
Sawin, H. J., 1947. The pseudosuchian reptile Typothorax meadei. Jour.
Paleontology, vol. 21, p. 201-238, figs. 1-13, pl. 34.
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YALE PEABODY MUSEUM = =—————
oF NaturaL History
Number 16 June 3, 1953 New Haven, Conn.
TYPOTHORAX AND DESMATOSUCHUS
JosePH T. GREGORY
Much uncertainty has been expressed by students of North
American Triassic reptiles over the relationships and possible
synonymy of the pseudosuchian genera T'ypothorax Cope
(1875R), Episcoposaurus Cope (1887A), and Desmatosuchus
Case (1920B). Still another genus belonging to this group,
Acompsosaurus Mehl (1915), has been described, but its rela-
tionships to the better known forms have never been adequately
determined. In the course of preparing faunal lists of the Dock-
um formation it was necessary to face the problem of nomencla-
ture of these reptiles; the inadequacy of some of the early de-
scriptions led me to examine Cope’s types (one of which had
never been illustrated), and to compare these with the more com-
plete specimens described by Case (1922B) and Sawin (1947).
From this study it is evident that the type of Episcoposaurus
haplocerus Cope is a specimen of the large, horned genus well
known as Desmatosuchus Case and quite unlike EF. horridus
Cope, the type of Episcoposaurus. Desmatosuchus, the type
species of which becomes D. haplocerus (Cope), is a valid genus
quite distinct from T'ypothorax Cope, which is best known from
the Texas species 7’. meadet Sawin. Cope’s original type of
Episcoposaurus horridus is hopelessly mixed with bones of other
individuals, some of which were referred by him, and later by
von Huene (1915A), to T'ypothorax, and which include char-
2 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 16
acteristic dorsal armor of that genus. Although it is not
demonstrable from the type material, the similar proportions
and size of the limb bones originally described as Episcoposaurus
horridus by Cope to those of T'ypothorax meadei Sawin, and
the intimate association of these bones with larger armor
plates of T'ypothoraaz, strongly suggests that E. horridus Cope
actually is a synonym of T'. coccinarum Cope. The pelvis and
associated fragments of Acompsosaurus wingatensis Mehl are
clearly pseudosuchian but are not diagnostic portions for
generic identification within this Family. There is some sug-
gestion that they may belong to T'ypothoraa.
Discussions of this problem with Professors C. L. Camp and
E. C. Case have stimulated this attempt to solve a persistent
taxonomic puzzle. It is a great pleasure to record the assist-
ance rendered by many colleagues in the course of this study.
Repeated opportunities to examine Cope’s types and other col-
lections from the region of Gallina, New Mexico, at the Ameri-
can Museum of Natural History have been given me by Dr.
Edwin H. Colbert, with whom I have profitably discussed many
aspects of this problem. Dr. Horace G. Richards of the Acade-
my of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia graciously permitted
me to study the type of Episcoposaurus haplocerus and to bor-
row portions of that specimen for illustration. Through the
kindness of Dr. E. C. Case of the University of Michigan, I have
been able to study the type of Desmatosuchus spurensis closely
and to benefit from his long experience collecting in the Triassic
of western Texas. Professor A. S. Romer has permitted me
to examine an undescribed skeleton of T'ypothorar in the
Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard. The illustrations
were prepared with great care by Miss Shirley Glaser.
Bibliographic citations correspond to those used in O. P.
Hay’s “Catalogue and Bibliography of Fossil Vertebrates of
North America.” Museum locations of specimens are abbreviated
as follows:
A.M.N.H. American Museum of Natural History, New
York City, New York
A.N.S.P. Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania
June 38,1953 T'ypothoraxr and Desmatosuchus 3
M.C.Z. Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard
University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
[Gish University of Michigan, Museum of Paleon-
tology, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Y.P.M: Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale
University, New Haven, Connecticut
Taxonomic History
During the summer of 1874, E. D. Cope accompanied one
of the parties of Lt. G. M. Wheeler’s Geographical Survey
west of the 100th Meridian in northwestern New Mexico (Cope
1875U).' In the region of Gallina, New Mexico, he collected a
few scraps of reptilian bones which he described (Cope 1875R)
as T'ypothorax coccinarum Cope. Largely on the basis of these
he correctly determined the age of the strata as Triassic. Cope’s
original description of T’ypothorax mentions in order: a frag-
ment of a jaw which he recognized as phytosaurian; dermal
scutes; part of vertebral centrum; and the head of a femur.
A phytosaur tooth also was associated. A second specimen in-
cluding part of the top of a skull, pitted dermal bone like the
type, and a single keeled scute was doubtfully referred to the
species (Cope 1875R, p. 266).
David Baldwin collected new material from the Gallina Creek
locality in 1881 which formed the basis for a more detailed
discussion of T'ypothoraa and the description of E piscoposaurus
horridus by Cope several years later (1887A). Typothorax was
diagnosed on the basis of dermal plates, ribs, and femur; the
jaw fragment was excluded from the type, which Cope restricted
to the dermal scutes with regular round pitting, figures 4, 5,
and 9 of plate 22, Cope 1877K. This emendation of the type
appears perfectly valid, for the restricted type is more homo-
geneous than the original, yet is strictly part of it. Skin plates
of large size attached to each other by matrix (Cope believed
1An illuminating account of this trip is given by G. G. Simpson in,
“Hayden, Cope, and the Eocene of New Mexico.” Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila.,
Proc., 103, p. 1-21, 1951. ene
‘FEB 3 1954
HARVARD.
4 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 16
them fused to ribs) and a complete femur of small size from
the 1881 collection were referred to T'ypothorax; but smaller,
keeled dermal plates, a large and massive femur, bones of the
forelimb, and some vertebrae were made the type of Episcopo-
saurus horridus. These specimens (A.M.N.H., nos. 2710-2713)
are intimately mixed, partly still in matrix, the two types of
dermal plates occurring together but not in original position.
There is no evidence as to which limb bones are associated with
each type of armor; if size is regarded as a criterion, the large
femur of Episcoposaurus should belong with the T'ypothorax
armor, and the smaller femur would be associated with the
keeled plates. It is more than likely, however, that the two
types of skin plates came from different parts of the same
animal, and that the larger hind limb bones are associated with
them. The small femora which Cope and von Huene regarded
as T'ypothorax may well belong to one of the small phytosaurs
which occur in the deposit, or else are those of somewhat
smaller individuals of T'ypothorax. The size difference is easily
accounted for on the basis of growth, the greater curvature of
the shaft and twisting of the ends are harder to evaluate, for
in these Triassic clays bones are frequently deformed in vari-
ous ways. I do not regard the differences as proof of original
diversity in form. Limb bones of M.C.Z., no. 1488, from the
Ghost Ranch above Abiquiu in northwestern New Mexico are
intermediate in size and similar to the “J'ypothorax” material
in form. Alternatively, the large femur may be incorrectly as-
sociated, though this seems unlikely in view of Sawin’s
discoveries.
Von Huene redescribed and figured the material in the
American Museum in 1915 (Baldwin’s collection of 1881).
He pointed out the difficulty of determining the association of
bones and also of determining which specimens were in fact
the types. By error he regarded the specimens which formed
the basis of Cope’s 1887 redescription of T'ypothorawx as the
type of that species, and included with it fragments of tibia,
metatarsals, and scapula which Cope (1887A, p. 210) had re-
garded as of uncertain reference. Although realizing the un-
certainty of association of the various dermal plates and other
bones, von Huene attributed to T'ypothoraxr a number of small
June 38,1953 Typothoraxr and Desmatosuchus 5
scutes bearing conical central eminences (1915A, figs. 7-10)
in addition to the flat, shallowly pitted plates. Some of these
he regarded as caudal, others as lateral to the costals. (Com-
parison with the articulated armor of M.C.Z., no. 1488
and T'ypothorax meadei Sawin shows that they are from proxi-
mal and medial parts of the tail.) These plates are sculptured
with ridges and grooves radiating outward from the central
boss exactly like those which von Huene and Cope attributed
to Episcoposaurus (cf. von Huene 1915A, fig. 24).
Von Huene rejected the association of fore and hind limbs
of Episcoposaurus on the grounds that the bones were too dis-
proportionate in size; he restricted the type of E. horridus to
the large femur and referred the small forelimb bones to a
mystriosuchid phytosaur, possibly ““Belodon”’ scolopax Cope.
However, the femur of 7’. meade is much longer and stouter
than that referred to T. coccinarum. If Sawin’s figures 7 A and
B are compared with von Huene’s figures 1 (Typothorax coc-
cmarum) and 12 (Episcoposaurus horridus) it will be seen that
the femur of the Texas pseudosuchian is far less curved than
that attributed to Typothorar and much more like that of
Episcoposaurus. Moreover the dimensions of the bones agree
better with the latter genus.
Measurements in millimeters of limb bones
Typothorax Typothorax Episcoposaurus Typothorax
coccinarum sp.? horridus meadei
(AMNH 2710) (M.C.Z. 1488) (AMNH 2713) (Texas 31185-84)
Length femur 22 25.8 31.5 (est.) 33
lacks condyle
Length humerus Ry 17.5 22 21
Length radius ae ae ne 14
Length ulna Be 13.0 16.1 18
6 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 16
The humerus and ulna of 7’. meadei are quite similar to those
belonging to the type collection of Episcoposaurus horridus
which von Huene (1915A, p. 493, 499, figs. 25-27) rejected
as too small to belong with the femur of that animal. Their
proportions suggest that Cope may have been correct in his
reference of the small forelimb and large femur to the same
animal (Episcoposaurus horridus).
But the probable association of the Episcoposaurus femur
(lectotype of E. horridus) with unmistakable armor of Typo-
thorax, and the further likelihood that the supposed distinctive
armor of Episcoposaurus is merely that of the tail rather
than thorax or abdomen, and finally the intimate association of
the type specimen of Episcoposaurus horridus with bones refer-
red by Cope as well as subsequent students to T'ypothoraz coc-
cinarum, all suggest that only one species is present. If this
be so (it is probably incapable of absolute proof), Episcopo-
saurus is a synonym of T'ypothorar having been established
upon remains of the same species.
Smaller femora referred by von Huene to T'ypothoraz coc-
cinarum probably belong to younger individuals of that species,
but in no case have any crucial bearing on the taxonomic
problem as they are not primary types.
W. F. Cummins of the Second Geological Survey of Texas
began explorations of northwest Texas in 1889. In 1890 he
found vertebrate fossils in the Dockum formation and in 1891
collected near Dockum the specimen which Cope described as
Episcoposaurus haplocerus. Cope himself accompanied Cummins
on a collecting trip along the east side of the Staked Plains
in 1892, securing additional material including fragments of
pseudosuchian armor which he referred to T'ypothoraxr (Cope
1893A, p. 17). The thick, coarsely sculptured armor plate
and large lateral horns of E. haplocerus are obviously so similar
to Desmatosuchus spurensis Case as to leave no doubt of specific
identity. The type localities are only a few miles apart and at
about the same level in the Dockum formation.
In 1917 Professor E. C. Case of the University of Michigan
discovered a pseudosuchian skeleton in Crosby County, Texas,
which he described in 1920 as Desmatosuchus spurensis. Later
June 38,1953 Typothoraxr and Desmatosuchus ii
Case (1929B, p. 43) suggested that Desmatosuchus might prove
to be a synonym of Episcoposaurus; Sawin (1947, p. 233) was
also of this opinion. This view undoubtedly arose from com-
parison with Cope’s description of E. haplocerus, which is
indeed the same as Desmatosuchus. But this animal, which will
have to be known as Desmatosuchus haplocerus (Cope), differs
widely from Episcoposaurus horridus, the type species of the
genus Episcoposaurus. As has been pointed out above, the latter
is probably a synonym of T'ypothorax coccinarum.,
A full description of the type of E. haplocerus is given below,
with comparisons to Case’s excellent account of Desmatosuchus.
Desmatosuchus differs from T'ypothorax most obviously in the
coarser and unequal pitting of the dermal armor plates and
in the greatly enlarged horn over the shoulder region.
In 1915 Dr. M. G. Mehl of the University of Wisconsin
described the pelvis, sacrum, and other fragments of a pseudo-
suchian from a “red shale series near the base of the Mesozoic
section” at Fort Wingate, New Mexico, and called the fossil
Acompsosaurus wingatensis. The specimen is not readily com-
parable with the better known members of the group; some
points in the description suggest T'ypothorax, others Desmato-
suchus. 'There is no satisfactory indication that it represents
a distinct genus. (I have not been able to examine this specimen. )
The extensive collections from Howard County, Texas, by
the Texas Bureau of Economic Geology, W. P. A. Paleontolog-
ical Survey, under the supervision of Grayson Meade in 1940
included two skeletons of a pseudosuchian described as T'ypo-
thorax meadet by Sawin (1947). The species differs in minor
details from T'. coccinarum Cope and provides by far the most
complete picture thus far obtained of the anatomy of these
reptiles.
Other specimens of T'ypothoraaz have been obtained in eastern
Arizona and northwestern New Mexico by the University of
California, the Museum of Comparative Zoology, and Yale Pea-
body Museum, but these have contributed little toward the un-
derstanding of the family. Thus far Desmatosuchus has been
found only in the Crosby County area of Texas.
8 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 16
Systematic Revision
Class REPTILIA
Order THECODONTIA
Family Stagonolepidae
Genus Typothorax’ Cope 1875R
Typothorar Cope. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., Proc. 27, p. 265,
1875; type species by original designation T'ypothorax coc-
cinarum Cope.
Episcoposaurus Cope. Am. Philos. Soc., Proc. 24, p. 213-217,
1887; type species by original designation Episcoposaurus
horridus Cope.
Quadrupedal archosaurian reptiles 214 to 3 meters long, with
short, pointed heads, depressed bodies enclosed in dermal armor
of overlapping bony plates, and with forelimbs much smaller
than hind limbs.
Skull pointed, flat-topped, overlapped by nuchal armor; the
upper temporal opening laterally situated, lateral opening low,
not completely known. A large antorbital fenestra. Mandible
edentulous anteriorly and possibly covered by horny beak.
Dorsal armor of two rows of overlapping plates, medial pair
of plates flat, wider than long except in anterior cervical series,
flat or with low conical or pyramidal eminence near center of
posterior edge; lateral plates angulate with dorsal and lateral
flanges meeting at sharp angle below base of projecting lateral
spines; no enlarged, hornlike shoulder spines; surface of scutes
covered with shallow, round, uniform sized pits about 14 cm.
in diameter, except on smooth anterior articular flange and on
bosses and spines which are covered with fine punctation; armor
plates relatively thin (5 to 8 mm. thick).
Ventral armor of small polygonal plates in regular rows
narrower near the midline than laterally, with anterior flange
for articulation with overlapping plates similar to dorsal series ;
pitting of ventral plates similar to dorsal armor. Tail enclosed
in rings consisting of four keeled plates each rising to an angu-
2The name Typothoraz is derived from the Greek rvzos, a model or
image, and @dépat, breastplate, in allusion to the shallow pitting of the
dermal scutes which resemble a hammered surface.
June 38,1953 Typothorax and Desmatosuchus 9
lar posterolateral point; sculpture consisting of punctate sur-
face on boss and weak pits or grooves radiating from boss over
remainder of outer surface except articular flanges. Distal
caudal plates elongate rods with posterior projecting spikes.
Pelvis resembling that of Phytosauria but with ilium higher
and more elongate anterior and shorter posterior iliac spines.
Pectoral girdle poorly known, the glenoid an open, posteriorly
directed notch as in crocodiles, coracoids rounded medially and
not elongate as in Crocodilia ; dermal shoulder elements unknown.
Humerus with ends expanded, at 45° angle, shaft slender;
rear limb much longer and more massive than forelimb; femur
nearly straight (slightly sigmoid) with strong 4th trochanter;
tarsus with crocodiloid astragalus. Feet pentadactyl, toes of
manus short and weakly clawed, those of pes with stout claws:
metatarsal V hook shaped.
Typothoraz is readily distinguished from Desmatosuchus by
the absence of enlarged curved horns on the dorsal armor over
the shoulder, by the regular round pitting of its armor, by
relatively thin dermal plates, and by its slightly smaller size.
Typothorax coccinarum® Cope 1875R
Typothorax coccinarum Cope. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., Proc.,
27: p. 265, 1875.
Cope, E. D. 1877K, p. 29-30, pl. 22, figs. 1-9.
Cope, E. D. 1887A, p. 210-213, pl. I.
von Huene, F. 1915A, p. 485-490, figs. 1-10.
Episcoposaurus* horridus Cope. Am. Philos. Soc., Proc., 24, p.
213-217.
3 The trivial name coccinarum was given by Cope from the Latin coc-
cineus, scarlet colored, referring to the red-beds from which the specimen
was derived.
4Cope gives no hint of the derivation of Episcoposaurus; two suggestions
are possible. Latin episcopus, bishop + saurus, in allusion to the resem-
blance of some of the conical caudal scutes to a bishop’s mitre. Alterna-
tively, as Cope regarded the animal an ally of the phytosaurs, the literal
Greek derivation ei, over + ckozely to look at + cavpa, cavpos, a lizard;
a reptile which looks over or upward, in allusion to the high and upwardly
directed orbits of phytosaurs is possible. The specific name, horridus,
was derived from the Latin horrere, to bristle or tremble with dread, to
be terrible.
10 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 16
Type: U.S.N.M., no. 2585, dermal scutes (Cope 1877K, pl. 22, figs. 4, 5,
and 9.) Collected by E. D. Cope, October 5, 1874.
Type locality: “Triassic red beds of the western side of the Sierra Madre
on Gallinas Creek” (Cope 1877K, p. 28). This site has been relocated
by Camp (1930B, p. 143) as at Cerro Blanco, north of Gallina, New
Mexico. It lies near the center of the N¥% sec. 9, T. 23 N., R. 1 E.
New Mexico Principal Meridian. Chinle formation, Upper Triassic.
Type of Episcoposaurus horridus: A.M.N.H., no. 2713 (formerly 2307).
Two caudal vertebrae (proximal and distal); humerus; two ulnae;
femur lacking condyles; proximal part of tibia; distal part of fibula;
caleaneum; a number of dermal bones. Splenial possibly associated.
Von Huene (1915A, p. 492-493) designated bones of hind leg as
lectotype. From same locality as type of Typothorax coccinarum. Col-
lected by David Baldwin, April 12, 1881.
The only diagnostic features of the type of T'ypothoraz coc-
cinarum are the thin, flat, dermal plates ornamented with
numerous rather small, shallow round pits. A single keeled
scute in the original collection was regarded by Cope (1875R,
p. 266) as of uncertain reference. The later collection by Bald-
win (A.M.N.H., nos. 2710-2713) contained both flat plates
which Cope referred to T'ypothorar (1887A, p. 211) and
keeled plates which he ascribed to Episcoposaurus (ibid. p. 216-
aii).
Both Cope (1887A) and von Huene (1915A) emphasized
the difference in size and shape of the femora as distinctions
between T'ypothoraz and Episcoposaurus. At first sight the
massive straight femur of the latter appears quite different from
the small sigmoid femora attributed by Cope to T'ypothoraz.
But aside from the question of reference of these specimens,
discussed on a previous page, the similar shape of the head
of the two bones, and the intermediate character of the femora
of Typothorax meadei Sawin and M.C.Z., no. 1488 makes refer-
ence to the same species at least reasonable. The surprisingly
small forelimb of “Episcoposaurus” is now known from T’,
meadei to be characteristic of T'ypothoraz, and the difference
in shape and pattern of the dermal plates appears to be con-
trolled by their location on the body; the flat plates which
Cope regarded as typical of T'ypothorax belonging to the median
June 38,1953 T'ypothorax and Desmatosuchus 11
dorsal series of the back, the keeled plates of Episcoposaurus
(fig. 17) belonging to the caudal series.
Typothorax meadei® Sawin
Typothorax meadei Sawin. Jour. Paleontology, 21, p. 201-238,
1947.
Syntypes: Univ. Texas, Bur. Econ. Geol., Coll. no. 31185-84A, “frag-
mentary skull, a poorly preserved vertebral column, appendages, and
dermal armor susceptible of reconstruction from the anterior cervical
region to the proximal caudal. Associated with this specimen were numerous
small dermal buttons and plates referable to the ventral and appendicular
armor,” and no. 31185-84B, fairly complete skull, portions of nuchal plates,
fragments of dorsal plates, incomplete vertebral column, major limb bones,
fragmentary remains of the girdles.
Three other specimens referred. Collected by Grayson Meade and
W. P. A. Paleontological Survey, 1940.
Type locality: Univ. Texas, Bur. Econ. Geol., loc. 31185, Quarry 3A,
3 miles north of Otis Chalk, Howard Co., Texas, Dockum formation.
These specimens belong to a rather wide and flattened animal
with a short pointed pseudosuchian skull, prominent, backward-
ly directed spines along the edge of the dorsal armor, large rear
limbs and relatively weak forelimbs, and rather crocodiloid
feet. Sawin (1947, p. 233) distinguished the species from T’
coccinarum Cope on the basis of (1) pyramidal instead of
conical eminences on the median dorsal plates and (2) smaller
size. A further distinction between the Texas specimen and
Typothoraz coccinarum is the uniform presence of posteromesial
eminences on the rear borders of the median series of plates
in T’. meadet. On T’. coccinarum these plates are flat.
As pointed out above, the limbs have the proportions and
form of those of Episcoposaurus horridus. Sawin’s illustra-
tions of the dorsal armor suggest a radial pattern on the median
plates, and the presence of keeled bosses on these plates is
distinctly more like the type of Episcoposaurus than that of
Typothoraz. The admixture in this animal of the supposed
characters of the two genera further supports the evidence of
their identity.
5 The species was named for the collector, Dr. Grayson E. Meade.
12 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 16
Our knowledge of the range of variation in these reptiles
is far too meagre to permit a reasonable assessment of the
biological validity of these species. It would be equally unwise
to unite them in spite of these tangible differences or to flatly
assert that the differences were unquestionably due to genetic
isolation. The excellence of the Typothorar meadei specimens
in comparison to other material of the genus is ample justifica-
tion for retention of the specific name in the absence of proof
of identity with another form.
Typothorax cf. coccinarum Cope
Typothorax is represented in collections of Yale Peabody
Museum from the middle part of the Dockum formation west
of San Jon, New Mexico. Two fragments of median dorsal plates
with characteristic shallow pitting were found during the excava-
tion of a Machaeroprosopus gregort skull (along with several
other specimens which could not possibly have belonged to
that animal), and the fragmentary weathered remains of much
of a carapace (Y.P.M., no. 3696) were collected nearby. None
of these plates show any trace of a boss or tubercle on the
median series. Short posteriorly directed spines at the angles
of the lateral plates are suggested by a few fragments.
With grave doubts, a large thin median scute of a mid-dorsal
series (Y.P.M., no. 3695) found near the same Machaeroproso-
pus skull is referred to Typothorax (fig. 16). Its shape and
thinness suggest this genus, but the ornamentation consists of
radial ridges and grooves arranged around the very low round
conical boss, which lies slightly behind the middle of the plate
and rises less than a millimeter above its general surface. Inas-
much as one of the typical T'ypothoraz plates mentioned above
was found only a few inches from this plate, and as both
show the same prominent anterointernal projection one may
wonder whether the difference in sculpture is anything more
than an artifact of preservation and preparation. The upper
surface of the peculiar scute appears damaged. It (Y.P.M.,
no. 3695) is generally similar to those from the Keuper of
June 38,1953 Typothoraxr and Desmatosuchus 13
Wiirttemberg attributed by von Meyer (1861, pl. 43, p. 3387-
342) and Fraas (1896, p. 16) to Phytosaurus kapffi.
Rectangular median plates with similar sculpture charac-
terize the specimen (U.M., no. 13950) from the Dockum forma-
tion on Cerita de la Cruz Creek northwest of Amarillo, Texas,
which Case (1932A) referred questionably to Phytosaurus.
Pelvis and vertebrae of that specimen are of pseudosuchian
rather than phytosaurian type, as Case realized (ibid. p. 71-
74) ; the dermal armor is more like T'ypothorax than Desmato-
suchus and may be tentatively referred to the former.
The posterior portion of a T'ypothoraz skeleton was collected
from the Chinle formation at the Ghost Ranch on Canjilon
Creek northwest of Abiquiu, New Mexico, by a party from
Harvard University. Professor A. S. Romer most kindly per-
mitted me to examine this specimen (M.C.Z., no. 1488; also
other bones, no. 1487). It is important because the typical
flat Typothorax plates of the body are associated with keeled
scutes on the tail. Also its size is intermediate between the
various specimens described by Cope as T'ypothorax coccinarum
and Episcoposaurus horridus. The femur is 25.8 cm. long,
essentially straight and stout like that of EF. horridus but
with a well developed 4th trochanter. The tibia is very broad
and massive, 12.5 cm. long. Another tibia from the same locality,
no. 1487, is 13.5 cm. The humerus is 17.5 cm. long to the ulnar
condyle; an ulna is 13.0 cm. If my interpretation of the speci-
men is correct the ventral armor consists of transverse bands
of plates which overlap in the same fashion as the dorsal armor,
with an articular flange on the anterior external edge of each
plate. Two narrow rows of plates along the midline are flanked
by an uncertain number of wider scutes; all have shallow round
pits like the dorsal armor, arranged in a faintly radial pat-
tern about a central point. The latter is not raised as a boss
above the surface.
Camp (1930B, p. 3) reported T'ypothoraz locally abundant
in the upper Chinle formation of Arizona and Utah, and rare
in the lower part of that formation. Camp, Colbert, McKee,
and Welles (1947, p. 4) list “Stagonlepis,” Typothorar, and
Episcoposaurus in the Lower Chinle fauna of Arizona and
Utah, and Typothorax in the Upper Chinle of northwestern
14 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 16
New Mexico. I have collected characteristic armor of the genus
from the lower Chinle near St. Johns, Arizona, but am not able
to determine whether early and late species can be differentiated.
Desmatosuchus® Case
Desmatosuchus Case. Jour. Geology, 28, p. 524-529, 1920.
Type species by monotypy Desmatosuchus spurensis Case =
Episcoposaurus haplocerus Cope.
Large quadrupedal pseudosuchians, 3 meters or more in
length, with short-snouted skull, depressed body covered by
heavy bony armor, the lateral plates over the shoulders pro-
longed into curved, hornlike spines. Limbs and feet unknown but
presumably crocodiloid.
Dorsal armor distinguished from that of Typothorazx by its
greater thickness, much coarser and less regular pitting of the
exposed surface, and by the great elongation of the laterodorsal
spine over the shoulder.
Desmatosuchus haplocerus (Cope)
Episcoposaurus haplocerus Cope. Am. Philos. Soc., Proc., 30,
p. 129-181, 1892J.
Wilson, J. A. 1950, p. 113-114, figs. 1-3.
Desmatosuchus spurensis Case. Jour. Geology, 28, p. 524-529,
figs. 1-4, 1920.
Case, E. C. 19214, p. 133-147, pl. 3 (endocast)
Case, E. C. 1922B, 26-48, figs. 7-20, pls. 5-10.
Case, E. C. 1929B, p. 50-51, fig. 21.
6 The name is derived from the Greek décua, Séouaros, a band or fetter,
and govxos, a crocodile, in allusion to the encircling bands of armor plates.
The specific name spurensis was given for the town of Spur, Dickens Co.,
Texas; haplocerus comes from the Greek dos, simple, and xepas, @
horn, referring to the hornlike spines of the armor plates. Professor E.
C. Case tells me that he formed the name by analogy with Desmatochelys
Williston.
June 38,1953 Typothorax and Desmatosuchus 15
Type of D. spurensis: U.M., no. 7476, skull; an associated skeleton belong-
ing to the same individual includes the greater part of the vertebral
column, ribs, fragments of the pelvis, and dermal armor of the back.
Collected by E. C. Case in 1917 and 1919.
Type locality: Near the east bank of Blanco or Catfish River, about one-
half mile east of the crossing of the old mail road from Spur to
Crosbyton, Crosby County, Texas.
Type of Episcoposaurus haplocerus Cope: A.N.S.P., no. 14688; a
sacral and two caudal vertebrae, right scapula, ribs, and about 30
demal plates. Collected by W. F. Cummins, July 20, 1891.
Type locality: Near windmill in top pasture 3 miles north of Dockum,
Dickens Co., Texas.
Distinctive characters include the short-snouted pseudo-
suchian skull with broad parietals and the temporal fenestrae
lateral in position. It is obviously similar to, though not identical
with, the skull of “T'ypothorax” meadei, which unfortunately is
also difficult of interpretation in the postorbital region. The
vertebrae differ from those of phytosaurs in the lower neural
spines of the cervical, lumbar, and sacral regions, in the more
projecting and lower parapophyses of the thoracic series, and
in the somewhat lesser expansion of the dorsal ends of the
neural spines in the thoracic area; the expanded tips of the
spines are carried back farther than in Machaeroprosopus,
however.
Ribs are broad, stout, with a median supporting ridge run-
ning along their internal surface.
The pelvis is imperfectly known. A referred specimen, U.M.,
no. 7470, has a stronger anterior process of the ilium than
phytosaurs. Pseudosuchian features are shown by the glenoid
region of the scapula.
Most distinctive of Desmatosuchus is the development of the
dorsal armor with enlarged hornlike spines above the shoulder
region. The armor consists of median and lateral paired plates.
The median series of plates are rectangular, wider than long,
and bear a smooth anterior facet over which the anterior plate
moved, elsewhere they are ornamented by coarse, shallow pit-
ting and by a median posterior raised boss. The lateral dorsal
plates are angulate, extending from the median series out to the
side of the back and thence downward along the flank. At the
16 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 16
angle, a stout spine projects outward. These spines are long
in the cervical region, reach a maximum in the curved shoulder
horn, and then are abruptly shorter.
It seems very likely that the ilium, U.M., no. 7322 (Case,
1922B, pl. 138A) from Sand Creek in Crosby County, Texas,
and the pelvis and vertebrae, U.M., no. 7470, from the head
of Holmes Creek, Crosby County, belong to Desmatosuchus.
Case (1929B, p. 48-50) has pointed out reasons for such refer-
ence; the different form of ilium in T'ypothorax meadei (Sawin,
1947, p. 218, fig. 5A) makes confusion with this form unlikely.
Case (1929B, p. 43) and Sawin (1947, p. 233) have sug-
gested that Desmatosuchus may prove to be a synonym of Epis-
coposaurus. These statements seem to have arisen from compari-
sons with E. haplocerus Cope.
This species, attributed by Cope to his genus Episcopo-
saurus, was based upon a dorsal and two caudal vertebrae,
a right scapula, ribs, and 30 dermal plates, found by Cummins
in 1891, near Dockum, Texas. Only the armor is at all com-
parable with the other type material. It has never been figured,
although Wilson (1950) gave drawings of topotype material
(Texas Bur. Econ. Geol., no. 18569) which was supposedly
part of the original specimen.
Through the kindness of Dr. Horace G. Richards of the
Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, I have been
permitted to examine and illustrate the type material. To one
familiar with these pseudosuchians the remains are obviously
so close to Desmatosuchus spurensis Case as to leave no doubt
of specific identity. The type localities are only a few miles
apart, and at about the same level in the Dockum formation.
The “single dorsal vertebra” mentioned by Cope (figs. 6, 7, 8) is a
sacral, to judge by the massiveness of the rib which abuts against the
side of the centrum as well as the short transverse process. Its centrum
is slightly wider than tall, with moderately flaring, shallowly concave
faces and an evenly rounded ventral surface without trace of keel. The
neural canal was narrow and rather deeply grooved into the upper sur-
face of the centrum in the middle position. On one side part of the heavy
neural arch is preserved adjacent to the head of the sacral rib. This
structure occupies the posterior half of the vertebra, and the rib facet
stands out from the side of that body with smoothly curved outline. In
front of it the side of the centrum is excavated, behind the flaring anterior
June 3, 1953 Typothorax and Desmatosuchus Mi
rim. This rim is marked by vertically elongate facets on either side which
can only be interpreted as supports for the head of the expanded rib
of the adjacent vertebra. Cope mentions the presence of rib facets at
each end, a most unusual feature. As first sacral ribs are generally larger
than the second, it seems most reasonable to assume that this is the
second sacral vertebra and that these elongate facets supported the en-
larged first sacral rib.
The broad centrum, absence of twin ventral keels which characterize
the second sacral of Machaeroprosopus, (Camp, 1930B, p. 65), and the
curving upper surface of the transverse process and second sacral rib,
suggest Acompsosaurus and the specimens U. M., 13950 and 7470 described
by Case (1932A, p. 67-68, figs. 5-6). Unfortunately little of the sacrum
was preserved in the type of Desmatosuchus spurensis, but this vertebra
seems to differ from those of phytosaurs in a manner similar to other
parts of the column of that animal.
Two other vertebrae were considered by Cope to be caudals; one of these,
which he described (1892J, p. 130), may well be a proximal caudal. Its
transverse processes arise from the middle of the body of the centrum
below the level of the neural canal. The ventral surface is flattened, and
meets the lateral surfaces with an abrupt though rounded angle. These
angular ridges terminate in facets for chevrons, as do those of phyto-
saurs. Anterior and posterior faces are flat or nearly so, and as Cope
indicates, somewhat taller than wide.
The third vertebra in the collection, which was not described by Cope,
consists of only a broken centrum, quite narrow and compressed, more
like those of phytosaurs. Its association with the remainder of the speci-
men is questioned.
Great thickness characterizes the fragment of scapula (figs. 4, 5) which
is all of the shoulder girdle preserved. Cope noted the normal inward
curvature of the ventral portion, below the glenoid and acromion. How-
ever, the bone is not necessarily thinner here, as he said, for a sub-
stantial portion of the medial surface is broken away. Likewise the coro-
coid suture was undoubtedly more extensive than the small area preserved
next to the glenoid. A prominent tubercle for the long head of the
triceps muscle lies 8 cm. above the glenoid on the posterior edge of the
blade. Above this the blade widens and thins, rather symmetrically.
Thinness of the dorsal edge, especially anteriorly, suggests that most
of the blade is preserved.
Comparison of this specimen with the fragment of the glenoid region
of Desmatosuchus (Case 1922B, fig. 19) is difficult as there is little in
common between them. The prominent acromion and thick oval base of
the blade appear similar. It is also evident that the glenoid must have had
something of the helical form indicated in Case’s figure. These features
seem sufficient to establish the association of this kind of scapula with the
more characteristic dermal plates.
Numerous features of the scapula distinguish it from that of phytosaurs,
especially slight concavity of the anterior profile, the short massive blade,
and the pronounced acromion process. It differs from the scapula of
Stagonolepis (Huxley 1877, pl. x, fig. 1) in greater thickness, much
greater separation of glenoid and triceps tubercle, and stronger acromion.
The scapula of Typothorax meadei as figured by Sawin (1947, fig. 3) ap-
18 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 16
June 38,1953 Typothorar and Desmatosuchus 19
pears to be more expanded above, but also has a prominent acromion and
triceps tubercle. These forms are by far closest to one another in char-
acters of this bone.
The rib fragments with flattened external surface and inner convexity
are quite similar to those of Desmatosuchus (Case, 1922B, fig. 14), and
separable from the narrower and more rounded ribs of phytosaurs.
By far the most distinctive portions of the type of Episcoposaurus
haplocerus Cope are the plates of dermal armor. Three transverse series
of plates are figured herewith, and also two other isolated plates of
different form. All plates are ornamented in their flatter portions by
coarse, irregularly round pits up to one centimeter in diameter. The tuberos-
ities and spines are coarsely punctate. No trace of radial arrangement of
the sculpture can be detected. The plates are characterized by greater
thickness than phytosaur plates of similar size, or than the plates of
Typothorax. All are incomplete; the anterior and most of the posterior
edges are broken away on the more anterior series so that the smooth
articular flanges are not preserved; these are clearly shown by the more
posterior plates.
As Cope pointed out, the plates of each transverse row were suturally
united. Each row consisted of 2 pairs of plates, the median flat, the
lateral, angulate and spinebearing. Both Case’s reconstruction of Desmato-
suchus and Sawin’s of Typothorax show the median series increasing in
width posteriorly to the lumbar region and then gradually decreasing. In
Desmatosuchus the cervical plates are thicker than those farther back,
have more nearly a right angle between the dorsal and flank portion of the
lateral plates, and greater ventral development of the lateral plates. The
type of H. haplocerus agrees in showing a decrease in the angle between
the dorsal and flank portions of the lateral plates as the median plates
increase in width, and a reduction in thickness of the median series as they
increase in width. Aligning the plates on these characters gives a progres-
sive series almost suggestive of contiguity. By far the largest lateral spine
is on the most anterior of these series; accordingly the preserved portion
may be compared with the 5th to 9th series of Desmatosuchus as restored
by Case (1922B).
The right median and lateral plates are present in the most anterior
preserved series which is that bearing the enlarged shoulder horn (figs.
Desmatosuchus haplocerus (Cope). Type specimen of Episcoposaurus
haplocerus Cope, A.N.S.P., no. 14688. All figures x 1%.
Figure 1. Dorsal view posterior cervical series of dermal armor, bearing
shoulder horn.
2. Median view of lateral, horn-bearing, plate of posterior cervical
series, shown in figure 1.
. Anterior view of same series as figure 1.
. Posterior view of scapulocoracoid.
Lateral view of scapulocoracoid.
. Left lateral view of sacral vertebra.
. Anterior view of sacral vertebra.
. Posterior view of sacral vertebra.
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NN
pes
June 38,1953 T'ypothorax and Desmatosuchus 21
1-3). The median plate is longer than wide, bears a round tubercle 1%
cm. in height posterior to its center, and is strongly concave from side to
side ventrally, but convex anteroposteriorly below, particularly at the
sutural edges which are lenticular in outline. The right lateral plate has
very little dorsal extent, and this is entirely covered by the base of the
horn (fig. 3). Its flank projection is extensive, and at right angles to the
dorsal part. The horn itself rises in continuity with the lateral surface of
the plate, its axis sloping outward at an angle of 25° from the vertical,
and its medial edge reaching the suture with the median plate. Its base
is longer than wide, and slightly flattened medially. Toward the tip of the
preserved portion the beginning of a backward curve is apparent.
In comparison with the large horn of the type of Desmatosuchus spuren-
sis Case, this plate differs in the upward direction of the spine, and in its
more rapid tapering, suggesting lesser length. Possibly these are in part
due to individual variation. I am inclined to regard the angle of the horn
as better established on Cope’s type than in Case’s specimen.
The second preserved series, which may well fall next behind the first
and thus be the sixth in Case’s animal, is represented by the left median
plate and the conjoined right median and lateral plates (figs. 9, 10). A
faint line of pores on the inner surface and of irregular small pits above
mark the course of the fused suture between them. The medial plates
are similar to that of the previous series save for slightly greater width.
Their lenticular longitudinal section is shown in figure 11. The lateral
plate, in contrast to that of the preceding series, has an obtuse angle
between dorsal and flank portion, considerably greater dorsal extension,
and a much smaller horn base. The lateral extent of the plate and length
of horn cannot be safely inferred from the broken remains. The diameter
of the horn is not greater than that in the 3rd series to be described below.
This series differs from that lying behind the large horn of Desmatosuchus
in retaining essentially the same thickness of plates.
An incomplete median plate and articulating horn-bearing scute (figs.
12, 13) differ from the two preceding series in the appreciably thinner bone.
Dimensions of this series suggest that it could have immediately followed
the one just described. The bone is appreciably thinner than in plates of
the cervical series, and does not thicken greatly at the sutures. The boss
and sculpture of the median plate are quite similar to those of the last (?)
cervical series, but the distance from boss to lateral border of the plate
is greater. Also, the boss may be closer to the posterior edge, although
Desmatosuchus haplocerus (Cope). Type specimen of Hpiscoposaurus
haplocerus Cope, A.N.S.P., no. 14688. All figures x 1.
Figure 9. Anterior view of anterior thoracic series of dermal armor, con-
sisting of paired median and right lateral plates.
10. Dorsal view of same segment as figure 9.
11. Median view of right median plate of series shown in figures
9 and 10.
12. Anterior view of a more posterior segment of the thoracic armor.
13. Dorsal view of segment shown in figure 12.
14. Dorsal view of median plate from a more posterior dorsal series
than figures 12 and 13.
22 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 16
15. Machaeroprosopus sp. Phytosaur pelvis found near type locality
of Episcoposaurus haplocerus by Cope in 1892. A.N.S.P. x ¥,.
this is not certain as all edges are badly broken. The lateral plate bears
a short conical spine directed both upward and outward. Its anteroventral
and posterodorsal surfaces bear flattened facets in the portion preserved.
The lateral flange of the plate forms almost a right angle with the dorsal
portion, and appears to have been fairly extensive from the thickness of
the broken edge. The suture between plates of this series is somewhat
irregular, in contrast to the straight sutures between the cervical plates.
Other incomplete median plates of the dorsal region are preserved, one
of which is illustrated in figure 14. These plates show a pronounced
depressed flange devoid of sculpture along the anterior margin; the round
conical boss lies close to the posterior edge, and the sculpture is very
coarse. The thickness, away from the boss, is about 2 cm.
Included with the type of Episcoposaurus haplocerus is a
phytosaur ilium (fig. 15) of the type figured by Case (1922B,
fig. 27 C; 1927D, U.M., no. 7244). A field label accompany-
ing it says “pelvis supposed to be Episcoposaurus haplocerus.
Found 50 yards from type specimen. Windmill, Top Pasture.
Coll.: E. D. Cope.” As Cope accompanied Cummins in 1892
this must have been obtained a year later than the type. Cope
did not mention it in his description of E. haplocerus; the
June 38,1953 Typothorax and Desmatosuchus 23
16. Cf. Typothorax sp. Median dorsal armor plate from Dockum
formation west of San Jon, New Mexico. Y.P.M., no. 3695, x %.
17. Caudal scute from type material of Episcoposaurus horridus
Cope, A.M.N.H. no. 2713. Specimen figured by von Huene,
1915, fig. 24. A. Dorsal, and B. medial views. x %%.
distance of 50 yards is too great to permit association with the
remainder of the specimen, and its form is unlike that which
has been found more intimately associated with pseudosuchian
remains. The ilium probably belongs to Machaeroprosopus
(Camp, 1930B, p. 78-79, fig. 16) which occurs abundantly in
24 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 16
the Dockum of this area. The length of the spine of ilium is
219 mm.
Desmatosuchus haplocerus differs from Typothorax meadei
in:
1. Thicker armor plates, especially anteriorly.
2. Coarse pitting of plates with no trace of radial arrange-
ment.
3. Tuberosities and horns rounded instead of angular.
4, Larger size.
5. Median dorsal plates have central tuberosity behind
middle of plate but not reaching posterior margin.
6. Fifth lateral plate, situated over shoulder, produced into
long backward curving horn.
It differs from “Episcoposaurus horridus” in:
. Larger size.
. Thicker armor plates.
. No radial pattern to sculpture.
. Bosses on median dorsal scutes not keel-like.
oO Ff WwW NY Ee
. Probably in presence of shoulder horns.
There can be no possibility of generic identity between these
forms.
Acompsosaurus’ Mehl, 1915
Acompsosaurus Mehl. Science, n.s.,41 , p. 735, 1915. Type
species by monotypy Acompsosaurus wingatensis Mehl. Sci-
ence, n.s.,41 , p. 735, 1915.
An imperfectly known genus which resembles Desmatosuchus
in form of pelvis but has T'ypothoraaz-like dermal plates. Pos-
sibly a synonym of T'ypothoraw.
7The name Acompsosaurus is derived from the Greek ay, lacking or
without, xouwos, elegant, and gavpos, a lizard, hence a reptile lacking
elegance. It was given, according to Mehl, because of the massive construc-
tion of the pelvic girdle. The species was named for Fort Wingate, New
Mexico.
June 38,1953 Typothorar and Desmatosuchus 25
Acompsosaurus wingatensis Mehl
Acompsosaurus wingatensis Mehl. Mehl, Science, n.s., 41, p.
735, 1915.
Mehl, M. G., Toepelman, W. C., and Schwartz, G. M., 1916,
p- 33-39, figs. 12-14, pl. III.
Type: Univ. Wis., no. 3811, pelvic girdle and fragments of vertebral centra,
ribs, dermal plates, phalanges. Collected by M. G. Mehl and G. M.
Schwartz, 1914.
Type locality: Region of Fort Wingate, New Mexico, in red shale series
near base of Mesozoic section (no. 2 of section).
The pelvis is characterized by a forwardly projecting spine
of the ilium, deep vertical apronlike pubis, and moderately
elongate ischium. The acetabulum is imperforate. Case (1929B,
p. 51-52) has pointed out its resemblance to certain pelvic
remains found in the Dockum formation of Texas; there is
good reason to refer these to pseudosuchian, perhaps Des-
matosuchus. The associated dermal plates, some of which are
closely related to the ribs like those of T'ypothorax, resemble
that animal in lacking any trace of the keels or spines such
as are found on phytosaur plates, and also in their circular
pitting. The pits are also described as deep, which suggests
Desmatosuchus.
Acompsosaurus may well be a synonym of T'ypothoraa, al-
though the poorly preserved types make such determination
difficult. Its relationships, at least, appear closer to T'ypothorax
than to Desmatosuchus, if characters of the dermal plates are
regarded as significant. The form of the pelvis differs from that
of T'ypothorax meadei, but there may be errors in Sawin’s
reconstruction of this region from incomplete materials. Possibly
Acompsosaurus is really a third distinct type of pseudosuchian,
but this seems most doubtful.
Bibliography
Camp, C. L., 1930B, A study of the phytosaurs with description of new
material from western North America: Univ. Calif., Mem., v. 10, p.
1-174, pls. 1-6, figs. 1-49, 1 map.
26 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 16
Camp, C. L., Colbert, E. H., McKee, E. D., and Welles, S. P., 1947, A
guide to the continental Triassic of northern Arizona: Plateau, Mus.
No. Ariz., v. 20, no. 1, p. 1-8.
Case, E. C., 1920B, Preliminary description of a new suborder of phyto-
saurian reptiles with a description of a new species of Phytosaurus:
Jour. Geology, v. 28, p. 524-535, figs. 1-6.
, 1921A, On an endocranial cast from a reptile, Desmatosuchus
spurensis, from the upper Triassic of western Texas: Jour. Comp.
Neurology, v. 33, p. 133-147, 3 pls.
, 1922B, New reptiles and stegocephalians from the Upper Trias-
sic of western Texas: Carnegie Inst. Wash., Pub. 321, p. 7-84, 14 pls.,
33 figs.
, 1927D, A complete phytosaur pelvis from the Triassic beds of
western Texas: Univ. Mich. Contr. Mus. Geology, v. 2, no. 12, p.
227-229, 1 pl.
, 1929B, Description of the skull of a new form of phytosaur, with
notes on the characters of described North American phytosaurs:
Univ. Mich. Studies, Mem., Mus. Paleontology, v. 2, p. 1-56, figs.
1-24, pls. 1-7.
, 1932A, A perfectly preserved segment of the armor of a phyto-
saur with associated vertebrae: Univ. Mich., Contr., Mus. Paleontology,
y. 4, no. 2, p. 57-80, figs. 1-6, pls. 1-8.
Cope, E. D., 1875R, The geology of New Mexico: Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila.,
Proc., v. 27, p. 263-267.
, 1875U, Report on the geology of that part of northwestern New
Mexico examined during the field season of 1874 by E. D. Cope,
palaeontologist and geologist: Ann. Rept. Geogr. Explor. and Survey
west of 100th Meridian, by G. M. Wheeler; Appendix LL, Ann. Rept.
Chief of Engineers, p. 981-1017, (p. 61-97 of separate report) pls. ii,
Vv, Vi.
, 1877K, Report on the extinct Vertebrata obtained in New Mexico
by parties of the expedition of 1874: Rept. Geogr. Survey west of 100th
Meridian by Lt. G. M. Wheeler, v. 4, pt. 2, p. 1-365, pls. 22-83.
, 1887A, A contribution to the history of the Vertebrata of the
Trias of North America: Am. Philos. Soc., Proc., v. 24, p. 209-228,
2 pls.
, 1892J, A contribution to the vertebrate paleontology of Texas:
Am. Philos. Soc., Proc., v. 30, p. 123-131.
, 1893A, A preliminary report on the vertebrate paleontology of
the Llano Estacado: 4th Ann. Rept. Geol. Survey Texas, 1892, pt. 2,
p. 1-137, pls. 1-23.
Fraas, E., 1896, Die Schwibischen Trias-Saurier nach dem Material der
Kgl. Naturalien-Sammlung in Stuttgart zusammengestellt. Festgabe
des Koniglichen Naturalien-Cabinets in Stuttgart zur 42. Versammlung
der Deuteschen geologischen Gesellschaft in Stuttgart, p. 1-18, figs.
1-10, pls. 1-6.
June 38,1953 Typothorax and Desmatosuchus 27
Huene, F. von, 1915A, On reptiles of the New Mexican Trias in the Cope
collection: Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., Bull, v. 34, p. 485-507, figs. 1-64.
Huxley, T. H., 1877, The crocodilian remains found in the Elgin Sand-
stones, with remarks on the ichnites of Cummingstone: Geol. Survey,
United Kingdom, Mem., Mon. 3, p. 1-52, pls. 1-16 (quarto).
Mehl, M. G., 1915, New reptiles from the Trias of Arizona and New
Mexico: Science, n.s., v. 41, p. 735.
Mehl, M. G., Toepelman, W. C., and Schwartz, G. M., 1916, New or little
known reptiles from the Trias of Arizona and New Mexico with notes
on the fossil-bearing horizons near Wingate, New Mexico: Univ. Okla.,
Bull., n.s., no. 103, p. 1-44, figs. 1-16, pls. 1-3.
Meyer, H. von, 1861, Reptilien aus dem Stubensandstein des oberen Keu-
pers: Palaeontographica, Bd. 7, p. 253-346, pls. 28-47.
Sawin, H. J., 1947, The pseudosuchian reptile Typothoraw meadei: Jour.
Paleontology, v. 21, p. 201-238, figs. 1-15, pl. 34.
Wilson, J. A., 1950, Cope’s types of fossil reptiles in the collection of the
Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas: Jour.
Paleontology, v. 24, p. 113-115, figs. 1-3.
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YALE PEABODY MUSEUM =——————
oF Naruratu History
Number 17 December 18, 1953 New Haven, Conn.
NOTES ON INDIAN BIRDS. V*
S. DILLON RIPLEY
When my wife and I were in the Naga Hills in 1950,
we collected two specimens of the Grayheaded Imperial
Pigeon which I subsequently considered to represent the form
griseicapilla, recorded by Baker (1928, Fauna or Bnririsu
Inpi1a, 5:204) from southeastern Assam, and extreme eastern
Bengal. The Imperial Pigeon was the only species of this genus
seen by us in the Naga Hills, where pigeons of this impressive
size and beauty now seem rare, no doubt due to the assiduous
attentions of the Nagas themselves.
Subsequent comparison of these specimens with birds both
in the Peabody Museum collection and in the American Museum
of Natural History in New York, from northeast Burma,
Tenasserim, Thailand, and Indochina shows that the birds
from the Naga Hills are distinct as follows:
Ducula badia carolinae subsp. nov.
Type: 2 ad. (Y.P.M., no. 12042), collected December 9,
1950, by S. Dillon Ripley at Phek, eastern Naga Hills,
Assam, India.
*Previous papers in this series have appeared in 1948, Jour. BomsBay Nat.
Hist. Soc., 47:622; 1948, Zootocica, 33:199; 1950, Postirra, No. 1; and
1951, Postizua, No. 6.
2 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 17
Diagnosis: From insignis, the subspecies of the eastern Hima-
layas and adjacent foothills and the Khasia Hills, this
subspecies differs by having the forehead and crown over-
laid with gray, the vinous or lilac-gray color of the mantle
reaching only to the hind nape and neck. The wing coverts
and edges of the secondaries, and especially the lower back
and rump are distinctly gray, a brighter, more light color
than the mouse-gray, or dull brownish-gray of insignis.
From griseicapilla, this form differs in the noticeably paler,
more grayish tone of the scapulars, edges of the secondaries,
lower back and rump. This lighter more pure gray tone
seems to invade the tail also, the terminal band being paler,
more pure gray, although this may be due to comparative
age of the specimens examined. Certainly no other specimens
in the long series examined by me throughout the species
have as light pure grayish colors in the areas above listed.
Measurements: 6 23; wing 242, 240; tail 181, 173; culmen
21.5, 25.5 mm. Soft parts: iris, gray; bill, coral or carmine-
cherry basally, distally brownish-horn; feet, coral or
carmine-cherry.
Range: Eastern Naga Hills, and probably Cachar and Manipur
south through the hills to east Pakistan as cited by Baker
(op. cit.) for the westernmost range of griseicapilla, al-
though no specimens have been available for comparison.
Remarks: It gives me very great pleasure to name a new sub-
species of this magnificent pigeon in honor of Mrs. William
Robertson Coe.
Among an interesting collection of birds sent to me recently
by Mr. N. G. Pillai of the Travancore-Cochin government are
four specimens of a pipit which I should like to describe as
follows:
Anthus similis travancoriensis, subsp. nov.
Type: 2 ad. (Y.P.M., no. 23327), collected by N. G. Pillai
on the road to Muthukuzhi, about 4500 feet altitude in the
Ashambu Hills, April 15,.1952, Travancore-Cochin State,
southern India.
Notes on Indian Birds. V 3
Diagnosis: From similis similis of Bombay, Mysore, and Madras,
this form differs in being uniformly darker above and below
and with a much larger area of dark brown on the inner
web of the penultimate tail feathers. The feathers of the
upper surface are clove-brown edged, in fresh plumage,
with dark tawny-olive. Below, this population is cinnamon
rather than buff. The edgings to the outer tail feathers are
darker, tawny-olive rather than wood-brown. In size there
seems to be no difference.
Measurements: Type—wing 89.5, tail 75.5, culmen 17.5 mm.
A male molting into fresh post-juvenal plumage is too small
to measure.
Remarks: These specimens are so much darker than any other
pipit belonging to the species found in India that I cannot
understand how the single Travancore bird mentioned in
the Ornithological Survey of that State (1936, Jour.
Bompay Nar. Hist. Soc., 38:764) was not commented upon
at least. Were it not for the similarity in plumage pattern
with similis and the locality, it would be easy to confuse
these birds with one of the dark African forms. In this
connection it is worth pointing out that in the specimens
of travancoriensis examined, there is an important difference
from typical similis. Baker (op. cit., p. 278) in his key to
the Indian pipits, separates trivialis, hodgsoni, and sordidus
(= similis) from nilghiriensis on the basis of a very small
pale tip to the inner web of the penultimate tail feather. The
specimens of travancoriensis have large pale tips, nearly
or more than a third of the total length of the tail. Of
course they differ from nilghiriensis in the uniform tone
to the plumage.
The Rufous Babbler, T'urdoides subrufus, of Travancore—
Cochin is a far more richly colored bird than the neighboring
populations from the western Ghats of Bombay, Goa, parts of
Madras and Mysore. Through the kindness of Mr. Greenway
I have been able to borrow the type of Lafresnaye’s “*Timalia”
poecilorhyncha (Neilgh the Museum of Compara-
tive Zoology (Harvard)MUD Kis’ &peein T agrees adequately
LIBRARY
FEB 9. 1954 |
4 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 17
with present-day specimens of typical swbrufus and so should
be considered a synonym. However, Sharpe (1883, Car. Bos.
Brit. Mus., 7:390) described Argya hyperythra from Madras
on exactly the characters represented by my present series of
Travancore—Cochin birds. I should like to revive this name,
therefore, fixing the type locality at Palghat, and list the
following populations:
a). Turdoides subrufus subrufus (Jerdon), type locality,
Wynaad.
Synonym, Timalia poecilorhyncha Lafresnaye, type
locality ‘“‘Neilgherries” hereby restricted to the northern
slopes of the Nilgiris, as this species does not ascend to
the summits of those hills.
Range: Bombay in the western Ghats from Mahableshwar
south, Goa, Coorg, western Mysore, and western Madras
south to the northern slopes of the Nilgiri Hills, and
east to the Shevaroys.
b). Turdoides subrufus hyperythrus (Sharpe), type locality,
restricted to Palghat.
‘Range: Southwestern Madras and Travancore-Cochin.
~e2 |
osle i | aes
YALE PEABODY MUSEUM
or Natura History
Number 18 March 6, 1954 New Haven, Conn.
THREE NEW BIRDS FROM THE YUCATAN
PENINSULA.
RAYMOND A. PAYNTER, Jr.*
In the course of an ornithogeographic survey of the Yucatan
Peninsula the following new subspecies were found. It is be-
lieved that the description of these three races completes the
long list of Peninsular endemics, with the possible exception
of several forms for which there is still inadequate material.
Dendrocolaptes certhia legterst subsp. nov.
Type: ¢ ad. (Y.P.M., No. 8471), collected March 4, 1949,
by Raymond A. Paynter, Jr., at Carrillo Puerto, Quintana
Roo, Mexico.
Diagnosis: closest to D. c. sancti-thomae, the contiguous race,
but considerably more pallid ventrally and slightly more
pallid dorsally ; the distinctive rufescent tone of the under-
parts is almost lacking, the gray of the chin is lighter,
and the pileum is less richly rufescent.
Range: known only from Carrillo Puerto and Tabi, in central
Quintana Roo; probably ranges northward on the Penin-
sula to the limit of the rain forest.
*Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
2 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 18
Remarks: this is another example of a species characteristic
of the rain forest which responds to the drier conditions
of the Peninsula by becoming more pallid.
Specimens from southern Campeche and southern Quin-
tana Roo exhibit an approach toward this new form.
It is a pleasure to name this race for Mr. D. B. Legters,
a resident of Yucatan, who has been of inestimable assist-
ance in the field and who collected many of the specimens
used in these studies.
Specimens examined: D. c. legtersi—four males and one female
from Carrillo Puerto and Tabi, Quintana Roo. D. c. sancti-
thomae—88 specimens, of both sexes, from Nicaragua.
Honduras, British Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico, in-
cluding Veracruz, Oaxaca, Chiapas, Campeche, and southern
Quintana Roo.
Platyrinchus mystaceus timothei subsp. nov.
Type: & ad. (Y.P.M., No. 13735), collected February 25,
1951, by Raymond A. Paynter, Jr., 24 km. NW. Xtocomo,
Quintana Roo, Mexico.
Diagnosis: nearest to P. m. cancrominus but dorsally lighter,
more olive rather than brown; ventrally paler yellow, the
breast band less well-defined, and the streaking reduced.
Range: rain forest in Quintana Roo and Campeche, Mexico,
in Petén, Guatemala, and in British Honduras.
Remarks: specimens from Petén and from southern and central
British Honduras are slightly less pale than those from Quin-
tana Roo and Campeche.
This race is dedicated to the memory of Timothy H.
Laughlin, who spent the last months of his short life as
my companion and assistant in Yucatan, and to whom
I shall always be greatly indebted.
Three New Birds from the Yucatan Peninsula 3
Specimens examined: P. m. timothei—six males and two fe-
males from Agua Blanca, Km. 21 on the Chetumal-Bacalar
Road, 46 km. W. Chetumal, 24 km. NW. Xtocomo, Car-
rillo Puerto, Tabi, and Chacalal, Quintana Roo; one female
and one unsexed from La Tuxpefia, Campeche; five males
and two females from Uaxactun, Petén; three males and
one female from Manatee Lagoon, Toledo District, and
Cayo District, British Honduras. P. m. cancrominus—21
specimens of both sexes from Nicaragua, Honduras, Guate-
mala, and Mexico, including Veracruz and Tabasco.
Dumetella glabrirostris cozumelana subsp. nov.
Type: ¢ ad. (Y.P.M., No. 8786), collected January 6, 1949,
by Raymond A. Paynter, Jr., on Isla Cozumel, Quintana
Roo, Mexico.
Diagnosis: differs from the nominate form in having a longer
and slightly heavier bill.
Range: Isla Cozumel, Quintana Roo.
Measurements: D. g. cozumelana—the culmen, from the base,
of seven males ranges from 22.5 to 25.0 mm., with a mean
of 23.64 + 0.29 mm.; one female 22.5 mm.; D. g. glabri-
rostris—seven males from the mainland of Quintana Roo
and from Half-moon Cay, British Honduras range from
21.5 to 22.0 mm., with a mean of 21.79 + 0.09 mm., and
five females from Quintana Roo, Campeche, and Yucatéan
range from 21.0 to 22.5 mm., with a mean of 21.60 + 0.26
mm. The difference between the means of the males of the
two forms is statistically significant (P < 0.01).
Remarks: I am unable to recognize any character which war-
rants maintaining the monotypic genus Melanoptila for
this species. In structure, size, and behavior this is merely
an all-black species of Dumetella.
Although not a strongly marked race, as are so many
of those endemic to Isla Cozumel, its characters appear to
be consistent.
+ Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 18
Slightly heavier weight may be an additional character
of D. g. cozwmelana, although the data are insufficient
to prove the suggestion. Four males from Isla Cozumel
weighed 39.4, 40.3, 40.3, and 41.8 grams; a female 41.3
grams. Two males of D. g. glabrirostris from Quintana
Roo weighed 36.8 and 38.1 grams; two females from Quin-
tana Roo and one from Campeche 35.3, 36.1, and 31.6
grams respectively.
Specimens examined: D. g. cozwmelana—seven males, one fe-
male, and one unsexed from Isla Cozumel, Quintana Roo.
D. g. glabrirostris—four males, three females, nine unsexed
from Chetumal, 24 km. NW. Xtocomo, Carrillo Puerto,
Ch’ich’, Isla Holbox, and Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo;
one male and two unsexed from “Yucatan,”’? Chichén Itza,
and Xocempich, Yucatan; one female from 2 km. N. Agua-
da Seca, Campeche; two males and two females from
Belize and Half-moon Cay, British Honduras.
For lending me necessary comparative material under their
care I am obligated to E. R. Blake of the Chicago Natural
History Museum, to H. Friedmann of the United States Na-
tional Museum, to J. D. Macdonald of the British Museum
(Natural History), to R. W. Storer of the Museum of Zoology,
University of Michigan, and to J. T. Zimmer of the American
Museum of Natural History.
batalla ce
YALE PEABODY MUSEUM
or Naturau History
Number 19 July 9, 1954 New Haven, Conn.
BIRDS FROM GOUGH ISLAND
S. Dillon Ripley
Recently the Yale Peabody Museum has been fortunate
enough to secure a small collection of birds from Gough Island
in the South Atlantic Ocean, south of Tristan da Cunha.
These specimens were secured through the intercession of Mr.
R. Upton, now of the Bechuanaland Protectorate, formerly of
Tristan da Cunha. It is of peculiar interest that these birds
should come to Yale, as one of the first collections of birds
from Gough, secured by Mr. George Comer, was formerly in
the possession of Mr. G. E. Verrill, son of Professor A. E.
Verrill of Yale; reported upon in the Proceedings of the Con-
necticut Academy of Arts and Sciences (1895, 9:430-477),
and certainly, at least, passed through the doors of the Pea-
body Museum. Except for the type of the Gough Island gal-
linule, now in the American Museum of Natural History in
New York, the whereabouts of the Comer collection at the
present time remains a mystery. The Museum’s grateful thanks
are due to Mr. Wilmarth S. Lewis and to Mr. W. Sheffield
Cowles for help in securing these interesting specimens. I am
also grateful to Dr. Robert Cushman Murphy of the American
Museum for showing me specimens in his care.
2 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 19
Daption capensis (Linnaeus) : Cape Pigeon.
A male was taken on Gough October 12, 1952. The species
has not previously been recorded from the neighborhood of this
island.
Fulmarus glacialoides (A. Smith): Antarctic Fulmar.
This species also is newly recorded from Gough. A male was
collected September 13, 1952, and measures: wing 330, tail
120.5, culmen 43.5 mm.
Pachyptila forstert (Latham) : Broad-billed Prion or Whale
Bird.
A female, September 5, 1952. Wing 204, tarsus 34, middle
toe and claw 38 mm.
Bulweria macroptera macroptera (A. Smith) : Great-winged
Petrel.
A male, December 15, 1952. Wing 302 mm. This specimen
is somewhat more grayish about the throat and forehead than
a July female from Tristan da Cunha. Although this bird was
presumably not taken during the breeding season (July on
Tristan), it appears to be the first definite record for Gough
Island.
Bulweria incerta (Schlegel) : Atlantic Petrel.
A male and a female taken December 15, 1952, have wing
measurements of: ¢ 318, 2 326 mm. These specimens are ap-
parently the first recorded from Gough Island. Unfortunately
the condition of the gonads was not stated. Compared to July
specimens they appear to be in very slightly more worn,
brownish plumage.
Bulweria brevirostris (Lesson): Kerguelen Petrel.
A male and female, December 15, 1952. These birds meas-
ure: wing ¢ 257, 2 265; tail ¢ 110, 2107; exposed culmen
}
No. 19 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum
6 26.5, 2 28.5; tarsus 6 38.5, 2 37 mm. The collection of
these specimens on Gough, although unaccompanied by data
on their breeding condition lends credence to the original sup-
position that the Kerguelen Petrel might breed in the neighbor-
hood of Tristan da Cunha (Salvin, 1896, Cat. Bds. Brit. Mus.,
25:410), and later reinforced by the collection of a female in
January 1946 on Inaccessible Island (Roberts, 1948, Ann.
Transvaal Mus., 21:60). Gough Island is far enough south
(lat. 40°19’S.), to lie within the Subantarctic Zone, and the
date of collection (December) corresponds to that for the sea-
son of nestlings in down, on Kerguelen Island, the only present-
ly known breeding place for this rare species. These birds
match approximately in size those recently reported from
Kerguelen by Milon and Juanin (1953, Oiseau, 23:17).
Bulweria mollis mollis (Gould) : Soft-plumaged Petrel.
Three specimens taken on December 15, 1952, measure:
wing 6 249, 2 (2) 260; tail ¢ 111.5, 2 112, 120; culmen
é 28, 2 28,29; tarsus ¢ 34, 2 36, 37 mm.
Fregetta grallaria melanoleuca Salvadori: Tristan Storm
Petrel.
A pair taken December 15, 1952, have wing measurements of
$ 171, 2 155 mm.
Pelecanoides urinatrix dacunhae Nicoll: Tristan Diving
Petrel.
A female, December 15, 1952, measures: wing 117.5, tail 37,
culmen 16 mm. This specimen confirms the occurrence of this
subspecies on Gough Island.
Puffinus assimilis elegans Giglioli and Salvadori: Tristan
Shearwater.
A female, December 15, 1952, measures: wing 190, tail 65,
culmen 26, tarsus 42 mm.
+ Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 19
Gallinula nesiotis comert (Allen): Gough Island Cock.
The Gough Island Cock, so-called, was originally described by
J. A. Allen (1892, Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., Bull. 4:57) as differing
from nesiotis of Tristan (now extinct?) in having greatly re-
duced areas of white on the edges of the wings and the flank
feathers. In size and structure the two forms appear to be so
close that it seems useful to list them as subspecies rather than
species.
A pair and a downy young female were collected on Decem-
ber 15, 1952. The adult birds measure: wing ¢ 145.5, 2 141.5;
tail ¢ 63, 2 67; culmen (with shield) ¢ 42.5, 2 40; tarsus
6 48.5, 2 47.5; mid-toe with claw ¢ 64, 2 67. The soft parts
of these birds appear to be as recorded by Clarke (1905,
Ibis, 5(8) :258-259), the frontal shield and basal two-thirds
of the bill being bright coral red, the distal third yellow. The
legs in these specimens are red splotched with greenish yellow,
the feet rather greenish yellow, the pads, nails, and posterior
margins of the tarsi being blackish.
The downy young bird, previously undescribed, is exactly
similar to a downy young gallinule or moorhen. It is covered
with black down and has black legs and feet. The bill is horny
yellow, the upper mandible having a median black band and a
black tip. The lower mandible is horny yellow, the basal half
of the gonys and the tip being black.
Allen (op. cit.:58) created the genus Porphyriornis for the
Tristan and Gough Island gallinules on the basis of combining
the short thick bill and oval nostrils of “Jonornis”=Porphy-
rula, with the coloration of Gallinula. Actually the nostrils are
oval, set in a nasal depression in Porphyrula, just as they are
in Gallinula. The bill is stouter in the Gough and Tristan
species than it is in a typical gallinule, but this is a feature
of island species in any case, and its shape, and that of the
frontal shield are virtually identical. These island birds, as
well as the gallinules, both belong to the group which have
narrow lateral membranes on the toes as pointed out long
ago by Sharpe (1894, Cat. Bds. Brit. Mus. 23:6), and in fact
the only striking morphological differences are the reduction in
No. 19 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum 5
size of the wings in connection with flightlessness, and the
heavier, more rugged appearing feet and tarsi, usually a corol-
lary development.
It appears to be a question, then, whether the genus Por-
phyriornis should be maintained. Peters (1934, “Check-list of
the Birds of the World,” 2:206, footnote) united Jonornis with
Porphyrula feeling that the minor external differences of the
species concerned were not of generic significance. Porphyrula
differs from Gallinula in lacking lateral membranes on the
toes, in having a bright plumage in the adult, differently colored
young, and a posteriorly pointed frontal shield. These char-
acters add up to a cumulative factor which may be considered
to imply generic value. The sole character of “Porphyriornis,”
aside from relative proportions, is flightlessness. Flightlessness,
whether verified in fact or not, has not been thought of as havy-
ing generic importance in the case of Rallus wakensis, for
example, (Rothschild, 1903, Bull. Brit. Ornith. Club, 13:78).
In the case of ducks, flightlessness is not considered to have
generic value in itself. The Auckland Island and Campbell
Island flightless teal have been made subspecies of the New
Zealand Brown Duck, Anas aucklandica, by Delacour and
Mayr (1945, Wilson Bull. 57:20, 39).
Purple gallinules have been shown to occur rather commonly
on the Tristan group of islands as occasional vagrants. An
immature male and female in the Yale Peabody Museum col-
lection were taken on Tristan in May and June 1952. (See also,
Hagen, 1952, “Birds of Tristan da Cunha, Results of the
Norwegian Sci. Exped. to Tristan da Cunha 1937-1938,” No.
20: 199-201). If Purple gallinules can wander from the New
World so easily to Tristan, it seems quite possible that the
Tristan and Gough Island gallinules represent an endemic
population derived from vagrant Gallinula of New World
origin.
Rowettia goughensis (Clarke): Gough Island Bunting.
Two pairs of this interesting species were secured December
15, 1952. They measure: wing ¢ 98.5, 100.5, 2 96 (worn),
6 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 19
104; tail ¢ 76.5, 81, 2 81.5, (w.); culmen ¢ 18,19, 2 18,19;
tarsus ¢ 29, 30, 2 27, 31 mm. On the label it is noted that
the birds were seen from sea level to 1800 feet.
Certainly in outward appearance Rowettia seems of New
World origin, markedly similar in color pattern to Melanodera
as pointed out by Lowe (1923 Ibis, 5(11) :511-513).
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2
YALE PEABODY MUSEUM
or Natura History
Number 20 July 9, 1954 New Haven, Conn.
NOTES ON INDIAN BIRDS. VI.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS ON THE WREN-
BABBLER, SPELAEORNIS
S. Dillon Ripley
At the suggestion of Dr. Walter Koelz, I have assembled
a number of specimens of Spelaeornis, the small Wren-babbler
whose status I reviewed in 1950 (Awk, 67 :390-391), and again
in 1952 (Jour. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 50:492-494, and col.
pl.). Dr. Koelz has kindly loaned me a series of 10 specimens,
which with my own series and 16 specimens of chocolatinus
and longicaudatus from the British Museum and five specimens
of longicaudatus in the American Museum of Natural History
has given me a total of 38 examples of these two species for
study. I am most grateful to Dr. Koelz as well as to the
authorities of the Institutions concerned for permission to
examine this material.
Dr. Koelz’ original question concerned my _ statement
(1950 and 1952) that I had examined a specimen of Spelaeor-
nis longicaudatus from Kedimai, Manipur, and that thus this
species overlapped S. chocolatinus in range. As a result, being
sympatric, they must be listed as separate species. Dr. Koelz
felt (personal communication) that the differences between the
species were so slight that they must be considered as all one.
bo
Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 20
On further examination I find I must stick to my original
statement that these are two valid species, and it may be worth-
while here to list the differences between them.
A. §. longicaudatus. This species described from the Khasia
Hills, occurs as far east as Manipur (one specimen known
and reexamined). It is rather olive brown above, each feather
particularly on the head and upper back, margined narrowly
with black; the rump, tail, and outer edges of the wings and
wing coverts tinged or edged with rich chestnut or rufous. In
most, but not all, specimens (perhaps partly due to poor make-
up of the skins) there is a small, buffy, ashy or white streak
just over the eye. The lores, cheeks, and ear coverts are ashy.
Below there is a small white chin spot and a number of the
feathers of the lower breast and abdomen are terminally
white, or tipped with white, particularly along the distal end
of the shaft and inner margin of the feather. The effect is to
produce an irregular patch of white on the abdomen. The rest
of the underparts tend to be deep buff to ferruginous buff,
rather rufous buff along the flanks. The feathers of the sides
of the throat and upper breast have pale buffy shaft streaks,
roughly elongated and diamond-shaped in outline. Higher on
the sides of the neck, the feathers have subterminal buffy cres-
cent-shaped spots, producing a slightly scaled appearance.
B. §. chocolatinus. This species occurs from Cachar and
the Naga Hills south to Manipur, the Chin Hills, Bhamo and
the Shan States in Burma, north to Yunuan, and in Tonkin.
The nominate form described from Kedimai, Manipur, differs
from longicaudatus by being deeper, darker olive brown above,
but with similar narrow black terminal margins on the head
and back. The upper parts including the rump and upper tail
coverts and tail tend to be rufous in females, which show con-
siderable dimorphism in this regard. All sexed specimens which
show this rufous suffusion are females. The lores, cheeks, and
ear coverts, and a circumocular ring are ashy. The underparts
show some variation, females tending to have the white areas
reduced to a chin spot or small patch, and an abdominal patch
similar to that in longicaudatus. The majority of specimens,
No. 20 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum 3
however, 13 out of 17 or 76 per cent, including all the males
and one female (in which the buffy throat patch is very ex-
tensive and light in color), have large areas of white or palest
buff on the throat extending continuously down to the abdo-
men and belly, so that the underparts may appear largely
white with ashy sides of the neck, and buff or olivaceous flanks
and under tail coverts (see the colored plate, 1952, op. cit.
in which the female is the upper figure, the male the lower).
The feathers of the sides of the neck and flanks in typical
chocolatinus have narrow white shaft streaks opening out near
the tip to a narrow whitish fork enclosing a black terminal
spot. The white or buffy feathers of the lower throat and breast
have this same pattern, which on the white feathers is indicated
simply by a terminal black spot.
These differences are summarized below:
Pattern of
Species Upperparts Superciliary Underparts underparts
A: brownish small, uniform, with reduced, pale
usually white submen- shaft streaks
present tal spot and on sides
patch on abdo-
men
B. dark olive absent apparently sex- prominent
or rufous ually dimorphic, streaks and
brown ranging from black spots on
largely white breast and
(4), to large- sides
ly buff (9 )
Measurements: wing-tail
index,
wing mean tail mean per cent culmen
A. 20 (449 9) 49-55 5284041 45-55* 50.14.1386 90-100 11-14 mm.
B. 16 (4 @ 9 9) 46-52 5014043 41.5-47.5 48.84 0.43 81-93
* One juvenal female from Mawphlang, Khasia Hills, in the Koelz collec-
tion has a tail measurement of only 43.5 mm.
12-14 mm.
4 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 20
Comparison of the means of the tail length of these two
samples gives a figure for o, of 1.53 which is statistically signi-
ficant although somewhat high. It appears, therefore, that
there is a distinct likelihood that any specimen of, species B., i.e.,
chocolatinus, will tend to have a shorter tail measurement than
specimens of the typical form of species A., i.e., longicaudatus. |
Finally the examination of all available specimens of choco-
latinus from Manipur and the Naga Hills has convinced me
that sexual dimorphism is a prominent feature of this species,
that the type and other known specimens of chocolatinus
from Manipur, although unsexed, are most probably females.
In addition Dr. Koelz’s series from the Naga Hills contains
three strongly rufous colored females, far richer than any in
my original series when I described nagaensis (Postilla, 1951,
No. 6:4), with much reduced white areas on the lower parts.
As these specimens are inseparable from chocolatinus, I feel
that all should be combined under that name as follows:
Spelaeornis chocolatinus chocolatinus
(Godwin-Austen and Walden)
Pnoepyga chocolatina Godwin-Austen and Walden, 1875,
Ibis, 5(8) :252. (Kedimai, Manipur.)
Elachura haplonota Baker, 1892, Ibis 4(6) :€2. (Hangrum,
N. Cachar.)
Spelaeornis chocolatinus nagaensis Ripley, 1951, Postilla,
No. 6:4. (Mt. Japvo, Naga Hills.)
Range—Assam in the hill ranges of north Cachar from
Hangrum east to the Naga Hills in the Japvo area and east
to Pfutsero at least, south to Kedimai in Manipur, presumably
above 5500-6000 feet, in evergreen forest.
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BUD ere erste ar orsicnsloseietsierts otectererse 82.5
QuENccouk, Bassein district,
Lower Burma
IMULG5i Ss Fe eka oc i eels 2.09
RaxovxkKa, Tula, Russia
PAIPANS sc tensteis, crate spores eyorern scene 0.3
Rep River, Texas, U.S.A.
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Michigan, U.S.A.
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Renazzo, Cento, Ferrara, Italy
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18 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum
WEIGHT
LOCALITY IN GRAMS
Ricuarpron, Stark County,
North Dakota, U.S.A.
BOB ciclo Sra cetcinis wntarnaas telson 198
PAL5. Wa sein Ss eklerdaiee Gisictatne 1428
Ricumonp, Chesterfield County,
Virginia, U.S.A.
P129
Rocuester, Fulton County,
Indiana, U.S.A.
P202 (2 pes—6 g., 8 g.) ....14
Ropro, Durango, Mexico
WETS Ree SG RE OR ROO eR ice 163.05
VHA DD tee elas ia iaiereionsnstianevekois vesareveete 100
RoegourNE, Hamersley Range,
North-West Division,
Western Australia
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Rosario, Honduras
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U.S.A.
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Rurr’s Mountain, Lexington
County, South Carolina, U.S.A.
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Russet Guitcu, Gilpin County,
Colorado, U.S.A.
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Sacramento Mountains, Eddy
County, New Mexico, U.S.A.
WW BOE aicca'd o Beeeraieastand ole neal mete 123
IMIS a cette eiclsictetst teste eerie 195
M336 (2 pes—2.07 g.,
(CoN ee eee 136.02
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Sr. Aucustine’s Bay, Madagascar
PD Din 5 acetyl Savane sata the u
Sr. Caprats-pE-QUINSAC,
Gironde, France
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No. 27
WEIGHT
LOCALITY IN GRAMS
St. Francois County, Missouri,
US-A-
PATO adisvwowiee diss eee ee eee 68
Sr. Genevieve County, Missouri,
U.S.A.
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PYAS seuss eusisyaie essere 174
Sr. Marx’s Mission Station,
Transkei, Cape Province,
South Africa
M176 (2 pces—2.57 g.,
26.45 ig) i cts coma 29.02
Str. Mesmin, Aube, France
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M500. aces sisi chante Sheresaeta at eee 5.6
Sr. Micuet, Finland
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Kansas, U.S.A.
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UOMT. ZUUL
LIBRARY
MAY 251959
yittlla pial
YALE PEABODY MUSEUM
or NATuRAL History
Number 38 April 20, 1959 New Haven, Conn.
COMMENTS ON BIRDS
FROM THE WESTERN PAPUAN ISLANDS
S. Ditton Rievtey
1. Birds from Kofiau Island
Opportunities for visiting Kofiau Island (often called Kot-
fiao, Kavijave, Kavijaaw, or Poppa in the literature) are few
and far between. The island lies nearly ninety miles west of
Sorong, regional capital of western Netherlands New Guinea,
exposed to strong swells in the monsoon seasons. No boat an-
chorage exists and the small population of Besarese fishermen
lives primarily on a few offshore rocky islets.
Odoardo Beceari visited Kofiau in July, 1875, on a schooner
from Ternate, intending to spend several days (1875). His
visit was cut short, however, by illness, and he spent only
thirty hours there. Fortunately he was able to collect a total
of 40 specimens during that time including topotypes of
Tanysiptera ellioti and Rhipidura vidua. These forms had
been taken in 1867 by David Hokum, an assistant of Mr.
Hoedt a professional supplier of birds in Ambon. In 1875 also
Bruijn’s collectors from Ternate visited Kofiau, and except
for an undated visit by Bernstein, this seems to have been the
last ornithological visit to the Island.
During 1954 while studying birds in the Moluccas and West-
ern Papuan Islands on a field trip,’ my wife and I attempted
'This field work was supported by research fellowship grants from the
Guggenheim Foundation and the National Science Foundation as well as
funds from Yale and the Vose Fund of the Explorer’s Club of New York.
2 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 38
to visit Kofiau. Neither patrol vessels nor commercial schoon-
ers were available, however, during our stay in New Guinea
and an attempt to secure the services of an oil company flying
boat also failed. Somewhat later my assistant, Jusup Khakiaj,
managed to visit Kofiau in 1955 in a seagoing canoe accom-
panied by an Arafura bird hunter from Misool. He spent
fifteen days from the 25 April to 9 May on the Island and
was able to clamber about the rocky foreshore and climb a
short way into the heavily forested interior.
Kofiau Island is about fifteen miles long, running in an east-
west direction. It is heavily wooded, and the present settlements
are essentially on the offlying islands such as Djailolo and
Deer which he just north of the mainland of Kofiau separated
from it by a narrow sheltered channel. Kofiau lies outside of
the 200 meter bank which marks the Sahul Shelf and includes
such islands as Salawati, just off the New Guinea mainland,
and Misool, some thirty miles south south-east of Kofiau. The
island has several hills, one nearly a thousand feet tall, named
Mata or Boemfoar.
The Boo Islets which he about ten miles west of Kofiau in-
clude one islet Boo Ketjil an alternative name of which is Popa.
This name has been applied to Kofiau in the literature. Beecari
in his letter to Salvadori (1875, tom. cit.:707) speaks of
“Poppa” as being a misnomer for Kofiau, which he spelt Kof-
fiao. David Hokum in 1867 called the island Kavijaaw.
Jusup Khakiaj’s collection while small, is of interest, as it
appears to be the first made in perhaps eighty years. I am
grateful to the authorities of the American Museum of
Natural History for permission to examine specimens in their
WELENY
care.
Of the thirty-one known species and subspecies from Kofiau,
listed in the following pages it is interesting to note that they
fall into these several categories.
Species of unknown affinities: one, Ducula species (seen but
not collected).
Migrants: three, Pluvialis dominica fulcus, Merops ornatus,
Halcyon sancta sancta.
Uo. LENE. LUUL
LIBRAR
MAY 2 5 1959
> HARVARD
UNIVERSITY
April 20, 1959 Birds from Papuan Islands
This leaves twenty-seven forms which may be characterk
as follows:
1) Forms common to Moluccas and New Guinea; seven
(= 27%).
Butorides striatus papuensis
Pandion haliaetus melvillensis
Megapodius freycinet freycinet
Chalcophaps indica indica
Caloenas nicobarica nicobarica
Pachycephala phaionotum
Nectarinia jugularis frenata
2) Forms representing New Guinea subspecies (includes Kai
and Aru Islands) ; fourteen (= 51%).
Ptilinopus rivoli prasinorrhous
Ptilinopus viridis pectoralis
Macropygia amboinensis doreya
Opopsitta diopthalma diopthalma
Micropsitta keiensis chlorovantha
Geoffroyus geoffroyt pucherani
Cacomantis variolosus infaustus
Alcyone pusilla pusilla
Pitta sordida nova-guineae
Coracina tenuirostre miilleri
Gerygone magnirostris occasa
Monarcha alecto chalybeoce phalus
Monarcha guttula
Philemon novaeguincae novaeguineae
3) Forms representing Moluccan subspecies; two (= 7%).
Coracina papuensis melanolora
Dicrurus hottentottus atrocaeruleus
4) Forms intermediate between species of the Moluccas and
New Guinea; four (= 15%).
T'anysiptera (galatea) ellioti
Rhipidura rufiventris vidua
Monarcha julianae
Nectarinia sericea mariae
4 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 38
From the above it will be seen that while 51% of the Kofiau
residents are overwhelmingly of close New Guinea affinity,
almost one quarter or 22% represent forms either intermediate
or more nearly Moluccan in their affinity, thus corresponding
closely with the geographical position of the Island. That
15% of these represent endemisms is a remarkable example of
the inherent speciation potential of such an island in such a
geographic location.
Annotated List of Birds from Kofiau
In the following list, I have given the names of the collectors
in brackets at the end of the discussion.
1) Butorides striatus papuensis Mayr
2, May 8, 1955, wing 178 mm., culmen 65 mm. This
specimen is small compared to Mayr’s measurements (1940),
but agrees with at least one specimen, although it was listed
as possibly subadult, recorded by Van Bemmel (1948:397).
(Khakiaj )
2) Pandion haliaetus melvillensis Mathews
Q April 30. (Khakiaj )
3) Megapodius freycinet freycinet Gaimard
2? May 2 (Bruijn, Beccari, Khakiaj)
4) Pluvialis dominica fulva (Gmelin)
An adult, unsexed, in breeding dress was taken in May.
(Khakiaj).
5) Ptilinopus rivoli prasinorrhous Gray
( Beccari)
6) Ptilinopus viridis pectoralis (Wagler )
( Becear1)
7) Ducula sp.?
Jusup Khakiaj reported the presence of a large fruit pigeon
on Kofiau. The birds were high up in forest trees, difficult to
see, as always, and resisted his collecting efforts. He believes
that the species represented is Ducula rufigaster.
April 20, 1959 Birds from Papuan Islands 5
8) Macropygia amboinensis doreya Bonaparte
é subadult, April 80 (Beccari, Khakia)).
9) Chalcophaps indica indica (Linnaeus )
(Beccari)
10) Caloenas nicobarica nicobarica (Linnaeus )
(Hoedt)
11) Opopsitta diophthalma diophthalma (Hombron and Jac-
quinot) (Beccari)
12) Micropsitta keiensis chloroxantha Oberholser
( Beccar1)
13) Geoffroyus geoffroyi pucherani Souancé
?, April 80. Wing 164. (Hoedt, Khakiaj)
14) Cacomantis variolosus infaustus Cabanis and Heine
2, April 25. Wing 117, culmen 20. Iris grayish, bill
dark brown, feet yellowish. (Bernstein, Khakiaj)
15) Aleyone pusilla pusilla (‘Temmuinck )
( Beccar1)
16) Halcyon sancta sancta Vigors and Horstield
2, May 8. (Beccari, Khakiaj)
17) Tanysiptera (galatea) ellioti Sharpe
This beautiful kingfisher had a decidedly international intro-
duction to the world of natural history. Collected by Hoedt’s
collector, presumably David Hokum in 1867, the type speci-
men was acquired by Count 'Turati of Milan who sent it to
Jules Verreaux in Paris for identification. There it was seen
by Mr. Daniel Giraud Elliot of New York who advised that the
specimen be sent to Dr. Sharpe in London who described it in
1869. Other specimens from Hoedt reached Leyden. Beccari
collected the species for the Genoa Museum, one of the speci-
mens of which came into the Rothschild collection and is now
in New York.
The series collected by Jusup Khakiaj includes six adults,
all labelled females, taken May 1-5, and two young birds
6 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 38
labelled males, taken May 1 and 2, in first winter or first basic
plumage. The adults are alike in possessing a uniformly white
rump and upper tail coverts, in this and the largely white tail
bearing a certain resemblance to sabrina of the Moluccas.
This population has been kept separate from that complex
of populations of the Moluccas, Papuan Islands and parts of
the New Guinea mainland, all now included in the species
galatea, on the basis of having tail feathers which are not
sharply spatulate at the tip. This is essentially true as dem-
onstrated by this series. All the adults except one possess
broad central tail feathers, narrowing somewhat near their
Poeatette Satenerteca
B
CY)
A
Fig. |
Figure 1. Three states of plumage and tail coloration of Tanysiptera (gala-
tea) ellioti, B., contrasted with an adult of a more typical
Tanysiptera galatea of the subspecies margarethae, A.
April 20, 1959 Birds from Papuan Islands fF
terminal ends and tapering slightly to a bluntly rounded and
broad tip. In four cases the sub-terminal segment of the tail
shaft where the feather shows signs of tapering is dull bluish
black or blackish. In one of these birds a very narrow area of
the vanes adjacent to the shaft is edged with blue. One adult
has almost completely white tail feathers, only a trace of
blackish shading appearing on the edge of the subterminal part
of the shaft. (Fig. 1).
A single adult shows marked polymorphism. While the rump
and upper tail coverts are white, and while the tips of the
tail feathers are broadly and bluntly rounded, the subterminal
area of the tail, representing a third of the total length of the
central feathers is distinctly narrowed and the vanes strongly
washed with blue. The effect is close to that of 7’. g. sabrina.
This specimen is important in demonstrating the persistence
of an old ancestral allele in what is not a completely homo-
geneous population. One is impressed that this is a species in
statw nascendi or as Mayr has called it a form of ‘almost
specific rank,” (1942).
The young birds are interesting as Sharpe has noted (1892)
in that the under parts are washed with “ochre” or rich brown-
ish buff, with almost completely reduced marginal edgings of
blackish so noticeable in other forms. These young birds have
bright blue caps, scapulars and lesser and median wing coverts,
and ultramarine upper back and primary coverts, the latter
with reduced brownish edging. The feathers of the lower back
and rump are largely pale brown with white centers and
blackish margins, rather strikingly different from the rump of
related forms. The tail feathers are blue above, very pale at
the centers, and noticeably broader than young of other forms.
In these two birds the breast feathers are very badly frayed,
indicating the wear of grubbing for insects in muddy jungle
undergrowth.
Measurements: Wing 6 2 ad. 101.5-108 (105.5) mm.
Mail 6"? ads l53 Gnoult?)-215 (19074).
Culmen 6 2 ad. 37-40
wing-tail ratio 5 2 ad. 49, 53, 54,
57, 64%
(Hokum, Beceari, Bruijn, Khakia)).
8 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 38
18) Merops ornatus Latham
6 ad. May 6. (Khakiaj)
19) Pitta sordida novae-guineae Miiller and Schlegel
gad. May 5. Wing 104. (Beccari, Khakiaj)
20) Coracina tenuirostre miillerti Salvadori
(Beccari)
21) Coracina papuensis melanolora (Gray)
6, 2 ad. May 9, Wing ¢ 150.5, 2 149; culmen (from
skull) ¢ 31, 2 32. (Beccari, Khakiaj)
22) Gerygone magnirostris occasa Ripley
6 ad. May 2. Type.
As pointed out in the original description (1957) this form
differs from its geographical neighboring forms, cobana, brun-
neipectus and conspicillata from the neighboring islands of
Waigeu, Batanta and Salawati; western New Guinea, and the
Aru Islands by being much more richly yellow on the under-
parts. In the color of the underparts it approaches rosseliana
from the Louisiade Archipelago and in color of the upper-
parts it is close to affinis from north New Guinea, an interest-
ing example of pattern replacement in geographically related
forms. (Khakiaj)
23) Rhipidura rufiventris vidua Salvadori and Turati
6 ad. May 5.
A topotype of this subspecies, not collected for presumably
eighty years. As Beccari points out (1875:707), David Ho-
kum collected the original specimen for Hoedt who sent it to
Turati. Wing 74.5, tail 75.5, culmen 16.
This form differs markedly from gularis the adjacent popu-
lation of the Western Papuan Island by being much smaller
(wing ¢ 6 83-92), the gray breast band marked with white
spots, lacking in gularis, but present in obiensis and kordensis,
and by having the abdomen and belly plain white, not washed
with pinkish buff as in gularis. (Hokum, Beccari, Khakiaj)
24) Monarcha alecto chalybeocephalus (Garnot)
é ad. May 8. (Beccari, Khakiaj).
April 20, 1959 Birds from Papuan Islands 9
25) Monarcha guttula (Garnot)
(Beccari)
26) Monarcha julianae new species.*
Type: 6 ad. (Y.P.M. no. 39235) collected April 26, 1955,
by Jusup Khakiaj on Kofiau Island, Netherlands New Guinea.
Diagnosis: from guttula this species which is known from
a single adult male differs by being slightly larger, wing 81,
tail 73.5, culmen 17; compared to a small series of guttula
from Misool and Waigeu, ¢ 6, wing 76.5-79, tail 67.5-71,
culmen 14-16, |Gyldenstolpe’s measurements (1955) are equiva-
lent] and by the following differences in pattern and color:
back bluish black rather than gray; wing coverts are bluish-
black throughout, in guttula the inner wing coverts are grayish,
the greater wing coverts are bluish black with pronounced white
terminal spots; below the prominent black bib reduced to a
narrow diamond-shaped throat patch, extending in a median
point towards the upper breast, the white of the breast ex-
tending on the sides to the area below the eyes. Like guttula
the tail of this species is black above, and below the outer four
pairs of tail feathers are tipped with white, the outermost
broadly so, the white area representing about 40% of the
length of the feather.
This species is much more closely related to what I would
prefer to call the lewcwrus superspecies and should be included
in it, I believe. This superspecies consists of three additional
populations as follows:
A) Monarcha everetti Hartert. This small Monarch
flycatcher is found only on Tanahdjampea, an island of
the Saleyer group south of Celebes and north of Flores,
between five hundred and eight hundred miles west of the
locus of its nearest relatives in the Moluccan-Papuan re-
gion. This species represents, as Rensch points out (1986)
an incursion of papuan-australian origin into the lesser
Sunda-Celebesian area, an area which is primarily of
oriental affinity. I entirely agree with Mayr (1944) that
“This species is named, by gracious permission, in honor of Her Majesty,
the Queen of the Netherlands.
10
Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 38
this species has nothing to do with the widespread Monar-
cha trivirgatus as Meise attempted to demonstrate (1929).
As Mayr notes, this is an “instance of ill-advised applica-
tion of the principle of geographical representation.”
Simply because the widely distributed gray-backed scrub-
inhabiting Spectacled Monarch happens to be absent
from certain islands is no reason for including highly dis-
tinctively-plumaged arboreal-type Monarchs in the same
species.
This species is smaller than its relatives, and differs
from them in having a white rump, and by having a pro-
nounced white patch on the inner margins of all but the
outermost primary, and on all the secondaries making a
poorly concealed white wing patch which must be ex-
tremely noticeable in flight. In addition, the black throat
patch is lke a large bib in shape, extending down onto
the upper breast. The tail, which is rounded, has the four
outer tail feathers tipped with white, the outermost white
for half its length.
The female is gray above with whitish lores, the upper
tail coverts buffy white and the tail black with whitish tips
to the outermost feathers. Below the breast is light
ochraceous-buff paling into grayish on the throat and
sides of flanks and into dull creamy white on the ab-
domen. This female plumage is markedly different from
the forms described hereafter.
In proportions of tail length to wing length and bill
size, this species seems similar to its relatives to the east.
In shape, however, the tail is much more rounded, the
outer tail feathers being only 76% as long as the central
tail feathers. It is also notably smaller; wing 34 4
67.5-69 ; tail 67-70.5 ; culmen 15-16; 2 wing 58.5, tail 60,
culmen 14.5. This form is represented as “A” in Figure 2.
B) Monarcha leucurus leucurus Gray. This population
occurs on the Kai Islands (also spelled Kei or Key) of
extreme eastern Indonesia, south of the western end of
New Guinea. With loricatus I believe it forms a species.
Both are rather large Monarchs, blue black above with
April 20, 1959 Birds from Papuan Islands 11
a varying shape of throat patch below which extends nar-
rowly onto the upper breast. The outer three pairs of
tail feathers are white, some brownish margins occurring
on the penultimate and third inner feathers. The fourth
pair of tail feathers has a black inner web for the basal
one-third of its length.
The female is dark bluish-gray on head and upper
back, brownish gray on the lower back, upper tail coverts
blackish gray, central tail feathers black; below center
of throat gray, sides of throat and breast dark orange
rufous, paling to warm brown on the flanks; center of
abdomen white.
Size medium; wing 4é ¢ 75-80; tail 74-77; culmen 17-
18; 2 wing 71, tail 74, culmen 17.
This form is represented as “B” in Figure 2.
C) Monarcha leucurus loricatus Wallace. This popu-
lation is found on the large island of Buru just west of
Ceram. Although Stresemann (1914) mentions this form
as occurring from the coast to the higher tableland and
not higher than 800 meters in altitude, Toxopeus in Sie-
bers (1921-22) found it only in the mountains at 1200
meters. This is the largest of the forms, the male blue-
black above; below with a black throat patch just reach-
ing the upper breast, and with a small patch of bluish
black on the sides of the breast just before the bend of
Fig. 2
Figure 2. Monarcha everetti, A; Monarcha leucurus leucurus, B; Monarcha
leucurus loricatus, C3; Monarcha julianae, D.
12
Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 38
the wing. The tail is only slightly rounded, the outer-
most feathers being 83-86% of the length of the central
tail feathers. The two pairs of outer tail feathers are
white with some blackish along the base of the shaft,
the third pair with a very narrow (2 mm.) black tip, and
the fourth pair with a black tip some 10 mm. in width.
The female is brown on the forehead, more grayish,
“hair-brown” on the crown and nape, and russet on the
back, wing coverts and rump. The tail feathers are
brownish black above. Below except for some grayish on
the chin and center of the upper throat, the female is warm
vinaceous brown. The outer tail feathers are rich buffy
brown instead of white as in the female of lewcurus.
Size largest; wing 4¢ 6 86-91; tail 72.5-85.5; culmen
17-20; female wing 77.5, tail 75.
This form is represented as “C” in Figure 2.
fo)
D) Monarcha julianae. The single male differs from
everetti and leucurus by having a gray rather than bluish-
black crown and nape, shading into the white of the neck
behind the black auricular patch. Unlike everetti but lke
leucurus, the rump is concolorous with the back and there
are no white patches on the inner margins of the wing
feathers. Below julianae has a small roughly diamond-
shaped throat patch, the white of the throat extend-
ing laterally forward to below the eyes. The outer tail
feathers are tipped with white rather than largely white
as in everetti or all white as in leucurus. The tail is some-
what rounded, the outermost feathers approximating 85%
of the length of the central tail feathers.
This new species is represented as “D” in Figure 2.
Unfortunately, the female of this new form is unknown.
It would be interesting to know if the female is dimorphic
as in the lewcurus superspecies, and if so if it is predom-
inantly russet in tone as in lewcurus or grayish and isabel-
line as in everetti.
The fact that julianae can coexist on a small island
the size of Kofiau along with the widespread Monarcha
guttula (collected formerly by Beccari) is an example of
April 20, 1959 Birds from Papuan Islands 1183
how little is understood of the ecology and niche rela-
tionships of the Monarcha species. Monarcha guttula is
stated by Mayr (1944, t.c.) to belong to the trivirgatus
group, although it cannot be considered a member of a
superspecies as it overlaps with trivirgatus in the Louisi-
ade Islands. Undoubtedly a close analysis of the feeding
habits and spatial relations of these species will reveal a
great deal about the problem of coexistence and competi-
tion. Monarcha trivirgatus in my experience is a bird of
scrub, low bushes and substage vegetation, found from the
coast up to 2500 feet altitude. Monarcha guttula, at least
on Misool Island, was found in the substage and also high
up in the lower storey of the canopy forest. Unfortu-
nately, Jusup Khakiaj has not noted the position in the
forest of the single male of jalianae which he secured.
27) Pachycephala phaionotum (Bonaparte)
22 ad. May 3, 5. (Khakiaj)
28) Dicrurus hottentotus atrocaerulus Gray
22 ad. April 25.
Wing 2, 150, 163; bill (using Vaurie’s scale, 1949: 284)
25, 25 mm.
These two specimens place the Kofiau birds with the large-
billed population of Halmahera and Batjan Islands, rather
than with the west New Guinea carbonarius where they had
been assigned by previous authors including Vaurie (1949)
who had not examined specimens. Thus the spangled drongo
of Kofiau belongs to the Moluccan rather than the Papuan
form. (Beccari, Khakiaj).
29) Nectarinia sericea mariae, new subspecies
Type: ¢ ad. (Y.P.M. No. 39234), collected April 25, 1955,
on Kofiau I., Netherlands New Guinea, by Jusup Khakiaj.
Diagnosis: compared to cochrani (Stresemann and Palu-
dan) of Waigeu and Misool Islands, this form has a pansy-
violet rather than steel-blue with a purplish gloss, throat
patch. This color is nearer that of typical sericea which, how-
ever, is more bluish, merely shaded with aster purple (Ridgway,
1912). The cap color is far more greenish than in sericea or
cochrani, approaching in this respect auriceps of the Moluccas
14 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 38
although it is less yellow-green than in that form. In the same
way the iridescent color of the wing coverts, rump, and upper
tail coverts is more greenish-blue rather than steel blue with
a purplish-greenish gloss. This is especially noticeable in the
area of the lower back. The single female appears somewhat
brighter in color on the yellow underparts, nearer typical
sericea than either cochrani or auriceps.
In size these birds also approach typical sericea:
Wing Tail Culmen
26 59, 61 35, 37 18, 19
Q 54, 32.5 18
A series of cochranit measured by Stresemann and Paludan
(1932) showed wing measurements of 54-58, 2 51, and in
sericea 6 6 60-64, 2 51.5-53 mm.
This Kofiau Island population represents an interesting
example of discontinuous geographic variation of the type
referred to so exhaustively by Mayr (tom. cit. 1942 :77-84).
If the distinguishing characters of the iridescent colors of the
male mariae are contrasted with adjacent populations running
from left to right as one travels from west to east the follow-
ing discontinuous clinal pattern emerges :
auriceps, mariae, cochrani sericea,
Moluceas Kofiau W. Papuan Is. New Guinea
throat bluish pansy-violet steel-blue bluish shaded with
color aster purple; des-
cribed as “reddish
lilac” by Gylden-
stople (1955:376)
cap golden- “chrysoprase- — bluish- bluish-green,
color green green” green, “tyrolite-green”
(Ridgway ) “tyrolite
green
(Ridgway )
rump steel yellowish bluish-green — bluish green with
and wing blue blue green with a faint a faint yellowish
coverts yellowish suffusion
suffusion
April 20, 1959 Birds from Papuan Islands il
Or
Named in honor of my wife, Mary Livingston Ripley.
Range: Kofiau Island (Beccari, Khakiaj).
29) Nectarinia jugularis frenata (Miller )
26 Apr. 24, 27. Wing, 54.5, 57.5. (Khakiaj)
30) Philemon novaeguineae novaeguineae (Miiller)
Jusup Khakiaj failed to collect this noticeable bird for the
same reasons that he missed securing the fruit pigeon. Both
species tend to dwell in the upper heights of the trees. (Beccari).
2. New or noteworthy records from
the Western Papuan Islands
1) Procellaria pacifica chlororhyncha Lesson
A male of this form from Kabaré, Waigeu Island taken by
my assistant, Jusup Khakiaj, on October 8, 1955, appears
to be the second record for New Guinea vide Mayr (1941:5).
Wing 267, tail 131, culmen (from external nares) 31.
2) Goura cristata minor Schlegel
A pair of Crowned Pigeons from Misool, the female in the
melanic plumage sometimes encountered in this form, the throat
and belly blackish, divided by a narrow smokey-blue chest
band, the upper surface of the tail largely black, are consider-
ably smaller than birds from Waigeu. In addition, a male from
Misool recorded by Mayr and de Schauensee (1939) and a
pair of birds in the American Museum collection are similarly
small, wing ¢ 6 327-385, 2 2 320, 324. Waigeu birds meas-
ure: wing 6 6 350-3865, 2 2 318 (1), 333-353. It is possible
that additional material might reveal the existence of a distinct
subspecies on Misool, which in several other instances seems
to have evoked the emergence of populations with smaller
dimensions than on the mainland of New Guinea or neighbor-
ing islands,
3) Cuculus saturatus saturatus Blyth
A male from Waigeu I. taken Sept. 24, 1955 with a wing
measurement of 187.5 appears to belong to this small sub-
species. Presumably the immature recorded by de Schauensee
(1940) with a wing measurement of only 172 represents satu-
ratus rather than horsfieldi.
16 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 38
4) Collocalia vanikorensis granti Mayr
Three males of this form were taken on Misool, a new record
for that island. Wing measurements 114 (2), 116. In size
they seem slightly smaller than typical granti, but are similar
in color to that form.
5) Coracina morio incertum (Meyer)
A male of this form taken by me at Fafanlap, Misool I. on
27 November, 1954, is an extension of range of this species
to that island.
6) Hupetes caerulescens caerulescens ‘Temminck.
A male taken at Wasa, Misool I. by Jusup Khakiaj on
February 6, 1955, substantiates the old record of Neumann’s
type of “occidentalis” as having come from ‘“Waigama’ on
Misool. Wasa is not far from Waigama, but in any case the
form ranges all over the island as we saw it in dense forest at
Tamulol nearer the south coast.
7) Pomatostomus isidori isidort (Lesson and Garnot)
An unsexed adult taken in September, 1955, by Jusup
Khakiaj appears to be a first record for Waigeu Island. This
seems surprising in view of the work of Stein and Bergman.
8) Rhipidura threnothorax threnothorax Miller
At Tamulol on Misool, I collected a male specimen of this
Fantail on November 14, 1954, which is a new record for the
island. It does not differ from mainland New Guinea speci-
mens and weighed 19 grams.
3. Birds from Ajoe Isiand
Ajoe is the largest of a group of coral islets about twenty-
five miles north of Waigeu Island. It is a sandy island, about
three miles by a mile and a half in area, rising to a height of
nearly three hundred feet. It is covered with scrub and coconut
palms and there are several villages of Besarese fishermen.
These Besarese people, a mixture of Malay and Biak Island
Papuan origin, are noted sailors in the region, and in former
days practiced a certain amount of local piracy and free lance
smugeling.
April 20, 1959 Birds from Papuan Islands i,
Jusup Khakiaj collected a few birds on September 1, 1955,
on Ajoe, and as the island has not been visited by a collector
before, it is worth noting that he obtained the following species :
Eos squamata squamata, Merops ornatus, Halcyon sancta
sancta, Aplonis mysolensis mysolensis.
LITERATURE CITED
Beceari, O., 1875, Littera Ornitologica intorno agli uccelli osservati durante
in suo recente viaggio alla Nuova Guinea. Ann. Mus. Civ. Stor. Nat.
Genova, 7:704-720.
Gyldenstolpe, Nils, 1955, Birds collected by Dr. Sten Bergman during his
expedition to Dutch New Guinea 1948-1949. Ark. f. Zool. Kungl.
Svenska Veten. Ser. 2, 8(2) :182-397.
Mayr, E., 1937, Birds collected during the Whitney South Sea Expedition,
33. Amer. Mus. Novit. No. 915:1-11.
Mayr, E., 1940, Birds collected during the Whitney South Sea Expedition,
41. Amer. Mus. Novit. No. 1056:6.
Mayr, E., 1941, List of New Guinea Birds. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. New
York.
Mayr, E., 1942, Systematics and the Origin of Species. New York: 153.
Mayr, E., 1944, The Birds of Timor and Sumba. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat.
Hist. 83(2) :162.
Mayr, E., and de Schauensee, R. M., 1939, Zoological Results of the Denison-
Crockett South Pacific Expedition for the Academy of Natural Sciences
of Philadelphia. Part V.—Birds from the Western Papuan Island.
Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 91:147.
Meise, W., 1929, Die Vogel von Djampea, Jour. f. Orn. 77:458-460.
Ripley, S. D., 1957, New Birds from the Western Papuan Islands, Postilla,
NEEM Nos oles:
Rothschild, Lord, Stresemann, E., and Paludan, K., 1932, Ornithologische
Ergebnisse der Expedition Stein. Novit Zool. 38:127-247.
Salvadori, 'T., 1880-1882, 1889, Ornitologia della Papuasia e delle Molucche,
Mem. del R. Accad. del Sci. Torino 33 et seq.
de Schauensee, R. M., 1940, On a collection of Birds from Waigeu, Notulae
Naturae, No. 45:7.
1940, On a collection of Birds from Waigeu, Notulae Naturae, No. 45:7.
Sharpe, R. B., 1869, On a new Kingfisher belonging to the Genus Tanysip-
tera. Proc. Zool. Soc. London:630.
Sharpe, R. B., 1892, Cat. Bds. Brit. Mus. 17:306.
Siebers, H. C., 1921-1922, Boeroe Expeditie, Fauna Buruana, Aves: 151.
Stresmann, E., 1914, Beitriige zur Kenntris der Avifauna von Buru. Novit.
Zool. 21:388.
Van Bemmel, A.C.V., 1948, A Faunal List of the Birds of the Molueean
Islands. 'Treubia 19 (2) :323-402.
Vaurie, C., 1949, A revision of the bird family Dicruridae. Bull. Amer.
Mus. Nat. Hist. 93, Art. 4:289.
ne Lee ets Be Se ee
Dt) Oe be eS
|
i\
YALE PEABODY MUSEUM
or Natura. History
OCT 18 1960:
// oslt [{ a HARD
| UNIVERSIT
No. 39 May 2, 1959 New Haven. Conn.
ON MAKAIRA NIGRICANS OF LACEPEDE
By
James E. Morrow, JR.
INTRODUCTION
The identity of Makaira nigricans has long been a puzzle
to ichthyologists engaged in studies of the istiophorids. While
undoubtedly a marlin of some sort, the published description
and figure (Lacépede, 1803: 688—691, Pl. 13, fig. 3) are such
that it has been impossible to identify the fish with any known
species. Lacépede himself never saw the actual specimen, but
made his description from the notes and a sketch sent to him
by MM. Traversay, Fleuriau-Bellevue, and Lamathe. The first
named was the sub-prefect of La Rochelle, the second was said
to have been a well-known naturalist of the district, and the
third appears to have been a gentleman resident at Ars, on the
western side of the Ile du Ré, where the fish was found washed
up on a beach after a storm.
Recently, through the efforts of Dr. Willard Hartman, Pea-
body Museum of Natural History, Yale University, we received
photographs of the original sketch (reproduced here as fig. 1)
and notes from the hbrarian of the Muséum National d’His-
toire Naturelle in Paris. On this drawing, several notes give
the dimensions of various parts of the fish. These notes are
in two handwritings. One is rather coarse and heavy and con-
tains several misspellings. Presumably this is the hand of the
person who drew the sketch. The other hand is much finer,
aan eA 7AM |
|
in
y Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 39
apparently that of a well-educated person, and is presumably
the writing of either M. Fleuriau-Bellevue or M. Lamathe.
The impression gained by examining the notes in the two hands
is that those in the coarser hand were made first, and that
those in the finer hand represent additions and corrections.
Prof. Georges May, Department of French, Yale University,
kindly puzzled out the sometimes rather illegible notations and
archaic usages,
a fe
f
~
0 dah
Figure 1. The 'Traversay drawing, on which Lacépéde based his description
ot Makaira nigricans. See text for notations. The small picture at the lower
left is the illustration published by Lacépéde.
Over the snout of the fish is written ‘*2 pieds de Longure
De la Picque ou defense”; along the anterior edge of the dorsal
fin, “Shautur 23 pouze”; above the middle of the back, in the
better handwriting, “Cette partie se replojoit sur elle méme
dans le corps de animal et saillois de 4 ou 5 pouces a l’ex-
térieur”’; along the anterior edge of the second dorsal “Eleron
9 pouze”; across the spread of the tail, “hauture de la queue
4 pieds de haut,” and in the better hand, “d’une pointe A
Pautre”; below the caudal peduncle, ‘pointe D’os 2 pouze”;
Banh
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May 2, 1959 Mahkaira nigricans of Lacépede
along the posterior edge of the anal fin, “Alero 5! 084960 |
de deboute” (the last two words quite illegible, but, Prof, sae!
suggests that a poorly educated person might hav magna i hry
usage of the adverb “debout”) : below the belly, ees
entier De Longueur 10 pieds,” and below this, in the better
hand ‘‘trois pieds de profil’; along the anterior edge of the
pectoral fin, “Longuer 23 pouze.” Notes on the back of the
drawing, apparently written by Lacépede and copied for us
by Dr. Hartman, read: “Il pesait 365 kylogr. 730 Ibs.” (the
latter in pencil in another hand) “Les habitants de l’Ile de Rhé en
ont mangé avec plaisir. La chair était un peu seche, non huileuse.
Makaira. Makaira noiratre. L’individu dessiné a été pris aupres
de la rochelle. La tempéte Vavait jeté sur le rivage. Le sous-
préfet Lraversay m’a donné le dessin sur lequel j’écris cette
note.”
The notes on the separate page, in a hand similar to the finer
one on the sketch, read: ‘Notes A ajouter a la description du
poisson échoué sur les cotes de l’Isle de Ré en Vend™ an 10.—
dont le dessin a été remis a M. de Lacépéde par M. de Tra-
versay. Ce poisson n’a point d’event sur la téte comme les
Marsouins. L’os de la déffense ressemble assés A Vyvoire. La
deffense est ronde, et sans tranchans d’aucun coté. elle est droite,
unie et sans sillons. I] n’a point de dents, son palais etoit extre-
ment apre a la main. La chair tres blanche, courte, seche et
dun gout fade.
“Ces renseignmens ainsi que le dessein, ont été donnés a M.
Fleuriau-Bellevue par M. Lamathe fils, demeurant a Ars, Isle
de Ré M. Lamathe lui a mandé qu'il répondrois tres volontiers
a toutes les questions que M. de Lacépede jugerois & propos
de lui faire 4 ce sujet.”
DISCUSSION
Much of the difficulty that has been encountered in attempt-
ing to identify any currently known species of marlin with
Makaira nigricans is the direct result of two errors made by
Lacépede in writing his description. First, he stated **Longueure
totale, 330 centimetres,” but the notes on the original drawing
clearly say that the length of the body—not the whole fish—
was ten pieds (about 3250 mm). On this point, Cuvier (1831:
+ Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 39
290), referring to the figure published by Lacépéde, remarked,
“M. de Lacépede a fait refaire le dessin d’aprés ces dimen-
sions écrites; mais je crois qu’il a trop raccourci le corps, et
que auteur du dessin n’entendait pas comprendre dans les
vingt [sic] pieds l’épée ni la Caudale.” Following Cuvier’s hint,
it would seem that the posterior reference point in measuring
the length of the body was somewhere near the base of the tail.
But from what anterior point was the body measured? Com-
paring the length of the spear given by Lacépéde (2 pieds, or
about 650 mm), with various measurements of snout length in
other large marlins indicates that the spear of M. nigricans
must have been measured from its tip to the tip of the lower
jaw. Both the angle of the mouth and the anterior border of the
eye are too far back. Measurements to either of these points
from the tip of the snout would, in such a large fish, be on the
order of 900 to 1,000 mm or more, rather than 650 mm. The
nostril, another possible reference point, is so close to the eye
that measurements to this would still be far larger than 650
mm. The most probable reference points for the snout measure-
ments are thus the tip of the snout and the tip of the lower jaw.
At 650 mm, this length of snout is quite reasonable for a large
fish. Lacking evidence to the contrary, it is logical to assume
that the anterior reference point in measuring the body length
was also the tip of the lower jaw. This results in a standard
length of the fish, from the tip of the snout to the tail base, of
about 3900 mm. This is indeed a very large fish, but it is not
beyond the recorded or reported size for several species of
marlins.
The second error of transcription in Lacépéde’s article is his
statement ‘tune hauteur d’une meter’ (1,000 mm),whereas the
note on the sketch reads “trois pieds de profil’? (974 mm). To
the ichthyologist, ‘profil’ is not the same as body depth
(hauteur). The latter is the straight-line distance from the mid-
dorsal to the mid-ventral line, while the former is the distance
between these two lines measured around the curvature of the
body. For white marlin, our data indicate that the depth varies
between 79% and 89% of the profile, averaging 82%. Data
supplied by Dr. C. R. Robins, Marine Laboratory, University
of Miami, produce an average relationship of a fraction over
May 2, 1959 Makaira nigricans of Lacépede 5
82% for 26 specimens of Atlantic blue marlin. Nakamura
(1938: 5) reported that the depth averaged between 83% and
86% of the profile in the three Pacific species examined by him.
Since M. nigricans was an Atlantic fish, it seems justifiable to
take 82.5% of the profile for an approximation to the body
depth, or 804 mm.
Two other points require comment. It has been suggested that
the awkard positioning of the pectoral fins in the sketch was
intended to portray the rigid pectoral fins of the black marlin
of the Indo-Pacific. Indeed, we ourselves (Morrow, 1959) ad-
vanced somewhat the same line of reasoning in seeking to
establish the identity of Tetrapturus indicus Cuvier. But there
we were dealing with a drawing made by an experienced zoologi-
‘al illustrator. In the present situation, the drawing apparently
was made by someone with little education, zoological knowl-
edge, or artistic ability. Particularly since the black marlin
has never been recorded from the Atlantic ocean, it seems to us
far more probable that Cuvier’s (1851: 289) interpretation
was correct—that, consciously or no, the artist was influenced
by experience with a fish that must have been well-known to
him, the broadbill swordfish, and drew the fins as he thought
they ought to be rather than as they were.
The statement that the meat of M. nigricans was “tres
blanche” has also been taken to indicate the black marlin, whose
flesh is very white in contrast to the red meat of the Atlantic
species. However, we have eaten nearly all the istiophorids”,
and can testify from personal experience that the flesh of all
these turns white when cooked. Since the rest of the description
of the meat obviously refers to its condition on the table, the
statement regarding color can only mean that it was well done.
The remaining measurements, etc., seem clear enough, and as
Lacépéde and the notes agree, there seems to be no need for
further comment. We now have a set of dimensions for M.
nigricans as shown in ‘Table I, and by exercising only the mini-
mum of imagination, it should be possible to reconstruct the
beast. The result is shown in fig. 2.
* Atlantic and Indo-Pacific blue marlins, black, white and striped marlins,
Atlantic and Indian ocean sailfish, Indo-Pacific spearfish.
6 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 39
TABLE I
Revised dimensions of Makaira nigricans Lacépede*
elo higo ted onsaletinies ee ier 23 pouces 622 mm
Wengthyor pectoral tite sere sce 23 pouces 622 mm
IDG HY iE NOCH, odé oosniccae Hobceoontec 2.49 pieds 804 mm
Length of snout, to
Lipmote lower iy awe scat eee 2 pieds 650 mm
Length of body, tip of
lowerpyawatomtalle baSe@h seer = acre 10 pieds 3250 mm
Standandileng ther. 125 mai ae eis el 12 pieds 3900 mm
Rails preag stip suo) tip mame eee ete irele 4 pieds 1300 mm
eight second Gorsal filles eee ieee 9 pouces 244 mm
I ength posterior edge of
HAE CNL os oemodaSoaodcnanan nee 15 pouces 460 mm
* At the time when Lacépéde wrote, the pouce and pied had not been
standardized. In converting to the metric system, we have used 1 pouce
= 2.707 em and 1 pied = 0.3248 m. While this may result in some small
error in absolute size, it will not affect the proportional relationships.
The general facies of the reconstruction resemble those of
the blue marlin more closely than those of any other species.
Particularly, the robust body and moderately low dorsal fin
place M. nigricans with the blue rather than white among the
Atlantic species. The pectoral fin is very short, but its length
falls at the lower limit of the range for blue marlin (Conrad
and LaMonte, 1937: 218), and found also in black and Indo-
Pacific blues (see Table II). The shape of the first anal fin is
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10 20 30 40 50 60 70
PERCENTAGE OF STANDARD LENGTH
Figure 2. Wakaira nigricans reconstructed according to the revised meas-
urements of Table I. See text for discussion.
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8 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 39
a bit odd for any marlin species, but may be accounted for
by the assumption that either the fin was damaged or was not
fully erect when measured. Some support for the former may be
found in the presence of a stub of bone (point d’os) just be-
hind the first anal, indicating that the second anal had been
damaged and lost. The second dorsal fin seems rather high, but
we can offer no explanation.
The weight of M. nigricans, 804 pounds, is rather light for
a fish of its assumed length. Either we have made a gross error
in assuming this length (which does not seem likely, as the
various proportions fit quite well), or it really was a thin fish.
According to length-weight relationships derived from various
sources (our own data, as well as that published by Gregory
and Conrad, 1939, Tables I and III: Conrad and LaMonte,
1937, Table I; Royce, 1957, Appendix Tables 1 and 2), a fish
this size should have weighed well over 1,000 pounds. However,
the same data also show that individual weights may differ
from the computed regression by as much as 40% of the ex-
pected value. There are also a number of possibilities which
would result in a lighter weight than expected. First, the fish
was washed ashore. This fact, coupled with its large size, at
once suggests that it was an old, sick, dying animal, quite pos-
sibly emaciated. Second, it may well have lain on the beach for
a day or two before being weighed. The rapid loss of weight
by fishes out of water is so well known as to warrant no
further comment. Third, it is quite possible, even probable, that
the fish was cut up in order to be weighed more easily, with
concomitant loss of body fluids. It may even have been evis-
cerated. And finally, it is not improbable that the weight was
estimated, without ever putting the fish on a scale at all.
We can now compare the reconstructed M. nigricans with
each of the currently recognized (or recently described) species
of marlin (see Table IT).
The depth of the body, at 20.6% of the standard length,
agrees with the Atlantic blue marlin (M. ampla), the Indo-
Pacific blue (M. mazara), and the black marlin (Istiompaax
indicus). The body is much too deep for either the white (J.
albida) or the striped (M. audax), and not deep enough for
the Bermuda marlin (WZ. bermudae).
May 2, 1959 Makaira nigricans of Lacépede 9
The height of the dorsal fin, expressed as a percentage of the
depth of the body, also appears to eliminate identification with
the white, striped, and Bermuda marlins. In all three of these
species, the height of the dorsal fin is greater than the body
depth, but in M. nigricans the dorsal height was less than 80%
of the body depth. This value agrees well with the figures for
the two blue marlins, but is somewhat too high for the black
marlin, except for a single specimen.
The height of the dorsal as a percentage of the standard
length agrees with the two blue marlins and the white marlin.
It is far too low for the Bermuda marlin, slightly low for the
striped, and a little too high for the black, although two speci-
mens of this last species had dorsal heights that overlapped
with M. nigricans. The weight of the evidence here, however,
favors the blue marlins over the others.
The pectoral fin of M. nigricans, at 16° of the standard
length, is too short for any known species. Both the black and
the Indo-Pacific blue, however, come close to this value at the
low end of their ranges, and the Atlantic blue is not far off.
Conrad and LaMonte (1937: 218) give a lower limit of 1/6 of
the standard length for this last species. The relative length of
the pectoral fin seems to rule against identity with either the
striped or the white marlins, which have rather long pectoral
fins.
The length cf the snout, from its tip to the tip of the lower
jaw, is 16.7% of the standard length in M. nigricans. This
value is only just beyond the upper limit observed in the Indo-
Pacific blue, and is within the range of all the others except the
striped marlin.
M. nigricans, at a weight of 804 pounds and an estimated
total length of about 15 feet, was much too large to have been
either a white or a striped marlin. Although the rod and reel
record for the latter is listed at 692 pounds, the fact that this
individual, caught nearly thirty years ago, was so much bigger
(see Table II) than any individual taken since, despite greatly
increased fishing intensity, suggests that it may have been mis-
identified. It is quite possible that the fish was really an Indo-
Pacific blue, a species generally not recognized by American
anglers and ichthyologists at the time. Be that as it may, the
10 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 39
size of M. nigricans falls well within the recorded or reported
range of the two blue marlins and the black marlin.
The locality of capture at once rules out identification of
M. nigricans with any of the three Pacific species. In the more
than 150 years since the discovery of M. nigricans, with thou-
sands of marlin taken each year in recent times, not a single
individual of any Pacific species has ever been reported from a
location in the Atlantic, nor has any individual of an Atlantic
species ever been found in the Pacific. (A possible exception 1s
found in the Atlantic and Pacific blue marlins, which may or
may not represent a single species. They are treated here
as two separate species.) Neither the black nor the striped
have been found in the Atlantic at any time.
Summing up, then, the pectoral fin of M. nigricans is slightly
shorter than the shortest pectorals of the Atlantic and Pacific
blues, and the black. The gap between M. nigricans and either
the striped or the white is rather wider, and there is no com-
parative data for the Bermuda marlin. Of the remaining six
characteristics considered, three rule out identification with
the white marlin, viz: (1) depth of body as percentage of stand-
ard length: (2) height of dorsal as percentage of depth: (3)
overall size. Five factors militate against identity with the
striped marlin: (1) depth of body as percentage of standard
length; (2) height of dorsal as percentage of depth: (8) snout
length; (4) habitat: (5) overall size. Comparing with the black
marlin, three factors indicate non-identity: (1) height of
dorsal as percentage of depth; (2) height of dorsal as per-
centage of standard length; (with possible exception as noted) :
(3) habitat. With respect to the two blue marlins, only one
factor, habitat, rules out the Pacific form. All characteristics
of M. nigricans are in agreement with those of the Atlantic blue
marlin. The few measurements available for the Bermuda marlin
absolutely prohibit any possibility of indentifying this form
with M. nigricans.
Makaira nigricans is thus established as the form currently
known as M. ampla, the Atlantic blue marlin. The specific name,
nigricans, has priority over ampla by 58 years. Makaira nigri-
cans is the type species of the genus. The type specimen itself
was eaten. The type material of the species is a sketch, accom-
May 2, 1959 Makaira nigricans of Lacépede v1
panied by notes and measurements, now with the original manu-
script of Histeire Naturelle des Poissons, volume 8, by Cuvier
and Valenciennes, in the library of the Muséum National
d’ Histoire Naturelle, Paris.
SYNONYMY
Makaira nigricans Laépede. 1803, Histoire naturelle des
Poissons, Paris, vol. 4, pp. 688-691, Pl. 13, fig. 3.
Tetrapturus herschelti Gray, 1838, Ann. Mag. nat. Hist., 7,
ole) 0:
Tetrapturus amplus Poey, 1860, Memorias sobre la historia
natural de la Isla de Cuba, vol. 2, pp. 237, 243-244; ibid., 1861,
Meo tie. 2:
Makaira perezi de Buen, 1950, Publ. Cient. Serv. oceanogr.
Pesca, Montevideo, 5: 171-175.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The field work involved in accumulating much of the com-
parative data used here has been assisted and supported by
Messrs. Wendell W. Anderson, Thomas Shevlin, John K.
Howard, Alfred C. Glassell Jr., Al Pflueger, the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Society of the Sigma
Xi. Assistance in other directions has been received from Dr.
Willard D. Hartman, Prof. Georges May, and Dr. C. Richard
Robins. Messrs. Howard and Robins and Miss Francesca R.
LaMonte have criticised the manuscript. To all these good
friends and institutions, grateful thanks are tendered.
1 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 39
LITERATURE CITED
Conrad, G. Miles, and Francesca R. LaMonte. 1937. Observations on the
body torm of the blue marlin (Makaira nigricans ampla Poey). Bull.
Amer. Mus. nat. Hist., 74 (4): 207-220.
Cuvier, Georges. 1831. In Cuvier and Valenciennes, Histoire naturelle des
poissons, 8: 287-291, Paris.
Gregory, William Kk., and G. Miles Conrad. 1939. Body-forms of the black
marlin (Makaira nigricans marlina) and striped marlin (Wakaira
mitsukurii) of New Zealand and Australia. Bull. Amer. Mus. nat.
Hist., 76 (8): 443-456.
Lacépéde, B. G. E. de. 1803. Histoire naturelle des poissons, 4: 658-691,
Pl. 13, fig. 3, Paris.
Morrow, James E. Jr. 1959. On the identity of Tetrapturus indicus Cuvier,
1831. Copeia (In press).
Nakamura, Hiroshi. 1938. Report of an investigation of the spearfishes of
Formosan waters. Rept. Taiwan Goyt.-Genl. Fish. Expt. Sta., 70.
Translated from the Japanese by W. G. van Campen, U. S. Fish.
Wildl. Sery., Spec. Sci. Rept., Fisheries No. 755, 1955.
Royce, William F. 1957. Observations on the spearfishes of the central
Pacific. Fish. Bull. 724, Fish. Bull. U. S. Fish Wildl. Serv., 57: 496-554.
las paren 7A]
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R \
YALE PEABODY MUSEUM |_HNIERSIY
oF NaTuRAL History
Number 40 May 28, 1959 New Haven, Conn.
A NEW SPECIES OF GRAMMATOSTOMIAS
(FAMILY MELANOSTOMIATIDAE)
FROM THE WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC
James EK. Morrow Jr.*
The genus Grammatostomias is most easily distinguished
from other genera of the family by the presence of a streak or
loop of luminous tissue on the sides of the body above the
lateral row of serial photophores. Within the genus, the form
of the loop or streak, and the number of rays in the pectoral
fin appear to be valid characteristics upon which the several
species can be distinguished.
Grammatostomias circularis, new species
Figure 1. Grammatostomias circularis, new species. Drawn from the type
specimen, 135.6 mm from snout tip to tail base. The skin of the caudal
region has been slightly restored in the illustration. Drawn by Miss
Shirley Glaser.
Study Material. Type Specimen. One specimen, 135.6 mm in
standard length, from the western north Atlantic, north of
San Juan, Puerto Rico; Yale Peabody Museum of Natural
1793
History, Bingham Oceanographic Collection, No. 3773.
* Bingham Oceanographic Laboratory, Yale University.
i
Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 40
Distinctive Characters. G. circularis is separated from the
other two species of the genus by the presence of 9 pectoral
rays and by the nearly circular form of the lateral loop of lum-
inous tissue.
Description. Proportional measurements of the type speci-
men are expressed as percentages of the standard length unless
otherwise indicated.
Body: depth 10.5.
Head: 15.6
Eye: 2.6; 16.5% of head.
Snout: 3.4; 21.7% of head.
Interorbital: 4.1; 26.0% of head; ca. 150% of eye diameter.
Distance from snout: to origin of dorsal fin 78.3; to origin
of anal fin 78.3; to origin of ventral fins 45.8.
Dorsal fin: rays 21; length of base 14.6.
Anal fin: rays 23; length of base 17.0.
Pectoral fin: rays 9.
Ventral fin: rays 8.
Branchiostegal rays: 10.
Serial photophores: Ventral row: I-P 7, P-V 18, V-A 21 (the
last two above anal base), A-C 13. Lateral row: O-V 18,
V-A 19, 20.
Body slender, compressed, depth about 1/10 of standard
length. Caudal peduncle about 5% of standard length, strong-
lv compressed. Barbel pigmented basally, broken off, the part
remaining not quite as long as head.
Head about 1/6 of standard length, its dorsal profile gently
rounded, premaxilla projecting into dorsal line. Snout longer
than eye. Interorbital width greater than snout, about 1 1/2
times eye, slightly convex, with a low, inconspicuous ridge above
each eye. Eye round, about 1/6 of head. A small light organ
May 28,1959 A New Species of Grammatostomias 3
present on ventral edge of fleshy orbit below [sapecr oot eVe,
Postocular organ elongate, its length about 5 times its w oe
length less than 1/2 eye, long axis parallel to | upper voaw! A
small, vertically elongate luminous spot presen (befgre 4960 |
three small spots on upper jaw, one just befpre a
organ, a second elongate spot behind postoculdr, afl@'a“fyird
round one behind. Branchiostegals 10, a photo shoVAlYERSTY,-
brane near base of each ray.
Mouth extending nearly full length of head, gape straight.
Premaxilla with a large fixed tooth anteriorly, followed by a
larger depressible one which is largest tooth in upper jaw.
These followed by two rigid, outer teeth, a depressible inner
tooth, a rigid outer, a depressible inner, and five rigid teeth to
posterior end of premaxilla. Maxillary with about 28 small
oblique denticles on posterior part of its ventral margin. Man-
dible with a large, rigid fang anteriorly, followed by a minute
rigid tooth, a depressible tooth and a rigid outer tooth. Behind
these, three inner depressible teeth and three rigid outer teeth,
approximately in pairs, inner teeth longer than outer ones.
Behind these, 11 small rigid teeth in’ single row, irregular in
size, Ist and 4th longest. Vomer without teeth. Palatines with
3 or 4 teeth in single row on each side, 2nd and 4th teeth
minute. "Two se of backwardly-directed teeth on tongue.
Twelve small single teeth on first gill arch.
Pectoral fins close to mid-ventral line, their origins just
below posterior edge of gill openings, fins of 9 long, slender,
dark-colored rays, several with slim luminous bodies, one with
a large thick mass of luminous tissue basally. Pectoral rays
about as long as a head. Ventral fins of 8 rays, well developed,
originating before middle of standard length. Dorsal and anal
origins on same vertical, anal base longer than that of dorsal,
both fins with thick sheaths of body skin extending well up on
the rays. Caudal forked.
Sides of body with a nearly circular line of luminous tissue,
its antero-posterior diameter slightly greater than length of
post-ocular part of head, extending backwards from gill open-
ings (see fig. 1). Vertical extent from near dorsum almost to
4. Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 40
lateral row of serial photophores. Luminous line quite even,
smooth, without zigzags or noticeable thickenings.
Skin smooth, scaleless, marked with vertical rows of tiny
photophores, and with numerous small organs scattered over
head and body.
Color. The alcoholic specimen is dark brownish black. Serial
photophores bluish, luminous loop pale violet.
Type Locality. North of San Juan, Puerto Rico, 18° 55’ N,
66° 10’ W to 19° 05’ N, 65° 59’ W:: 0 to 225 fathoms.
Name. The species is named circularis, with reference to the
nearly circular shape of the lateral loop of luminous tissue.
Comparision With Other Species. The present species is most
easily compared with others in the genus by means of the
following key.
Key to Species of Grammatostomias
la. Sides with a long luminous line from just behind gill cover
to behind ventral bases, hooked sharply downward at its
anterior end. Pectoral with 5 rays........... dentatus Goode and
Bean, 1895*
1b. Sides with a closed loop of luminous tissue. Pectoral rays
Oto WL.
2a. Luminous loop elongate, extending posteriorly about to
ventral bases, its anterior ventral portion thickened and
PNET AO Br cs MAR flagellibarba Holt and Byrne, 1910.**
2b. Luminous loop nearly circular, without thickenings or
PMG MS te ae Sire tah gost te Seat ieee circularis new species.
Acknowledgements. We wish to express our gratitude to Dr.
ichar« . Backus, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution,
Ricl 1 H. Back W ls Hole O grapl Institut
who collected the type specimen, for his gift of the same to the
Peabody Museum’s Bingham Oceanographic Collection. We are
also grateful to Miss Shirley Glaser for her fine drawing.
*Lamprotowus angulifer Beebe 1932 is a synonym.
** Lamprotowus paucifilis Regan and 'Trewavas 1930 and Lamprotoxvus
phanobrochus Regan and 'Trewayas 1930 are synonyms.
MUS. COMP. 7001
LIBRARY
APR 2 6 1960
HARVARD
UNIVERSITY
ostilla
YALE PEABODY MUSEUM
oF NaTuRAL History
No. 41 Sept. 15, 1959 New Haven, Conn.
BIRDS FROM DJAILOLO, HALMAHERA'
By
S. Ditton RIPLEY
My wife and I had the opportunity of spending a week in
the vicinity of Djailolo on the island of Halmahera from
September 2 through 8, 1954, during a trip in the Moluccas
sponsored partly by the Guggenheim and National Science
Foundations as well as Yale University.
Djailolo was visited briefly by Alfred Russel Wallace in
1858 who remarked (1869) on the lack of original forest in
the area around Sahoe, and the vast extent of heavy grass and
high reeds which made bird study very difficult. We had origin-
ally intended to spend several months on Halmahera, but were
prevented from doing so by a local outbreak of guerilla activity
and so had to content ourselves with a short visit to the Djai-
lolo area.
In back of the village there is a low, conical, three thousand
foot mountain, Mount Djailolo, which has patches of heavy
forest on its steep slopes. In addition, an experimental agri-
cultural farm at Achango, seven kilometres by road to the
north gave us an opportunity to camp in the midst of a varied
environment, patches of dense scrub mixed with sago swamp,
* Dedicated to Professor Erwin Streseman in honor of his seventieth birthday.
2 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 41
cleared fields, high stands of cultivated trees such as kapok
and shade trees used in the plantations of cocoa and nutmeg.
Five kilometres farther along this road to the north is a small
auxiliary airstrip which occasionally serves the Ternate area.
Altogether in 1954 this was a far more rewarding mixture of
scrub and second growth forest than one would be led to be-
lieve from Wallace’s description.
Is this short time we failed to see many of the birds collected
by Wallace or later visitors such as Bernstein, Heinrich, or
de Haan. However, we made a small collection and a few ob-
servations which may be of interest.
Several species were seen but not collected as follows:
Sterna sumatrana, Djailolo Bay
Tadorna radjah radjah. The Radjah Shelduck was flushed out
of a sago swamp at Achango, the female uttering the char-
acteristic grunting call as they flew.
Spizaetus gurneyi. A pair of this hawk-eagle was observed on
the slopes of Mount Djailolo. As the birds flew they showed
a prominent mirror patch at the base of the primaries. The
birds first appeared about 8:30 a.m., circling high over the
heavy forest about half way up the mountain approximately
1500 feet above sea level. Their circling was purposeful, taking
them ever lower down to lower altitudes, finally to the area of
semi-cultivation and scrub until they were lost to view in the
lowland coconut plantation.
Hornbills, Aceros plicatus ruficollis, were coming into breed-
ing condition at this time although still occupying a communal
roost in the kapok trees. However, display flights were com-
mon. The appearance of the Hawk-eagles seemed to drive
them into a frenzy of display. Six hornbills could be seen at
one time in the air, circling round and round in tight circles
as the hawk-eagles flew by, banking sharply with set wings
making a characteristic whirring, drumming sound.
Rallus philippensis subsp. Two rails were flushed from the
paddy fields at Achango on September 8. They were close
enough to spot the grayish-streaked sides, brownish-grayish
ios ~VUL
;
APR 26 1960}
wiry
back and reddish streak through the eye eeabieying them as 4
the Banded Rail. Presumably they were migrants into the
north Moluccas from Australia and belonged to the population
yorki. This species has not previously been recorded from
Halmahera vide van Bemmel (1948).
Sept. 15, 1959 Birds from Djailolo, Halmahera
Centropus bengalensis medius. Seen in long grass at the Djai-
lolo airstrip.
Species collected.
1.) Accipter novaehollandiae griseogularis (Gray)
In a backyard garden at Achango.
Ptilinopus hyogastra (Temminck )
iw)
wa
Often perched on telephone wires. Males were coming into
breeding condition ahead of females. The first female with
enlarged ovaries was taken in October on Batjan. Weight;
Ge culoo, G92 72 2 105, 162) erams,
3.) Ducula bicolor (Scopoli)
4.) Reinwardtoena reinwardtsi reinwardtsi (Temminck)
5.) Macropygia amboinensis batchianensis (Wallace)
2 ovaries enlarged September 7, weight 139 grams.
6.) Geoffroyus geoffroyi cyanicollis (S. Miller)
Not breeding. One bird very worn. Weight 3 ¢ 174, 188,
2? 2 160, 188, 190, 222 grams.
7.) Scythrops novaehollandiae Latham
The Channel Bill appeared for the first time on September
2, and was seen daily flying north in small groups from two
up to ten. The birds appeared to be migrating. A single male
had small fruits in the stomach. Unrecorded previously from
Halmahera.
8.) Centropus goliath Bonaparte
This coucal was heard to give two calls, a curious chuck-
ling which sounds like a rail, and a deep low moaning roar.
Local name, “Sokukud.”’
a Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 41
9.) Otus leucospilus (Gray)
This is a large dark owlet, larger than any of the forms
of scops (wing of our é 173 mm.), dark above and with pro-
nounced dark central streaks on the feathers of the upper
surface.
In southern Asia the typical call of scops may be likened
to “tonk tonk ta tonk.” As Heinrich (1940) has noted, this
species calls entirely differently. A single male perched about
thirty feet above the ground in dense shade trees at Achango
‘alled a single, rasping “‘kwok” at regular intervals with per-
haps ten seconds between each call. The resonance and growling
quality of the call sounded more like a barking deer than a bird.
Weight 160 grams. Local name, “Goroko.”
10.) Ninow connvivens rufostrigata (Gray)
A female collected from a shade tree at Achango had a
two-syllabled call like the yapping of a small dog, “ow-wow,
> Heinrich (1956) found this owl in the mountains in
contrast to our experience.
OW-Wow..’
11.) Caprimulgus macrurus schillmolleri: Stresemann
A male in breeding condition weighed 79 grams. Call, the
familiar “tock tock” of the species.
12.) Collicalia vanikorensis moluccarum Stresemann
A female coming into breeding condition weighed 11
grams. Another female weighed 12 grams. First record of
this subspecies for Halmahera vide Van Bemmel (1948). One
of these specimens with a wing measurement of 114 mm. seems
exceedingly close to the race waigewensis. The other female
with a wing of 107 mm. fits closer to moluccarum. 'These speci-
mens belong to the vanikorensis assemblage with uniform backs
and unfeathered tarsus. Local name “‘putih.”
13.) Collocalia esculenta nubila, new subspecies.
Type: 6 ad. (Y.P.M. no. 36966), collected September 6,
1954, by S. Dillon Ripley at Achango, Djailolo, Halmahera,
Indonesia.
Diagnosis: The single specimen of Glossy Swiftlet taken
by me on Halmahera prompted me to examine comparative
material of this species. From this it is at once apparent that
Sept. 15, 1959 Birds from Djailolo, Halmahera 5
the population found on Morotai, Halmahera, Ternate and
Tidore differs strikingly from typical esculenta of Obi, Buru,
the southern Moluccas, Celebes (Sulawesi) and New Guinea in
being dark below, the abdomen being clouded over. The feath-
ers of the abdomen have dark greenish or dark greenish fuscus
centers with white edges only. In this character nubila is
similar to dodgei of Borneo or bagobo or isonota of the Philip-
pines. This population, however, is smaller than these, more
northern forms, and also far more glossy on the back, match-
ing typical esculenta in this. In addition the abdomen is even
more suffused than in the Philippine races.
Wing measurements of nubila are; 64 93 - 96; 32 92 -
95; 5 sex indet. 90 - 96 mm. Weight, 1¢, 6 grams.
This new form is extremely interesting from a zoogeo-
graphic point of view, showing as it does a strong relationship
to the populations of the southern Philippines.
I am grateful to Dr. Junge at Leyden, Professor Strese-
mann at Berlin and Dr. Amadon of the American Museum of
Natural History in New York for the loan of specimens in
their care.
14.) Hemiprocne mystacea confirmata Stresemann
A pair were in breeding condition in early September and
weighed 6 76, 2 69 grams.
15.) Ceyx lepidus uropygialis (Gray)
Weight; ¢ ¢ 11-20 (mean 16); 2 2 17, 22, 30 grams.
16.) Halcyon diops diops (Temminck)
Common in cultivated areas, often on telephone wires. In
addition to the character of the breast band in the female, the
lack of the white neck ring and so forth, there is a pronounced
weight difference between the sexes. A young male which an-
swers to the description of the “young female’? in Sharpe
(1892) weighed 37 grams. Two ¢ adult weighed 43,45; ? &
ad. 65, 65 grams. Local name “Chawahiru.”
17.) Halcyon funebris (Bonaparte)
This heavy-set dark brownish green kingfisher, while pos-
sessing a plumage pattern of spots and neck ring rather like
6 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 41
the chloris assemblage has a superficial resemblance to the
brightly colored winchelli-hombroni group of the Philippines.
18.) T'anysiptera galatea isis Gray
Comparison of a small series of Racquet-tailed Kingfishers
from Halmahera and Batjan shows that Halmahera birds have
an ultramarine crown only very narrowly bordered on the
sides with cobalt which forms a superocular stripe. In the
Batjan population the cobalt is much more pronounced, being
broad, extending onto the crown and making a noticable nuchal
ring. G. R. Gray (1860) described isis from “Batchian and
Gilolo,” a name which has been merged with margarethae of
Heine (1859) from Batjan. I hereby restrict the type locality
of isis to Gilolo ( = Halmahera) which thereby becomes avail-
able for the Halmahera population.
A female called with a single soft mewing note. Weight
6 55, 2 2 64, 78 grams. Local name, “Menyalum.”
19.) Eurystomus orientalis pacificus (Latham)
Weight ¢ é 175, 182 grams.
20.) Hirundo tahitica frontalis Quoy and Gaimard
One, sex indet. weight 15 grams.
21.) Artamus leucorhynchus leucopygialis Gould
Male, weight 46 grams.
22.) Aplonis metallica metallica (‘Temminck )
Starlings were in small flocks in scrub-edge of forest areas
about 650 feet above sea level. They made a series of short
tinkling calls. Weight 2 60 grams. Local name “Hidis.”
23.) Corvus validus Bonaparte
Local name “Bokogk.”
24.) Lycocorax pyrrhopterus pyrrhopterus (Bonaparte)
This crow-like bird of paradise occurs from sea level to
the tops of the mountain ridges. Normally the call is a very
harsh rasping “tschak tschak.” A pair at Achango were
sitting closely side by side on a coconut palm frond. Both birds
had enlarged gonads on September 7. A third bird was sitting
near by. One bird, the male, was making a very deep, low
ba
.
Sept. 15,1959 ~~ Birds from Djailolo, Halmahera 7
“om” sound, evidently a display note. It seemed to swell up and
bow slightly as it called. Local name ‘‘Siamit.”
25.) Lalage aurea (‘Temminck)
A bird of open scrub; 6 weight 32 grams.
26.) Coracina atriceps magnirostris (Bonaparte)
Weight ¢ 150, 2 128 grams.
27.) Coracina papuensis melanolora (Gray)
Weight 2 82 grams.
28.) Hysipetes affinis chloris (Finsch)
Specimens from Halmahera seem slightly more bronzey,
less pure yellow green above and below than those from Batjan.
There is no difference in size, however, and this distinction does
not seem marked enough to warrant nomenclatoral recognition.
Birds were in breeding condition in September. Weight
6 é 38, 41, 2 2 41, 42 grams. Local name “Klaitua.”
These bulbuls were often in small family parties of from
two or three to nearly a dozen. On one occasion I found
Monarcha trivirgatus flocking with them evidently in a mixed
feeding association. They occurred in open scrub or dense for-
est from sea level up to nearly five thousand feet without
evident altitudinal or habitat preference.
29.) Myiagra galatea galatca Gray
A male in breeding condition weighed 11 grams. The bill
of this specimen shows no evidence of mal-formation but in
form resembles typical Monarcha species, being laterally com-
pressed, with little of the tumid appearance of Myiagra. No
other specimens collected, or examined in the series in the
American Museum of Natural History show this appearance,
perhaps a mutant gene for bill shape approaching the related
monarch flycatchers.
30.) Monarcha trivirgatus bimaculatus Gray
Male in breeding condition, weight 15 grams.
31.) Nectarinia sericea auriceps Gray
A male had enlarged gonads although a female showed
no enlargement. Weight ¢8, 2 7 grams.
8 Postilla Yale Peabody Musewm No. 41
32.) Melitograis gilolensis (Bonaparte)
A male with gonads enlarged was taken in substage forest
growth at 850 feet above sea level. The bird called with a
single harsh rasping note. Weight 54 grams. Local name
*Sotosoto.”
This honeyeater was always seen as a solitary individual
and seemed to show aggressive behavior. On one occasion as
I have described elsewhere (1959) I saw a single bird disperse
a flock of bulbuls.
33.) Lonchura ferruginosa jagori (von Martens)
A male with gonads shghtly enlarged was taken out of a
small flock in heavy weeds on the edge of a garden at Achango.
Weight 15 grams. Local name “Kotolor”
Like Hypsipetes, Collocalia esculenta nubila and perhaps
Pitta maxima and Halcyon funebris, the occurence of Lon-
chura ferruginosa jagort on Halmahera emphasizes the zoo-
geographic link between the northern Moluccan islands and
the Philippine Archipelago. Although the predominant early
avifaunal influence in the area can be said to have come from
the Australian-New Guinea region with these islands contain-
ing the most westward extensions of the families of the Birds of
Paradise and the Honeyeaters, represented in each case by
endemic genera, still the importance of the Philippines should
not be underemphasized. It is instructive in this regard to be
in Halmahera during the migration as we were, and to note
the arrival daily of such species as the warblers, Phylloscopus
and Locustella, the flycatchers, swallows, and the others, so
many of which have obviously come directly from the islands
to the northwest on passage. These connections can only have
been adventitious, over water, but the route is there ready to
hand.
LITERATURE CITED
Gray, G. R. 1860, Proc. Zool. Soc. London : 347.
Heinrich G. 1940, Journ. f. Orn. vol. 88 (1) : 5.
1956, Jour. f. Orn. vol. 97 : 36.
Ripley, S. D. 1959, Evolution vol. 13 (in press).
Sharpe, R. B. 1892, Cat. Bds. Brit. Mus. vol. 17 : 254.
Van Bemmel, A.C.V., 1948, Treubia vol. 19 (2) : 323 -402
Wallace, Alfred Russel, 1869 'The Malay Archipelago, London 2 vols., re-
printed 1922 : 242.
mud. UW? POST
ees er |
APR 2 6 1960
ARVARD
UNIVERSITY
Salle
YALE PEABODY MUSEUM
oF NaTurRAL History
Number 42 December 20, 1959 |New Haven, Conn.
—
CHARACTER DISPLACEMENT
IN INDIAN NUTHATCHES (Sitta).
S. Ditton RIPLEY
Is connection with work on the birds of India, I have had
occasion to arrange the various nuthatches of the genus Sitta
occuring in India in a purely linear listing suitable for a check-
list. Arrangement of this sort at once reveals that far more
is at stake than a mere listing can indicate. Some aspects of
the problem are given in the recent comprehensive treatise by
Voous and Van Marle (1958) who have attempted to recreate
the distributional history of the several species of Sitta of
Southeast Asia.
It is quite clear from a study of these nuthatches that
several species are involved, that they are all closely related
and that they tend to replace each other. However, where
these species are sympatric they show character displacement
as well as a degree of niche specificity, thus a tendency to
special adaptations as discussed by Brown (1958). That
closely related species of nuthatches exhibit this type of spe-
ciation allowing geographical overlap and ecological specificity
has been well illustrated by Vaurie (1950, 1951) in his two
papers on Sitta neuwmayer and S, tephronota of west central
Asia. These two species of Rock Nuthatches are admitted to
be most closely related to each other. Voous and Van Marle
(ibid: 54) feel that the Rock Nuthatches are in addition a
2 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 42
central Asian offspring of the common European Tree Nut-
hatch adapted to a xeric environment. That these forms
could have split off from the tree-inhabiting nuthatch at op-
posite geographically isolated ends of two glacial refugia in the
southeastern Mediterranean and central Asia respectively
seems conceivable. At a later stage the two populations, al-
most indistinguishable morphologically and with similar habits
and ecological requirements, having spread into contiguous
areas have evolved adaptively so that both can coexist in
the same range without hybridization. Morphologically the
two species differ in the area of overlap by a significant change
in bill size. Whereas isolated populations at the ends of the
range have similar bills, the overlap populations differ greatly,
the Asian tephronota possessing a large bill, the Mediter-
ranean neumayer a relatively small bill. In addition whereas
both species possess a black facial stripe of equivalent size
and length, running from the base of the bill through the eye
and back to the nape, the overlap populations differ greatly,
the eye stripe in Asian tephronota being much enlarged and
prolonged farther backwards, that of the Mediterranean neu-
mayer being greatly reduced to a strip between bill and eye
passing backwards to just above the auricular region. Thus
two species which are virtually sibling species have developed
prominent recognition marks and adaptations for food gath-
ering sufficient to prevent interbreeding and reduce competition.
That competition is a factor seems inevitable from what is
known of the habits of these species, both living in xeric areas
of cliffs, rocks and low stunted trees. Both occur in the same
areas and have been collected together at the same altitude.
This biotope would appear to be homogeneously diverse to use
Hutchinson’s term (1957) and would confirm his supposition
that in stable homogeneously diverse biotopes the abundances
of different species are arranged as if the realized niches were
non-overlapping.
A different series of constants are involved in the Himalayan
ranges of India and Pakistan. From the lowlands to the
heights of 15,000 feet above sea level, a number of biotopes
occur which are essentially heterogeneously diverse, woodland
December 20, 1959
serub to omen
forest.
subtropical,
Aw: Dy (AR fh
Indian Nuthatches (Sittal)/i i & 0 1BQY |
such ecological details as are known:
pine, temperat
The following species of Sitta may be listed, giving
Species
Habitat Preference
Altitudinal Range
1)
3)
4)
Sitta castanea
castanea
Sitta castanea
neglecta
Sitta castanea
cinnamoventris
Sitta castanea
cashmirensis
Sitta europaea,
various subspecies
Sitta europaea
montium
Sitta himalayensis,
various subspecies
Sitta leucopsis
Sitta victoriae
Sitta yunnanensis
mango groves, orchards,
cultivation, tropical
deciduous forest
tropical lowland forest,
also scrub and cultiva-
tion
masonry walls, gardens,
bamboo clumps, scrub,
sub-tropical forest
mixed forests at all
levels, lower parts of
trees
mixed forests at all
levels
mixed alpine and fir
forests
heavy mixed forests,
usually deciduous, strong
preference for oaks;
may descend to under-
growth
almost exclusively upper
parts of trees in fir and
pine forest
alpine forest, avoids
pines
barren fir forest
association
lowlands to 3,500 feet
in central India; low-
lands to foothills 1,000
ft. in Himalayas
lowlands to 2,500 ft.
edge of the plains
(winter) to 4,500 ft.
4,500-11,500 ft.
4,500-8,500 ft.
4,500-12,000 ft.
5,000-10,000 ft.
7,000-12,000 ft.
7,500-9,200 ft.
9,000--15,000 ft.
t Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 42
As pointed out by Voous and Van Marle (ibid :59-61) all
these species are roughly similar in size and close to each other
in pattern. Some wing and bill measurements can indicate
relative size:
bill Wing
(mean length m.m.) (mean m.m.)
1) castanea castanea 19.1 75.5
2 neglecta 19.8 79.9
i cinnamoventris 23.2 $3.7
> cashmirensis 21.8 85.2
2) europaea, various subspecies 18.8 78.6
4 nagaensis 19.1 78.2
iH montium ill 80.2
3) himalayensis himalayensis 15:9 12.3
a australis 16.6 73.6
4) leucopsis leucopsis 21.6 19.2
x przewalskii 17 75.1
5) victoriae 14.5 70.2
6) yunnanensis 17 73
Status of Sitta castanea
Sitta castanea with its various allopatric subspecies has often been listed
as part of the common Palaearctic Tree Nuthatch species, Sitta europaea.
It is obvious that it is most closely related to Sitta europaea and it satis-
fies a taxonomist’s criterion by being strictly allopatric, both geographi-
cally and ecologically. However, Sitta castanea differs from europaea by
having pronounced sexual dimorphism and a strikingly different color pat-
tern on the under surface of the males. Its distribution throughout the
Gangetic plain and hills of the Indian Peninsula, with the development of
a distinct subspecies in the Eastern Ghats, gives strong evidence for a
long colonization similar to that of some of the double invasions and relict
forms discussed by me previously (1949). I feel that it belongs to an early
break-off of europaea stock, separated from that species in time and by the
imposition of two other old Palearctic invasions into the Himalayan chain,
the earliest Sitta leucopsis, the second Sitta himalayensis. Contra Voous
and Van Marle (ibid:53, 55) I believe that the hill populations of cas-
tanea, namely cashmirensis, almorae, cinnamoventris and tonkinensis, which
are all larger in measurements than the lowland populations, castanea and
neglecta (see measurements) have developed from the older lowland stock
which has been able to capture and exploit vacant niche space in the ad-
jacent hills in post-pluvial times. That this has been done more than once
is shown by the isolated eastern, Indochinese population of tonkinensis
which has developed a highland form in the same way that the western
forms have evolved.
Sitta leucopsis and Sitta himalayensis
I would have listed these in my zoogeographic study of the Indian
avifauna (1959) except that by ranging into the Indochinese and Chinese
subregions, these species did not fit my criteria for such a listing. How-
ever, I would include them here along with species I did list (ibid:79)
such as Zoothera wardi, Parus melanolophus, Sitta formosa and Pyrrhula
erythrocephala and P. aurantiaca as Palaearctic relicts.
December 20, 1959 Indian Nuthatches (Svtta) 5
Sitta victoriae
From the list of measurements it will be noted that this isolated species,
confined to the summits of the Chin Hills, Mount Victoria, of western
Burma, is relatively small in size. It has been listed in the past as a
sub-species of S. himalayensis, indicating obvious affinity, (Voous and
Van Marle, ibid: 58) but they as well as other authors have overlooked
the fact that himalayensis has been taken on the same mountain.
A view of a map should prove instructive here. Surveying the Himalayan
chain from Kashmir east to Sikang and northern Indochina, I have in-
dicated the zones of ecological overlap between the species under discus-
sion. Although the ranges overlap geographically, it can be seen that there
is very little overlap among these species:
Altitude
(feet)
15000
12000
10000
N
\
Lda
7000
5000
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Figure 1. Altitudinal Ranges of Species and subspecies of Sifta.
G. e victoriae
2
H
S
~
is]
™
8
&
Ss
uj
ae a /EUCODSIS
H. <== yunnanens/s
castanea europaea
N
KASHMIR
Figure
9
a
Map showing geographical orientation of species of Sitta.
December 20, 1959 Indian Nuthatches (Sitta) w
From the above it can be seen that there are only a few
cases of overlap which need to be explained. Among the sub-
species of castanea there is no overlap. The apparent range
overlap is due to wintering birds of the montane subspecies
descending into the range of the lowland form out of the
breeding season. In addition A, B and C are allopatric with
E, G, and H. The following range overlaps then need some
word of explanation.
1. In Kashmir and adjacent areas of West Pakistan and
eastern Afghanistan, Sitta castanea cashmirensis overlaps
with S. 1. lewcopsis but is ecologically separated, the latter
prefering the upper branches of firs and pines, the former the
lower branches of mixed deciduous and evergreen hardwoods.
These two species then occur within the mosaic elements of a
heterogeneously diverse biotope. There is no competition,
hence no character displacement.
2. In eastern Assam in the hills south of the Brahmaputra
River, although castanea has a separate population, koelzit,
it is allopatric with ewropaea, the latter not occuring below
4,500 feet, the former being a lowland and submontane form
up to 4,500 feet. However, a population of himalayensis over-
laps with ewropaea in these hills and occupies the same alti-
tudinal range and much the same biotope. Both inhabit mixed
forest. The only known ecological difference is the preference
of himalyensis for oaks, rhododendrons, and lower areas of
trees. Evidently a degree of interspecific competition exists
here. In the contact area both have evolved recognizable dis-
tinct populations showing character displacement. The char-
acter displacement follows the same general pattern as in the
case of the Rock nuthatches. (See Fig. 3, Page 8)
As the figure indicates, the overlap population of ewropaea,
called nagaensis, has become very pale on the under surface
with a slimmer bill and a pronounced facial stripe. The over-
lap population of himalayensis, called australis, has become
richer buff on the under surface with a stouter bill and a
shorter facial stripe. Thus morphological differences empha-
sizing both feeding habits and recognition are involved in this
interspecific situation. That characters having recognition
8 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 42
A. europaea
(not in contact)
C. europaea
poke
D. hAimalayensis
(not in contact)
(contact Eastern
Assam, Mount Victoria.)
E. victoriae
(contact Mount Victoria)
Figure 3. Outline sketch to show differences between sympatric populations
of species of Sitta (C., D., E.) compared to two populations not
in contact (A., B.).
value are developed even between these two fairly distinct
species would imply that selection pressure towards plumage
pattern differences is heavy. In a similar way North American
warblers have evolved marked phenotypic differences as well as
behavioral and food gathering adaptations as discussed by
Mac Arthur (1958).
December 20, 1959 Indian Nuthatches (Sitta) 9
On Mount Victoria south of the Assam Hills, a third sym-
patric species is introduced, Sifta victoriae. This species with
a range of 7,500-9,200 feet overlaps altitudinally on the moun-
tain stopes with europaea, which reaches 8,500 feet, and with
himalayensis, with which it is assumed to be most closely re-
lated, which also reaches 9,200 feet. It would appear from a
biogeographical point of view that wictoriae is an old _ relict
species, first to arrive of a double invasion by himalayensis
stock. It has a known ecological preference for alpine forest
and avoids pines. Himalayensis also avoids pines and co-occurs
with victoriae in mixed and alpine forest. Europaea may occur
in alpine as well as mixed forest. In this case ewropaea and
himalayensis have a wide range in eastern Assam of co-occur-
ence and their morphological characters have been described.
The third species victoriae differs by being noticably smaller
with a more weak and slender bill and different facial pattern.
3. Eastwards in Tibet, Burma, Thailand, Indochina and
Yunnan there is little actual overlap. Wherever europaea
has invaded the mountains of southeast Asia, castanea keeps
at lower altitudes. In the single instance where castanea in-
vades the mountains, europaea is absent. Himalayensis occurs
at predominantly higher altitudes.
4. The single instance of co-occurence is in the case of
three species in Sikang or eastern Tibet. Here are found a
population of ewropaea, one of leucopsis, and Sitta yunnanen-
sis. Leucopsis has developed rich bright color on the under-
parts in contrast to the population of lewcopsis found in the
Himalayas. The population of ewropaea, known as montium
is intermediate in color of underparts, while the palest of the
three is yunnanensis. Leucopsis lacks an eye stripe, possessed
by the other two of differing lengths, longer in europaea, and
has a short bill, the shortest of the three. In this instance
yunnanensis has a relatively long needlelike bill, and europaea
an intermediate, stouter bill. From the table of measurements
it will be seen that ewropaea montium differs from other popu-
lations of the species by being larger with a larger bill, thus
showing character displacement in the presence of the other
two species. Schafer (1938) reports that ewropaea and yun-
10 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No, 42
nanensis were found together, although the latter was found
only in rather barren, fir forest. He found leucopsis less often,
in more open parkland. In the presence of yunnanensis the
population of europaea found with it appears to have de-
veloped a shorter, stouter bill, larger size, and a longer eye
stripe, as well as somewhat more richly colored underparts,
all tending towards character displacement. Even leucopsis,
not apparently in close competition, would appear to have
been affected, so markedly does it differ from the other popu-
lation of the species.
Wn
D. europaea a
\
F. /eucopsis ——
B
j
BeOS
‘i Sagat ae
ae
SNe $
emv|@ god] S$ [5G Iu
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 g 10
\7 af
embryonic period
egg tooth
ae ae
hypothetical
typical SS DKF, 3 aa
galliform l 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 3 io
ee eee BS Ne Bey
embryonic period period of requisite
parental care
hatching flying
+ +
TIME IN| WEEKS
Figure 1. Diagram of the hypothesized morphological and behavioral
development of the megapode compared with that of more typical galli-
naceous birds.
Ua Dirks
eid} if!
potlegciTp
embryos. According to Hamilton (1952: 375), the remnants
Feb. 15,1960 Embryology and Evolution of Mega
of the labial groove are shed on the nineteenth day of incu-
bation in the chicken.
EARLY PLUMAGE SEQUENCES
The newly hatched megapode bears primarily pennaceous
feathers in contrast to the ‘downy plumage” of more typical
gallinaceous birds at hatching. Studer (1877, 1878, 1889)
reported finding down feathers at the tips of the pennaceous
feathers in Megapodius embryos. Both pennaceous feathers
and down were ensheathed. Studer believed that the down feath-
ers were lost before hatching. Blaszyk (1935) thought that
what Studer had termed a down feather was merely the result
of making a section through the distal end of an ensheathed
pennaceous feather. Blaszyk (1935) and Becker (1959) found
no traces of embryonic down feathers in Megapodius. Neither
Blaszyk (1935) nor Becker (1959) commented on a study by
Figure 2. a. Dorsal view of the upper jaw of a Talegalla embryo; note
the vestigial egg tooth. b. Lateral view of the upper jaw of the same
Talegalla embryo; note the labial groove. e¢. and d. Dorsal and lateral
aspects of the upper jaw of a chicken at the time of hatching.
4 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 45
Pycraft (1900), who had reported finding down-like rudiments
on the tips of the first pennaceous feathers in Megapodius
embryos. I have made a preliminary examination of embryonic
Talegalla feathers and have found evidence that Pycraft’s
account is fundamentally correct.
Both the five week old pheasant (Phasianus colchicus ; West-
erskoy, 1957: 20) and the newly hatched megapode bear
predominantly juvenal plumage. Thus at roughly 8 weeks
postconception the megapode and typical gallinaceous birds
appear to reach similar levels of plumage development. Wallace
(1860) commented that the newly hatched megapode behaves
about as maturely as a chicken at one month posthatching.
SPECIAL EMBRYONIC ADAPTATIONS
Correlated with the prolongation of the prehatching period,
certain embryonic adaptations are present in the megapodes.
Meyer (1930: 5) reported that in Megapodius yolk weight
was about 60% of total egg weight in boiled eggs; this was
compared with a figure from the literature of 30% for Gallus
domesticus.
Megapode eggs are usually incubated with the small end
pointed downward. Bellchambers (1921) thought that this
aided the escape of the newly hatched bird from the mound.
Umanski (1926) reported on the effects of placing incubating
chicken eggs on end. The proportion of teratological effects
was greater in eggs placed with the blunt end down than in
ones with the pointed end beneath. Normally when the chicken
egg lies horizontally, the early embryo les in a horizontal
plane. Umanski suggested that the teratological forms found
in eggs placed upright might result from the failure of the
blastoderm and early embryo to reach a horizontal plane.
Experiments (Marshall, 1939) have shown a failure in
hatching success in chicken eggs unturned during incubation.
Megapode eggs usually are not turned and yet hatch relatively
successfully. Marshall (1939) concluded that there must be
anatomical and/or physiological differences between megapodes
and the domestic fowl with respect to turning.
One of the presumed embryonic adaptations related to the
long embryonic period of the megapodes is a general lack of
Feb. 15,1960 Embryology and Evolution of Megapodes 5
coordinated movement of the embryo until shortly before
hatching. It is obvious that a megapode at six weeks post-
conception (about two weeks prehatching) would not be so
active as a chicken six weeks postconception (three weeks
posthatching). I suggest that a physiological barrier pre-
vents extensive coordinated behavioral activity of the mega-
pode embryo during the latter part of the prehatching period.
It would be profitable, perhaps, to examine the cholinergic
system in the megapode embryo (Boell, 1955: 547).
In species using fermentation as a heat source for incubation
the presence of aerobic bacteria should presumably greatly
deplete the available oxygen supply. It has been suggested
that one of the functions of mound regulation in such species
is to provide oxygen for the embryos which would otherwise be
under anaerobic conditions (Meyer and Stresemann, 1928: 68;
Mayr, 1930: 105-106). Megapodius apparently does not open
the mound during temperature regulation (Frith, 1959: 57
It would be of considerable interest for studies of develop-
mental metabolism if megapodes were found to have an ex-
tended period of embryonic anaerobic respiration (Boell, 1955:
522-523).
Further studies on the egg tooth, plumage development, and
other aspects of megapode embryology and anatomy are cur-
rently in progress at this laboratory.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Dr. Renate Becker, Mr. H. J. Frith, and Dr. K. Westerskov
have kindly given useful references. I am grateful to Mr. H. J.
Brithe Dr J. 2. Trinkaus, Dr. Kh. J. Boell, Prot..G. E. Hutch-
inson, and Dr. S. D. Ripley for helpful discussion of the
problem. I wish especially to thank Dr. Philip S. Humphrey
for initially suggesting this study and for his most valuable
suggestions and comments. I am greatly appreciative of the
extended efforts of Dr. E. T. Gilliard, who collected for the
Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History a number of em-
bryos of T'alegalla during his recent expedition to New Guinea.
Miss Shirley Glaser has generously given of her time in prepa-
ration of the figures. The studies reported here were conducted
6 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 45
using the facilities of the Department of Zoology and Peabody
Museum of Yale University.
SUMMARY
A vestigial egg tooth in embryos of T'alegalla is strong
evidence that megapodes have evolved from gallinaceous birds
which hatched relatively earlier in ontogeny. It is hypothesized
that much of the maturation which occurs during the post-
hatching development of typical gallinaceous birds occurs
before hatching in megapodes. The vestigial egg tooth, the
labial groove of the upper jaw, and vestiges of down feathers
plus the state of plumage development and behavior in newly
hatched megapodes support this hypothesis. Some speculations
on possible unusual embryonic adaptations are presented.
REFERENCES CITED
Becker, R. 1959. Die Strukturanalyse der Gefiederfolgen von Megapodius
freyc. reinw. und ihre Beziehung zu der Nestlingdune der Hiihnervégel.
Rey. suisse Zool., 66: 411-527.
Bellchambers, T. P. 1921. The Mallee Fowl of Australia. Avicult. Mag.,
(Ser. 13), 12 (2): 19-24.
Blaszyk, P. 1935. Untersuchungen iiber die Stammesgeschichte der Vogel-
schuppen und Federn und iiber die Abhingigkeit ihrer Ausbildung am
Vogelfuss. Von der Funktion. I. Gegenbaur’s Morph. Jahrb., 75: 483-
521.
Boell, E. J. 1955. Energy exchange and enzyme development during em-
bryogenesis. Pp. 520-555. IN: Willier, B. H., P. A. Weiss, and V. Ham-
burger. Analysis of development.
Campbell, A J. 1903. The mound-building birds of Australia. Bird-Lore,
5: 3-8.
Friedmann, H. 1931. Observations on the growth rate of the foot in the
mound birds of the genus Megapodius. Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 80
(Art. 1): 1-4.
Frith, H. J. 1956. Breeding habits in the family Megapodiidae. Ibis, 98:
620-640,
Frith, H. J. 1959. Incubator birds. Scientific American, 201 (no. 2): 52-58.
Hamilton, H. L. 1952. Lillie’s development of the chick. 3rd ed. Pp. xv +
1-624.
Hill, J. P., and G. R. de Beer. 1950. Development of the Monotremata.
VII. The development and structure of the egg-tooth and the caruncle
in the Monotremes and on the occurrence of vestiges of the egg-tooth
and caruncle in Marsupalia. Trans. Zool. Soc. Lond., 26: 503-544.
Marshall, W. 1939. The Brush-Turkey and “turning.” Emu, 38: 489-491.
Mayr, E. 1930. Beobachtungen iiber die Brutbiologie der Grossfusshiihner
von Neuguinea (Megapodius, Talegallus and Aepypodius). Orn. Monats-
ber., 38: 101-106.
Feb. 15,1960 Embryology and Evolution of Megapodes 6
Meyer, P. O. 1930. Untersuchungen an den EKiern von Megapodius eremita.
Orn. Monatsber., 38: 1-5.
Meyer, P. O., and E. Stresemann. 1928. Zur Kenntnis der Entwicklung
von Megapodius und Ovyura im Ei. Orn. Monatsber., 36: 65-71.
Portmann, A. 1938. Beitrage zur Kenntnis der postembryonalen Entwick-
lung der Vogel. Rey. suisse Zool., 45: 273-348.
Portmann, A. 1951. Ontogenesetypus und Cerebralisation in der Evolution
der Végel und Sauger. Rev. suisse Zool., 58: 427-434.
Portmann, A. 1955. Die postembryonale Entwicklung der Voégel als Evolu-
tionsproblem. Acta XI Congr. Int. Orn., 1954. Pp. 138-151.
Pyeraft, W. P. 1900. A contribution towards our knowledge of the pteryl-
ography of the Megapodii. Pp. 483-492. IN: A. Willey. Zoological re-
sults ... New Britain, New Guinea, Loyalty Islands . .. Part IV.
Cambridge at the Univ. Press.
Pycraft, W. P. 1907. On the origin of differences between nestling birds.
Proc. Fourth Internat. Orn. Congr. Pp. 454-459.
Pycraft, W. P. 1910. A history of birds. Pp. i-xxxi + 1-450.
Studer, T. 1877. Ueber die Bildung der Federn bei dem Goldhaarpinguin
und Megapodius. Verhandl. der schweiz. naturforsch. Gesellsch., 60:
240-246,
Studer, T. 1878. Beitrage zur Enitwicklungsgeschichte der Feder. Zeitschr.
wiss. Zool., 30: 421-436.
Studer, T. 1889. Embryonalentwicklung der Vogel. IN: Die Forschungs-
reise S. M. S. “Gazelle” in den Jahren 1874 bis 1876, Vol. III: 107-124.
Umanski, E. 1926. Zur Frage iiber den Einfluss der vertikalen Lage des
Eies auf die Entwicklung des Embryos von Gallus domesticus. Zool.
Anz., 68: 81-87.
Wallace, A. R. 1860. The ornithology of northern Celebes. Ibis, 2: 140-147.
Westerskov, kK. 1957. Growth and moult of pheasant chicks. New Zealand
Dept. Int. Affairs Wildl. Publ. No. 74: 64 pp.
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MUS. COMP. 700L
LiSihas
OCT 18 1960
HARVARD
UNIVERSITY
pate te
YALE PEABODY MUSEUM
oF Natura. Hisrory
Number 46 June 30, 1960 New Haven, Conn.
FOSSIL AMPHIBIANS FROM QUARRY NINE
by
Max K. Hecur! anp Ricuwarp Estes”
The original intention of this investigation was to determine
the identity of Hobatrachus agilis Marsh. It was soon evident
to us, as to other workers, that the type materials represented
more than one species. Fragments referred to this form by
Moodie (1912, 1914) represent an ilium of a reptile, a femur
of a salamander, an unidentifiable fragment of a tibiofibula
of a frog and two distinctly different types of frog humeri.
Unavailable to us at this time are the vertebra and urostyle
illustrated but not discussed by Moodie (1914). Marsh (1887)
described this form in the following words: ‘More recently,
various bones of small, anourous amphibians (Eobatrachus
agilis) have been found, the first detected in any Mesozoic
formation.” Moodie (1912) described Marsh’s material and
selected the larger humerus as the type (Yale Peabody Mu-
seum no. 1862). He stated that the elements represented a
form close to Bufo and later (1914) actually placed it in the
Bufonidae. Simpson (1926 a and b) merely records the pres-
ence of a modern frog in the fauna.” The importance of these
specimens is that the frog remains are among the oldest known
and the salamander is the earliest record of that group. Appli-
1 Dept. of Biology, Queens College, Flushing 67, New York.
2 Dept. of Paleontology, University of California, Berkeley 4, California.
3 Reig (1957) for unknown reasons referred Hobatrachus to the Discoglos-
sidae.
2 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 46
cation of names to such fragmentary material is in part a
matter of taste, but the antiquity of the material and its close
correspondence to modern forms make it useful to place the
material within the established system of classification.
The senior author is responsible for the sections dealing
with anurans; the junior author for the remainder of the
specimens.
Class Amphibia
Superorder Salientia
Order Anura
Suborder Aglossa?
Family incertae sedis
Eobatrachus agilis Marsh
latest, hes. 13,75
Holotype: Yale Peabody Museum no. 1862, the distal por-
tion of a humerus.
Locality: Quarry 9, Como Bluff, Wyoming.
Diagnosis: Distinguished from all known frog humeri by the
following combination of characters: A) base of the shaft of
the humerus perpendicular to the main axis of the humeral ball
(eminentia capitata of Gaupp, 1894, henceforth referred to as
the ball), B) a deep triangular fossa present (fossa cubitus
ventralis) at the upper end of the ball, C) the ball a fully
developed spherical articulating surface which is proportion-
ately large in size, D) a small olecranon scar which is nearly
triangular in form but with its apex nearest the lateral border
of the humerus, E) weakly developed epicondyles, the medial
epicondyle larger than the lateral epicondyle but reduced in
size as compared to other frogs, F) narrowest cross-section
(or neck) of the humerus is just above the ball.
Description: A broken distal portion of a right frog hu-
merus measuring 6 mm. in length, On its distal portion is a
completely rounded but abraded ball, with a diameter of
2 mm. The medial epicondyle is a small slightly abraded nubbin
medial to the ball. On the opposite side of the lateral epicondyle
is a slight ridge with no evident rise or mound. From the two
epicondyles, two distinct ridges run proximally on the main
JRA Ly
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MR Fi)
T 18 1960
June 30, 1960 Fossil Amphibians from Quarry Ni Har Ban
yy
hid
iy
shaft of the humerus. Lying between the two ridges is a itiely
fossa (fossa cubitus ventralis) which is roughly triangular.
The base of the triangular pit is formed by the ball and its
deepest area is on the medial side above the ball. It gradually
becomes shallower both proximally and laterally. The apex of
the triangular fossa is rounded and lies midway between the
two epicondyles. The lateral surface of the medial epicondyle
forms a weak flange which projects slightly medially. The
olecranon scar, on the posterior surface of the ball, is a small
triangular area whose apex is the same height as the ball and
lies miday between the two epicondyles. The neck of the hu-
merus (the area of smallest cross-section) is apparently long
and begins far above the ball. There are no indications of a
ventral ridge or crest on the neck of the humerus. Comparisons
of the fossil with living frogs are based on the following gen-
era: (Unless otherwise indicated only one species of each genus
has been examined. )
Leiopelma, Ascaphus (Leiopelmatidae) ; Pipa, Xenopus (Pi-
pidae) ; Discoglossus, Barbourula, Bombina, Alytes (Discoglos-
sidae); Rhinophrynus (Rhinophrynidae), Pelobates (2. spe-
cies), Scaphiopus (3 species), Megophrys (38 species) (Peloba-
tidae) ; Pelodytes (Pelodytidae) ; Leptodactylus (2 species) ;
Batrachophryne, Calyptocephalella, Eupsophus, Physolaema,
Telmatobius, Ceratophrys, Eleutherodactylus, Pleurodema,
Adelotus, Kyarranus, Limnodynastes, Lechriodus, Helioporus,
Rhinoderma (Leptodactylidae); Dendrobates (2 species),
(Dendrobatidae) ; Atelopus (Atelopodidae); Bufo (25 spe-
cies), Ansonia, Nectophrynoides (Bufonidae); Hyla (10 spe-
cies), Acris, Gastrotheca (2 species), Diaglena, Smilisca (8
species) (Hylidae); Pseudis (Pseudidae); Rana (5 species),
Arthroleptides (Ranidae); Phrynomerus (Phrynomeridae) ;
Astylosternus, Dyscophus, Probreviceps, Kaloula, Uperodon,
Gastrophryne (Microhylidae) ; Hyperolius, Rhacophorus, Me-
galivalus (Hyperoliidae).
Discussion: The humerus of anurans is one of the most easily
identifiable structures because of the presence of the prominent
ball on the distal end. The basic morphology of the humerus
is discussed by Gaupp (1894) and the terminology to be fol-
lowed will be based on this work. Unfortunately this classic
4. Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 46
study is based only on members of the genus Rana and there-
fore many described features of the humerus are characteristic
only of that family or even that genus. The main aspects of
the morphology of the humerus are amply illustrated in Fig-
ures 39-41 of this work. The discussion will be restricted to
the distal portion of the humerus. On either side are two epi-
condyles, the lateral and the medial. In most frogs the medial
is larger and more prominent, whereas the lateral epicondyle
is usually small or represented by a slight nubbin. Immediately
above the ball there may be a slight or relatively deep depres-
sion, the fossa cubitis ventralis (Gaupp 1894, hereafter re-
ferred to as the fossa). On the posterior surface of the humeral
ball there is almost always a roughened triangular area which
will be called the olecranon scar. This represents the area which
articulates with the olecranon process of the radio-ulna. Im-
mediately above the widened distal end of the humerus, there
usually is a neck region which generally has the narrowest diam-
eter of the entire humerus. On the proximal end of the humerus
of almost all frogs there is a crista ventralis (Gaupp 1894).
In many frogs this ridge is quite long and extends onto the
neck of the humerus but usually it is absent on the neck region.
On the basis of morphology the humerus of Ascaphus and
Leiopelma have much in common. There is a distinct fossa
and reduced epicondyles in Letopelma. Eobatrachus can read-
ily be distinguished from Leiopelma by the more advanced
structure of the ball. Ascaphus has a modern type of ball
but the fossa is very small and shallow. The nature of the
fossa and the expanded lateral and medial epicondyles and
their flanges distinguish it readily from Eobatrachus. The
Pipidae is characterized by a small but well developed ball,
with equally developed epicondyles and a deep triangular fossa.
The symmetry of the pipid fossa is much greater than that of
Eobatrachus but the fossa is relatively better developed than
in any other known living or fossil frog. The ball of EHoba-
trachus is much more advanced than either genus although the
reduction in size in the pipids may be due to aquatic adaptation
and reduction of jumping abilities. The Discoglossids are pre-
cluded from relationship to Hobatrachus by the lack of the
fossa. Other features are characteristic of the Discoglossidae
June 30, 1960 Fossil Amphibians from Quarry Nine 5
which eliminate them from further discussion. The Pelobatidae
and the Pelodytidae can be eliminated because there is no sign
of the fossa (except a tiny fossa-like depression in Megophrys )
and the apex of the olecranon scar tends to le laterally rather
than medially. The condition of the humerus among the lepto-
dactyloid frogs (including Leptodactylidae, Dendrobatidae,
Atelopodidae, Rhinodermidae following Griffith, 1959) is most
variable with the single exception that the fossa is never pres-
ent except weakly in Batrachophrynus, which differs from
Eobatrachus by the presence of a low ventral crest on the neck
region (crista ventralis) and reduced medial epicondyle in the
living species. The Pseudidae and Centrolenidae may be dif-
ferentiated from Kobatrachus in the same manner as the other
leptodactyloid families. The bufonids can be easily distin-
guished by the complete lack of the fossa, the generally curved
humerus and by the apex of the olecranon scar being more
laterally than medially oriented. The distal portion of the
humerus of Hylidae is variable, but is usually characterized
by the complete lack of a fossa or at best a lunate deep trench
just above the proximal border of the ball. The medial epicon-
dyle is usually moderately or weakly developed and the lateral
epicondyle is variable in size from very small to very large.
The ranid humerus can be distinguished from the fossil by
the small pit-like fossa which hes just above the ball, very
prominent medial epicondyle, laterally oriented apex of the
olecranon scar, and by the general curvature of the humerus.
The phrynomerid humerus is distinguished by its very small
ball, elongate diaphysis, and reduced olecranon scar. The fossa
in this form is very shallow, triangular, and extremely short.
Both the Ranidae and Hyperolidae have a deep fossa just
above the proximal end of the ball. This fossa is distinctly
different in its form from those of Kobatrachus. It appears
that in both of these families the depression may merely be
formed by enlargement of the sphere-like pattern of the ball.
Both these families also differ from the fossil by the great
development of lateral extensions or flanges from the epicon-
dyles, the relatively large size of the medial epicondyle and
the lateral position of the olecranon scar.
From the above discussion it appears that there is no clear
6 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 46
relationship between Kobatrachus and any of the living fam-
ihes of frogs. The large size of the ball, the development of
the fossa, the reduced medial epicondyle, the shape and form
of the olecranon scar and the perpendicular position of the
humeral shaft all indicate a unique association of characters
not found in any living or fossil frog seen. The only frogs
which approach Eobatrachus as far as the development of the
fossa 1s concerned are the Pipidae and perhaps Leiopelma.
In all of these the fossa is a symmetrical trough which is not
the case in Kobatrachus. In both Xenopus and Pipa the hu-
meral ball is very small with relatively large epicondyles,
whereas in Kobatrachus the humeral ball is very large and
the epicondyles are reduced. Certainly as far as the ball is
concerned the humerus is an advanced structure but the de-
velopment of the fossa may indicate a more primitive con-
dition. The assignment of Eobatrachus to Montsechobatrachi-
dae is at best a guess and perhaps it should be considered a
more advanced frog than that. Validity of the assignment of
Eobatrachus to this family (Romer 1945) cannot be deter-
mined from the published material of Montsechobatrachus.
Superorder Salientia
Order Anura
Suborder Neobatrachia
Family incertae sedis
Comobatrachus aenigmatis, new genus and species
Plate 1, figs. 2, 4, 6
Holotype: Yale Peabody Museum No. 1863, the distal por-
tion of a frog humerus.
Locality: Quarry 9, Como Bluff, Wyoming.
Diagnosis: Distinguished from Eobatrachus by its shallower,
symmetrical triangular fossa cubitus ventralis and less devel-
oped medial epicondyle; similar to some leptodactylid, micro-
hylid and hyperolid frogs in the presence of the fossa cubitus
ventralis, but distinguished from these groups by the poorly
developed medial epicondyle, the medial position of the apex
of the olecranon scar and straight shaft of the base of the
humerus.
June 30, 1960 Fossil Amphibians from Quarry Nine 7
Description: A broken distal portion of a right frog humerus
measuring 5 mm. long. At the distal end of the fragment there
is a large distinct abraded ball (eminentia capitata) which has
a diameter of approximately 1.3 mm. On the medial side there
is a small indistinct slightly abraded medial epicondyle and
on the opposite side there is no distinct evidence of a lateral
epicondyle. The surface of the area of the lateral epicondyle
is slightly abraded. The area of each epicondyle forms slight
rounded ridges which meet at the base of the neck. Between
the two ridges is a fossa the shape of an isosceles triangle
whose base is the upper end of the humeral ball. The fossa is
shallow; the deepest area being at the upper border of the
humeral ball. Posteriorly, the olecranon scar is triangular in
form and its apex is slightly higher than the humeral ball.
The apex lies midway between each epicondyle. The neck of
the humerus is relatively low and begins above the expanded
distal end of the bone.
Discussion: The relationships of Comobatrachus are appar-
ently with the more modern frog families. The development of
the ball and the general shape of the fossa indicate no relation-
ship to Leiopelmatidae, Pipidae, Discoglossidae, or Pelobati-
dae. Among the Neobatrachia the Bufonidae, Atelopodidae,
Dendrobatidae, Pseudidae (and other groups now placed in
the Leptodactylidae by Griffith, 1959) and Hylidae are pre-
cluded from consideration by either the complete lack of a
fossa or only the slightest indication of such a structure. The
fossa of the Ranidae is merely a lunate cleft above the humeral
ball. Among the Hyperolids there is no fossa in Rhacophorus
or Megalivalus but a distinct one in Hyperolius. The base of
the humerus of Comobatrachus bears a distinct resemblance
to Eupsophus (Leptodactylidae), Hyperolius (Hyperoliidae),
Probreviceps and Kaloula (Microhylidae). There are distinct
differences between the aforementioned modern frogs and Co-
mobatrachus. In all the modern frogs the medial epicondyle is
better developed and the fossa is distinctly shorter than in the
fossil. As a result of these comparisons there is apparently no
family of living frogs to which Comobatrachus can be assigned,
though it appears to be a member of the more advanced fam-
ilies of the Neobatrachia (Reig 1958). It is probable that the
8 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 46
medial epicondyle has been eroded or broken away and if so
the humerus would perhaps conform more closely to one of
the above genera. Assuming that the epicondyle has not been
too badly damaged, it would appear that no family of living
frogs would include the features of Comobatrachus. Therefore
we can only conclude that it represents one of the more
advanced families, possibly something related to the more gen-
eralized Leptodactylidae or perhaps a family as advanced as
the Microhylidae or Hyperoliidae. On the basis of probability
a leptodactyloid affinity appears more likely.
Order Urodela
Family incertae sedis
Comonecturoides marshi, gen. et. sp. nov.
Plate 2, figs. 3, 4; Plate 3, fig. 6
Holotype: Yale Peabody Museum 3919, complete right
femur.
Type locality: Quarry 9, Como Bluff, Wyoming.
Diagnosis: Distinguished from living salamanders princi-
pally by the presence of endochondral ossification and heavier
ossification of the perichondral diaphysis.
Description: The femur is characteristically urodele, with
narrow diaphysis, expanded and unossified proximodistal ex-
tremities, and tiny, anteroventral twiglike trochanter. The
head in cross section is rounded dorsally, and has a slight
ventro-posterior angle. The tip of the trochanter is missing,
and the point of separation of shaft and trochanter is about one
millimeter distal to the preserved proximal edge of the head.
The trochanter is continued on the diaphysis by a crest which
diminishes distally, but remains discrete almost to the pre-
served distal edge of the bone. The dorsal surface of the distal
end is swollen and pitted for liigamentary attachment. Ven-
trally the distal end bears two tiny foramina. The outline of
the distal end is oval, slightly concave ventrally and convex
dorsally. In cross section, the bone of the shaft is quite thick
and there is endochondral ossification within the expanded
extremities. Maximum length of femur, 11.5 mm.; maximum
June 30, 1960 Fossil Amphibians from Quarry Nine 9
diameter of distal extremity, 38 mm.; maximum diameter prox-
imal end, 2.8 mm.
Discussion: Femora and humeri of urodeles may be distin-
guished easily by the following characters. In cross section,
the distal end of the femur is always convex dorsally and con-
cave ventrally; both dorsal and ventral edges are convex in
humeri, giving a lobate appearance. The humeri always possess
a strong bladelike crest ventrally, continuous with the head,
and a smaller trochanter is sometimes present dorsally (e.g. in
Salamandridae, see Francis 1934, pl. 7, fig. 42). Femora of
living families of urodeles are quite distinct, particularly with
respect to the outline of the head in cross-section, and to a
lesser degree the shape and orientation of the trochanter. The
outline of the distal extremity is less characteristic but may
also be helpful. Plate 3 shows outlines of femoral heads of
all families (except Sirenidae which lack hind limbs) of living
urodeles. Each drawing is based on several specimens and is
intended to reflect the characteristic shape for each family
rather than that of any particular individual. The following
material was seen: (numbers in parentheses indicate specimens
examined )
Ambystomidae Salamandridae
Ambystoma tigrinum (3) Salamandra atra (2)
A. opacum (1) S. maculosa (1)
Rhyacotriton olympicus (1) Mertensiella caucasica (1)
Siredon mexicanum (1) T'aricha granulosa (1)
Hynobidae Amphiumidae
Hynobius stejnegeri (1) Amphiuma tridactylum (3)
Batrachuperus pinchonii A. means (1)
(1)
Proteidae
Cryptobranchidae Proteus anguinus (1)
Andrias scheuchzeri
japonicus (4) Necturidae
Cryptobranchus Necturus maculosus (4)
allegheniensis (1) N. punctatus (1)
N. beyeri (1)
10 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 46
Plethodontidae
Plethodon cinereus (2)
Leurognathus
marmorata (1)
Desmognathus fuscus (2)
Pseudotriton ruber (1)
The shape of the head of the femur was found to be rela-
tively constant in all families except Ambystomidae. Rhyaco-
triton resembles Ambystoma, both differ from Dicamptodon
ensatus. The proximal ends of femur and humerus are difficult
to distinguish in Siredon mexicanum, probably due to lack
of ossification. Comparison of the figures will show that the
closest resemblance to the Como Bluff specimen is with Nec-
turus (considered here as a family separate from Proteus,
following Hecht 1957). There is some similarity to Amphiuma,
from which it is distinguished by the less sloping posterior
border of the head and the slightly different angulation of
the trochanter. Characters of the shaft, trochanter, and distal
end are shown in Plate 2. Ambystomids have a relatively di-
vergent trochanter, often connected proximodistally to the
shaft by thin crests or webs of bone. The short stubby femur
of the cryptobranchids with its blunt trochanter is easily
recognizable, and the outline of the distal end is especially
characteristic. Salamandrids often have ossified extremities and
the trochanter is faleate with a rounded excavation between
trochanter and head. This condition is also found in pletho-
dontids, though they may be separated by the proximal outline
of the head. Proteus has a very reduced femur, with only a
tiny ridge instead of a trochanter. Necturids are characterized
principally by the rounded outline of the femoral head, which
lacks any prominent crests or angles, and in this respect
Comonecturoides most closely resembles this family. Compar-
ison with Necturus beyert and especially N. punctatus was
difficult due to reduced ossification in limb extremities of these
forms. Both of these species show a little more anteroposterior
compression of the head of the femur than does N. maculosus,
but this is in part due to lack of ossification in the most prox-
imal part of the shaft. In perennibranchiate or larval types
June 30, 1960 Fossil Amphibians from Quarry Nine ilk
only the larger specimens or species are well ossified enough
for comarison.
Interrelationships of the various families based on the out-
line of the femoral head are as follows. The similarity is
greatest between hynobiids and Ambystoma, to be expected
due to the close relationship between the two groups. The
salamandrid outline is easily derived from this type as is the
plethodontid. The necturid outline is probably closer to the
hynobiid or perhaps the salamandrid than to any of the others
(the latter relationship suggested by Noble (1981) on the
basis of reproductive structures) and the similarity of Am-
phiuma (probably a salamandroid derivative) to Necturus may
strengthen this suggestion, though of course no particular
weight may be placed on this single character. The stubby
outline of the cryptobranchid femur is unlike any other.
Class Reptila
Order Sauria?
Plate 1, figs. ‘7, 8
Yale Peabody Museum 1568.—right ilium.
Description: The ilium is a flattened blade, smooth medially,
with no indication of a sacrel attachment. Dorsally and ven-
trally there are crests developed, giving a lenticular cross-
section. Posteriorly these crests disappear and the cross-sec-
tion is circular at the tip. Anteriorly there is a prominent
crest with a boss laterally for muscle attachment. The acetab-
ular area is broken ventrally and no trace of attachment for
pubis or ischium remains. A tiny part of the acetabulum
is present.
Discussion: This bone was first discussed by Moodie (1912),
p. 287) who indicated that it was “‘quite peculiar” and would
“possibly be sufficiently characteristic to sustain the validity
of Professor Marsh’s genus Eobatrachus.” Later (1914, p.
533) he indicated that there were four pits on the articular
surface marking the “‘synchondrosteal union of the halves of
the pelvis.”” These pits are breakage surfaces; no evidence of
the actual articular surface remains. Reference of this bone to
the Reptilia indicates that it must be the right ilium with the
narrow tip pointing posteriorly, rather than the left bone with
12 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. +6
anteriorly pointing tip as Moodie suggested. There is a super-
ficial resemblance to raniform frogs, principally due to the
size of the dorsal crest, but anuran ilia in general lack the
ventral crest and are relatively much longer than this specimen.
The short, compressed bladelike shape most closely resembles
that of the Sauria. Ila of all families of lizards have been
examined, as well as those of other recent and many fossil
reptiles. The general shape of the bone conforms most closely
among lizards to certain gekkonids (e.g. Thecadactylus) but
the latter differ in the less well developed dorsal muscular
crest. Breakage of the acetabular region renders further com-
parison fruitless; the primary reason for discussion of the
bone here is indication of its reptilian nature.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
The type materials of the earliest known North American
fossil frog Eobatrachus agilis Marsh are redescribed. The holo-
type of E. agilis is a right humerus and the genus is tentatively
referred to the Aglossa (Reig 1958). No comparison is pos-
sible at this time with Montsechobatrachus and family refer-
ence is left open. The other anuran humerus associated with
the type is distinctly different and is made the type of a new
genus and species Comobatrachus aenigmatis which is referred
to the Neobatrachia (Reig, ibid) without family assignment,
though it is possible that it is of leptodactyloid relationships.
The associated femur is identified as a urodele, incertae sedis,
described as Comonecturoides marshi and a similarity to Nec-
turidae noted. The associated ilium is not anuran and is prob-
ably that of a lizard or closely related reptile. The distinctive
characters of frog humeri and urodele femora are discussed.
Mook (1918) characterized the environment of the Morrison
formation as a broad floodplain with abundant running water.
Wieland (1925) suggested a temperate to cool climate, while
Simpson (1933) favored a warm to tropical climate. Salaman-
ders are primarily North Temperate today and seek cooler,
moister habitats. This may indicate a temperate to warm
temperate rather than a tropical environment during Morri-
son time.
June 30, 1960 Fossil Amphibians from Quarry Nine 13
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We are most grateful to Dr. J. T. Gregory for allowing us
to study the Como Bluff specimens, to Dr. E. H. Colbert for
generously providing the facilities of the American Museum
of Natural History, and to Mr. C. M. Bogert and Dr. Richard
Zweitel, Department of Reptiles and Amphibians, American
Museum of Natural History, and Dr. Ernest Willams, Mu-
seum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard College, for allowing
us free access to comparative material in their collections. The
authors wish to thank Drs. Maxim Lamotte, Marvin Wasser-
man, Theodore Cohn, and Eric Matthews for gifts of com-
parative materials. Research time for the senior author was
made possible by National Science Foundation Research Grant
and American Philosophical Society Grant which are grate-
fully acknowledged. Special thanks are due Chester Tarka
for his excellent photographs of the specimens.
REFERENCES
EKaton, Theodore H. Jr. 1958. An Anatomical Study of a Neotropical Tree
Frog, Centrolene prosoblepon (Salientia: Centrolenidae). Univ. Kans.
Sci. Bull. Vol. XX XIX, no. 10, pp. 459-472, figs. 1-20.
Francis, Eric T. B. 1934. The Anatomy of the Salamander. Oxford, Claren-
don Press. xxxi + 381 p., 3 figs., 25 pls.
Gaupp, Ernst. 1896. Ecker’s und Wiedersheim’s Anatomie des Frosches.
Braunschweig, Viewig und Sohn, vol. 1 and 2, 548 p., 146 figs.
Griffith, I. 1959. The phylogeny of Sminthillus limbatus and the status of
the Brachycephalidae (Amphibia, Salientia). Proce. Zool. Soc. London,
vol. 132, part 3, pp. 457-487, figs. 1-18, pls. 4.
Hecht, Max K. 1957. A case of parallel evolution in salamanders. Proc.
Zool. Soc., Caleutta, Mookerjee Memor. vol., pp. 283-292.
Moodie, Roy L. 1912. An American Jurassic Frog. Amer. Jour. Sci. (ser.
4), vol. XXXIV, pp. 286-288.
————. 1914. The Fossil Frogs of North America. Amer. Jour. Sci. (ser.
4), vol. XX XVIII, pp. 531-526, figs. 1-2
Mook, C. C. 1918. The habitat of the sauropod dinosaurs. Jour. Geol., vol.
XXVI, pp. 459-470.
Noble, G Kk. 1931. The Biology of the Amphibia. London and New York:
McGraw-Hill, xii + 577 pp., 174 figs., map.
Reig. Osvaldo A. 1958. Proposciones para una nueva macrosistematica de
los anuros. Physis, vol. XXI, pp. 109-118.
Romer, Alfred S. 1945. Vertebrate Paleontology. Univ. Chicago Press,
687 p., 377 figs., 4 tables.
Simpson, G. G. 1926. The fauna of Quarry 9. Amer. Jour. Sci. (5th Ser.),
vol. XII, pp. 1-11, 1 fig.
1933. Paleobiology of Jurassic Mammals. Palaeobiologica, V
Band, pp. 127-158, 6 figs.
Wieland, G. R. 1925. Dinosaur feed. Science (n.s.), vol. 61, pp. 601-603.
14 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 46
PATE 1
Eobatrachus agilis Marsh, type specimen, YPM 1862
Fig. 1. Ventral view of right humerus
Fig. 3. Dorsal view of right humerus
Fig. 5. Medial view of right humerus
Comobatrachus aenigmatis, n. gen., n. sp., type specimen, YPM 1863
Fig. 2. Ventral view of right humerus
Fig. 4. Dorsal view of right humerus
Fig. 6. Medial view of right humerus
Unknown reptile, YPM 1568
Fig. 7. Lateral view of right ilium
Fig. 8. Medial view of right ilium
[Present magnification x 10]
June 30, 1960 Fossil Amphibians from Quarry Nine 15
16 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 46
PLATE 2.
Eobatrachus agilis Marsh, type specimen, YPM 1862
Fig. 1. Lateral view of right humerus
Comobatrachus aenigmatis, n. gen., n. sp., type specimen, YPM 1863
Fig. 2. Lateral view of right humerus
Comonecturoides marshi, n. gen., n. sp., type specimen, YPM 3919
Fig. 3. Dorsal view of right femur
Fig. 4. Ventral view of right femur
Unidentified anuran, YPM 1394 (Part of original type of Hobatrachus agilis)
Fig. 5. Dorsal view of distal end of tibiofibula
Fig. 6. Ventral view of distal end of tibiofibula
Present magnification x 10]
£ 4
-
ry Nine
June 30, 1960 Fossil Amphibians from Quar
18
Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 46
PLATE 3.
Comparative series of urodele femora. Above: outline of right femur, an-
terodorsal view. Below: outline of left femoral head in section; the dorsal
surface up and the anterior surface to the right. Not to scale.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig. 9.
Me
2
Plethodontidae
. Salamandridae
Proteidae
. Ambystomatidae
1. dAimbystoma
2. Dicamptodon
Hynobiidae
. Comonecturoides marshi, n. gen., n. sp
. Necturidae
. Cryptobranchidae
Amphiumidae
June 30, 1960 — Fossil Amphibians from Quarry Nine 19
MUS. COMP. Z00L
OCT 18 1960,
HARVARD
UNIVERSITY
Wostilla
YALE PEABODY MUSEUM
or NaTuRAL History
Number 47 July 1, 1960 New Haven, Conn.
ADDITIONS TO THE AVIFAUNA OF
NORTHERN ANGOLA I.
S. Ditton RipLteEy anp Gerp H. HeErnricH
During the course of a year’s visit to Angola for the
Peabody Museum in 1957-58 by one of us (Heinrich) a number
of interesting new records were made. Specimens have been
critically compared in the Peabody Museum by one of us
(Ripley) and the advice of Dr. James P. Chapin is here
gratefully acknowledged. The accompanying map shows the
course of Mr. Heinrich’s travels. Grateful acknowledgement 1s
made to the Diamond Company and its Museum for their
wonderful hospitality.
Hieraaétus africanus (Cassin)
A male was shot in a coffee plantation at Rocga Canzele
September 26, 1957 by Prince Gustav von Schoenaich Carolath
and presented to the collection.
Guttera edouardi schoutedent Chapin
The occurrence of this form of the blue-spotted guinea
fowl in Angola is hereby noted with the presentation to Yale
of a female taken by the chief of the post office at Camissombo,
September 17, 1958.
Numida meleagris marungensis Schalow
Cacolo, Somba and Dundo in dry savannah woods.
2 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 47
COLLECTING LOCALITIES OF GERD HEINRICH IN
NORTH ANGOLA -1957-58
BELGIAN
CONGO
Portugalia
Bindos eae
Luact imo RF.
\ \
Roca Canzele ‘ Vila Verissimo Sarmento
e \ 1
|
Chicapa alls Somba (=Sombo )
Quiculungo®
Falls
Duque de
J (
Braganca ete
la Fenrigile de Carvalho
(= Saurimo)
oo i al
{
© Vila Luzo
® Silva Porto
Nova Lisboa
SS
| RHODESIA
1
COMES
ANGOLA ;
+—— 100 kilometers
Turnix nana insolata, new subspecies
Type; ¢ ad. (Y.P.M. No. 50,087) collected by Gerd
Heinrich February 7, 1958, 35 km. west of Camissombo, north-
east Angola.
Diagnosis: from T'urnixa nana this form, known from two
males, differs in color so strikingly as to suggest a new species.
Turnix nana is distinguished from the contiguous species
sylvatica by triflingly larger size, by the lack of a pronounced
median crown stripe and by the presence of blackish bars on
the neck and upper chest which may extend incompletely
across the fore-neck in males. This subspecies differs from
typical nana by being extremely pale, bleached, lacking the
dark shading of the crown and solid blackish color of the lower
back and rump. In this form the general coloration above is
grayish with reduced black patches on the feathers, highly
cross-hatched with brown. There is an indistinct median crown
stripe, slightly more pronounced than in typical nana, The
MUS. COMP. Z00L
LIBKANY
OCT P8 1960
wing coverts are whitish with a sandy-buff tone. THe ureR!ARD
parts are whitish with an incomplete buffy wash on the UOIMERSITY
neck and obsolete bars on the sides of the neck. In Size this
form is similar. Two males have wing measurements of 80.5
(type), 79; tail 30; culmen 11, 10; weight 46, 44.5 g. Soft
parts: iris pale yellow with inner and outer brown rings: up-
July 1, 1960 Avifauna of Northern Angola I.
per mandible blackish, lower whitish with dark tip; feet
pinkish ivory.
Remarks: these birds were found on a dry, sandy, grassy
plateau at 1100 metres altitude. Specimens loaned to us
through the courtesy of the British Museum (Natural His-
tory) and the Chicago Museum of Natural History, come
from Ndala Tando in the Benguella area of Angola, from
northern Rhodesia and from the Kasai. All agree in being
similarly and typically dark. Thus this bleached form occupies
an isolated savannah area in the center of the range of normal
nana.
Ewcalfactoria adansonu (Verreaux)
A male was taken 25 km. northwest of Nova Gaia in a
grassy meadow near a brook December 5, 1957.
Sarothrura bohmi béhmi Reichenow
The bird collection of the zoological laboratory of the
Diamond Company in Dundo contains a specimen of this
species, a male, collected November 21, 1957, in the Luachimo
valley near Dundo by a native. Length of wing 88 mm., of
tarsus 238 mm.
Stephanibywx lugubris (Lesson)
A single specimen was collected on the roadside between
Dundo and Calulo on the northern side of the Cuanza river.
Charadrius tricollaris tricollaris Vieillot
Taken at Luanda August 1, 5, 1957.
Larus fuscus fuscus Linnaeus
An immature female from near Luanda, taken August 7,
1957, is new for Angola.
4 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 47
Columba unicincta Cassin
Luachimo River, near Dundo, 800 m. altitude; Roca Canzele,
north of Quiculungo, 600 m. altitude. This handsome pigeon
lives in mature stands of tropical rain forest and tropical gal-
lery woods, keeping always to the crowns of the oldest, tallest
trees, usually about 100 feet above the ground. Not rare in
the coffee woods north of Quiculungo, but difficult to observe
and to collect on account of its dwelling above the normal
reach of eye and gun.
Cuculus canorus gularis Stephens
South of Duque de Braganga, near the road to Matete, in
a savannah parkwood: single, medium-sized trees and patches
of low bushes alternating with open, grassy spaces.
This species seems to be very rare in Angola. During two
and a half years of work it has been met with only once. When
the call of the male was heard for the first time, it seemed to be
the call of a dove or a barbet, rather than that of a cuckoo. It
has no similarity with the familiar voice of the European C.
canorus, being much softer, deeper, more muffled and accentu-
ated on the second syllable instead of on the first. The calling
begins usually with a few monosyllabic notes like “tuk .... uk
.uk....” and then changes over to a fairly short series of
duosyllabic calls, each accentuated in the second syllable. The
whole song thus sounds like this: “uk ....uk....uk232-
ukuk .... ukuk . ukuk . ukuk.” The calling male is perched,
well hidden, in the crown of one of the medium sized trees of its
biotope, as described above. From a pair, chasing each other, I
heard a sharp, ringing call like: “pit pit pit pit pit,” fairly
similar to the voice of the female of the European C. canorus.
Centropus grill grill Hartlaub
Forty km. northeast of Duque de Braganca, 1250 m.;25 km.
A | Sane
northwest of Nova Gaia, 1250 m. altitude; Kassai River, 40
km. northeast of Canza, 900 m. altitude in open, wide, marshy,
flat and treeless stream valleys of the high plateau in stands of
tall grass in the drier areas.
July 1, 1960 Avifauna of Northern Angola I. 5
In both males collected in December one of the testes was
maximally enlarged, the other not at all. In April, in the Kas-
sal valley, the species was still in full breeding condition and
here, for the first time, the opportunity was found to study
its voice which is rather different from the other species of
the genus. The call was heard only during the early morning
hours, but then many times and from different directions. It is
two-syllabic sounding approximately like “‘julup”, dull in
sound, but nevertheless loud and audible from afar. This call is
usually repeated two to six times in succession and often
followed by a short series of monosyllabic sounds, like ‘‘du
du - du - du.” These notes are deeper than the main call, more
muffled and not so far carrying. One morning Heinrich
stalked a bird that was continuously calling in a thicket of
12-foot tall grass. It was perched on a branch of an over-
grown, dead bush, some 3 yards above ground, almost un-
interruptedly calling as described above. The specimen turned
out to be not a male but a female with maximally enlarged
ovaries. A few minutes later, and about 40 yards ahead
Heinrich flushed and shot the male. It too, had maximally
enlarged gonads. But there is not the slightest doubt that the
‘aller was indeed the female, as Heinrich was close enough to
observe the movements of the head synchronized with the calls.
Myioceyx lecontet lecontet (Cassin)
A female was taken at Roca Canzele in heavy forest along
a brook on October 1, 1957.
Berenicornis albocristatus cassini (Finsch)
A specimen taken on the Rio Luachimo near Dundo on May
11, 1958, and another specimen, a juvenile, in the museum at
Dundo presumably from Lunda province taken in 1946, extend
the range of this form into northeastern Angola.
Tricholaema hirsutum chapint Bannerman
A male and female were collected near Dundo on the Rio
Luachimo in February and May.
6 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 47
Macronyx grimwoodi Benson
In the region of Lake Carumbo at 900 m. altitude, one
specimen was found on March 20th, in a marshy meadow
along a stream. The biotope was not at all different from the
usual habitat of M. fiillerborni, several specimens of which
were in the same meadow. A careful examination of the whole
area showed that the single specimen of M. grimwoodi was
a solitary one.
Macrosphenus concolor (Hartlaub)
The olive longbill was found on the Luachimo river, near
Dundo, 800 m. altitude and on the Kassai river, 40 km. north-
east Canza at 900 m. altitude.
Within the tropical gallery wood this skulking little bird
has chosen a rather specialized habitat. It is rarely found in
the thickets of the lower floor. Instead it searches the very
densest tangles of hanging vines, the webs and veils of lanas
which here and there wrap the trunk of crown of a single tree,
sometimes creating an almost solid mass of clustered vegetation.
Under this excellent cover the small birds would be in-
visible if their lively actions and characteristic voice did not
betray them. There are two slightly different versions of the
warbling song, both, however, equal in timbre and in their
somewhat intrusive, eager, hurried delivery. The basic tune of
the first version is four-syllabic, and sounds like “tutuhuo”
with the strong accent on the penultimate syllable, which is
somewhat higher than the others. This four-syllabic tune 1s
repeated many times in rapid sequence without the slightest
intermission: “tutuhuotutuhuotutuhuotutuhuotutuhuo is
The other version is only three-syllabic with the accent on the
first syllable: “huititi.” It too is repeated rapidly and eagerly
many times: huititihuititihuititihuititihuititi . . . .” In both
versions the volume and the speed of the delivery increases
slightly and gradually toward the end of the sequence. Heinrich
observed the species always in pairs.
Sylvietta denti denti (Ogilvie-Grant )
The single collected specimen, a female with slightly en-
larged ovaries, was shot May 11th from the crown of a tall
July 1, 1960 Avifauna of Northern Angola I.
2
tree in tropical gallery woods, close to the border of the
Luachimo river, near Dundo; altitude 800 m.
Apalis goslingt goslingi Alexander
Found on the Luachimo river, near Dundo, 800 m. altitude
in tropical gallery wood. This species keeps always to the im-
mediate neighborhood of the river, usually searching the
foliage of branches hanging directly over the water or of
bushes standing on little islands in the river.
The song is easy to distinguish from that of 4. rufogularis
and A. alticola, as its basic strophe is monosyllabic; it is re-
peated about seven to twelve times in quick succession with
even accentuation of each syllable: “tchi tehi tehi tchi tehi tehi
tchi.”” Thus the song has a somewhat twittering timbre.
Cisticola melanurus (Cabanis )
The discovery of this secies in northeast Angola proves the
point made by Chapin (1958, Bds. Belgian Congo, pt. 3:380)
that this form is identical with Dryodromas pearsoni Neave
which thereby becomes a synonym of Cabanis’ older name.
Found about 50 km. southwest of Cacolo, at 1400 m. altitude
in the continuous dry woods of the high plateau. In contrast
to most of the species of the genus this one dees not depend on
grassland or any other dense cover. The birds are, however,
more often found in the neighborhood of grassy clearings than
in the depth of the forest.
Not very elusive and not difficult to observe as they usually
dwell in the branches and crowns of lower trees, searching the
foliage in the same manner as Apalis species do, for which
Heinrich mistook them several times. Disturbed, or excited
specimens flip their wings with a purring noise.
paella mrecocrry |
4 eer |
YALE PEABODY MUSEUM
or Natura History
Number 48 Jan. 16, 1961 New Haven, Conn.
RODENTS AND LAGOMORPHS FROM THE MIOCENE
FORT LOGAN AND DEEP RIVER FORMATIONS OF
MONTANA
Craic C. Biuack', Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, Pa.
ton) ae
The rodents and rabbits described below represent a part
of a collection made by Dr. H. J. Koerner for the Peabody
Museum of Natural History, Yale University, during the sum-
mers of 1935 and 1937 near Fort Logan, Montana. I would
like to thank Dr. Koerner for the stratigraphic and locality
data used below and Dr. J. 'T. Gregory for the opportunity
to study these specimens. I would also like to thank Prof.
B. Patterson, Prof. A. E. Wood, and Dr. Mary Dawson for
many helpful comments and criticisms. The illustrations are
by Mr. James O. Farley and were made possible by a grant
from the Gulf Oil Corporation.
The following forms are described below:
Fort Logan Fm.
Niglarodon koerneri n.g. & sp.
Eumys eliensis n. sp.
Palaeolagus hypsodus
Megalagus dawsoni n. sp.
‘This study was begun while the author was Rufus B. Kellogg Fellow
from Amherst College.
ye) Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 48
Deep River Fm.
Protospermophilus angusticeps
Monosaulaxw cf. M. hesperus
Paciculus montanus n. sp.
Mookomys ct. M. altifluminus
Dikkomys woodi n. sp.
Hypolagus sp.
Of these forms, Protospermophilus angusticeps (Matthew &
Mook, 1988) and Mookomys altifluminus (Wood, 1931) have
been previously recorded from the Deep River Formation.
In addition, Mesogaulus ballensis (Riggs, 1899) has been
reported from the Deep River Formation but it is not repre-
sented in the present collection.
The following abbreviations are used throughout:
A.M.N.H.—American Museum of Natural History, New
York
Ke
Museum of Natural History, University of
Kansas
Y.P.M.—Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale
University
Class MAMMALIA
Order RopENTIA
Family Aplodontidae
Niglarodon*, 1. gen.
(Figure la & b)
Type species: Niglarodon koerneri®, n. sp.
Diagnosis: Jaw slender and less robust than that of Menisco-
mys or Sewellelodon; teeth rooted, more hypsodont than in
2From Niglaros Gr. whistle and Odon Gr. tooth.
*For H. J. Koerner who made the collection.
®
Jan. 16, 1961 Rodents and Lagomorphs 3
Haplomys or Allomys, less so than in Meniscomys and Sewel-
lelodon; flexids persisting to, or near, tooth base; molars of
equal size; posterior protoconid arm well developed, passing
across the molars to prominent mesostylid on M,-M,; prin-
cipal cusps prominent with buccal and lingual flexids deep;
mesoconid extremely large on P,.
Niglarodon koerneri, n. sp.
Type: Y.P.M. No. 14024, right mandible with P,-M,, lacking
the incisor, coronoid process, and angle.
Hypodigm: Type only.
Horizon and Locality: Section 4, TION, R5E, Meagher Coun-
ty, Montana. Fort Logan Formation, Arikareean.
? A A va
| _ Aree. 2 ve = mm
f : A -~ bx Joy), ee a ee Ie 7
. gt ig . aa) A
Sag a ae ee
- me Bi ee
-»> 2 2 a Ae 4
* a =,
é
% ‘ Ee f
Figure 1. Niglarodon koerneri n. sp.. Y-P.M. No. 14024, type. A. Right
P,-M,, anterior end to the right, X10. B. Lateral view of right mandible, X5.
4, Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 48
DESCRIPTION
The angle and coronoid process are missing but the condyle
is preserved and lies in a plane only slightly above the tooth
row. It is not greatly elevated as in T'ardontia and A plodontia.
The masseteric ridge is weak in comparison with the other
early Miocene genera although it ends in a well-defined tuber-
cule below the anterior roots of M,. The coronoid process rises
steeply between M, and M,. The mental and dental foramina
are as in Sewellelodon and A plodontia.
The fourth premolar has five well-defined major cusps. The
protoconid and metaconid are joined posteriorly, the antero-
flexid cleaving the anterior face of the tooth to within .5 mm.
of the anterior root. There is a minute cuspule, that barely
breaks the continuity of the slope, present at the base of the
protoconid anteriorly. The metastylid is large and separated
from the mesoconid and entoconid by a deep mesoflexid di-
rected anteriorly. The protoflexid and hypoflexid join buccally
and are extremely deep, reaching almost to the base of the
crown. The metafossettid is small and shallow.
The molars are all nearly similar in structure. The hypo-
conid is the largest cusp. The anterior cingulum is separated
from the metaconid in unworn teeth by a shallow cleft, but
becomes fused with the metaconid slope after little wear. There
is a distinct mesoconid on all the molars. The hypofossettid has
been cut off on M, and Mz as a very small lake; it is still
slightly open on M,. The protoflexid is open in all three molars
and would never have been cut off to form a lake. The meta-
fossettid is small on all molars but larger than that on P,.
The posterior protoconid arm is well developed, extending to
the mesostylid but is lower on M, than on M, or Mo; it is
separated from the metaconid by a narrow flexid, which would
soon have closed off to form a lake on M, and M,, as it has
on M*, and from the entoconid by a wider and much deeper
mesoflexid. The teeth are worn in such a way that the meta-
conid is by far the highest cusp on all the teeth.
DISCUSSION
Niglarodon is the fifth genus of aplodontid to be described
from the Lower Miocene of North America. Haplomys, known
Jan. 16, 1961 Rodents and Lagomorphs 5
only from the John Day, is much too low-crowned to be closely
related to Niglarodon. Allomys, also known only from the
John Day, has become more highly specialized than any other
Lower Miocene aplodontid through the development of numer-
ous accessory lophs and pits in the upper and lower cheek
teeth. Sewellelodon and Meniscomys (see Shotwell, 1958, for
the most recent review of aplodontoid evolution) from the
Middle and Upper John Day would appear to have the closest
relationships with Niglarodon. The crown pattern is basically
similar in all three genera with only minor variations. The
major differences between these genera are in robustness,
height of crown and depth of crown pattern. Of the three,
Niglarodon is the most generalized. The teeth are high-
crowned, although not as much so as in Meniscomys or Sewel-
lelodon, and the depth of crown pattern has kept pace with this
increase in crown height, which is not the case in the other two
genera. Niglarodon would therefore seem to represent an
earlier stage in the aplodontid line leading to Meniscomys and
then through Sewellelodon and Liodontia to the recent A plo-
dontia. Also, because of its more generalized structure, Nigla-
rodon would seem to be closer structurally, although not in
time, to the point of aplodontid-mylagaulid divergence than
Meniscomys.
MEASUREMENTS — —
a-p bia
Py 3.10 1.80-1.95
M, Wee) 1.60-1.70
M, 2.00 1.75-1.70
M., 2.10 1.75-1.60
Family Sciuridae
Protospermophilus angusticeps Matthew and Mook, 1938
* When two transverse measurements are given, the first is that of the
protoloph or metalophid, the second is that of the metaloph or hypolophid.
All measurements are in millimeters.
6 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 48
Horizon and Locality: Section 25, TION, R5E, Meagher
County, Montana. Deep River Formation, Upper Heming-
fordian.
Referred Specimens: Y.P.M. Nos. 14029 maxillary with M’,
14030 partial maxillary with M'-M?*, 14031 partial left man-
dible with M,-M,, 14032 partial left mandible with M,-M,,
14033 partial left mandible with M,-M,, 14034 partial left
mandible with M,.
DESCRIPTION
The six specimens here referred to Protospermophilus an-
gusticeps agree well with the type also from the Deep River
of Montana. A detailed description of these specimens is de-
ferred to a later paper dealing with the evolution of the North
American Tertiary Sciuridae.
Family Castoridae
Monosaulaxv cf. M. hesperus (Douglas, 1901)
(Figure 2)
Horizon and Locality: Section 1, TON, R4K, Meagher County,
Montana. Deep River Formation, Upper Hemingfordian.
Referred Specimen: Y.P.M. No. 14035, a right mandible with
M,-M;, lacking the anterior portion of the jaw in front of
M,, the incisor, and ascending ramus.
Figure 2. A. Monosaulax cf. M. hesperus (Douglas), Y.P.M. No. 14035,
right M,-M,, anterior end to the right, X7 1/2.
Jan. 16, 1961 Rodents and Lagomorphs
-~
DESCRIPTION
M;, 1s only slightly worn, M, unworn, and M., unerupted.
All the molars would show three fossettids with further wear.
The hypostriid (sense of Stirton, 1935, p. 392) is relatively
shallow and extends only halfway down the crown. There is a
small fossettid on all the molars anterior to the parafossettid
and another small fossettid posterior to it on M,-Ms. This
small posterior fossettid is cut off from the metafossettid and
is extremely shallow. The reference of this specimen to Mono-
saulax hesperus is based on the presence of the small anterior
fossettid. As Stirton (1935, p. 416) observed, however, the
species of Monosaulax are not clearly defined and any specific
assignment is at best dubious at present.
———— MEASUREMENTS
a-p tr.
M, BAS 3.00-3.50
M. 3.30 3.20-3.40
M, 2.90
Family Cricetidae
Eumys eliensis, n. sp.
(Figure 3a & b)
Type: Y.P.M. No. 14022, left ramus with I, M,-M3;, lacking
the ascending ramus and inferior border.
Hypodigm: Type only.
Horizon and Locality: Section 28, T11N, R5E, Meagher
County, Montana. Fort Logan Formation, Arikareean.
Diagnosis: Teeth large in relation to jaw size; teeth progres-
sively longer from M, to M,; posterior protoconid arm joining
metaconid on M,-M;; no lingual arm of anterior cingulum on
M.-M.,,; mental foramen near inferior border of mandible below
anterior root of M,.
8 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 48
DESCRIPTION
The ascending ramus, angle, and inferior border of the man-
dible are missing. Enough of the jaw is present, however, to
demonstrate that it is relatively small and slender in relation
to tooth size in comparison with other species of Eumys. This
jaw is equal in size to that of Eumys brachyodus, somewhat
f fn $
y j 4 f ‘
\¢ } ;
é ic 4 Ay 4 af
\ H
A Re Nd i
i “ ij
Va \
= \
Sih 3
~~ <"
i i ee ae
fie: be
é -
of
: J
‘ BS ¥
‘
J
\ 5
b.
4
* ‘%
Figure 3. Eumys eliensis n. sp., Y.P.M. No. 14022, type. A. Left M,-M;,
anterior end to the left, X7 1/2. B. Lateral view of left mandible, X5.
smaller and less robust than that of E. elegans, yet the denti-
tion is larger than in either of these two species. There is a
small accessory foramen immediately anterior to the mental
foramen. The masseteric scar terminates below the middle
of M,.
Jan. 16, 1961 Rodents and Lagomorphs 9
M, is the smallest tooth of the series. The anteroconid is
small, as high as the protoconid, to which it is joimed by a
short anterior protoconid arm, but it is well below the meta-
conid. The posterior protoconid arm passes postero-lingually
and joins the posterior slope of the metaconid and with wear
should join with that cusp. There is a very short mesolophid
and a short lophid (buccal portion of mesolophid of Wood,
1937, p. 249) which passes buccally from the ectolophid. This
crest is also present on M,. The posterior cingulum is sepa-
rated from the entoconid by a relatively deep cleft. There is
no lingual portion of the anterior cingulum on M, or M;. The
posterior protoconid arm on M, and M. would join the meta-
conid with further wear. The valley between the protoconid
and hypoconid does not open to the buccal side where it is
dammed by a thin ridge more so on My, than on M.. There is
no mesolophid on M, but the posterior protoconid arm is well
developed. The posterior half of M, is constricted, the hypo-
conid and entoconid being closely appressed. The anterior and
buccal sides of the incisor are rounded while the medial face
is flat. The enamel is restricted to the buccal face.
DISCUSSION
There are several characters of Eumys eliensis that are not
to be found in any 6ther species of the genus with which I am
familiar. The extreme inferior and posterior position of the
mental foramen is unique. The increase in the length of the
molars from M, to M,j is also unusual. In all other species M,
is generally the longest tooth. And, finally, the large size of
the teeth in relation to jaw size is striking.
The only previously described specimen which comes close
to Ewmys eliensis in tooth size and structure is U.K. No. 8483
described by Galbreath (1953, p. 73) as Eumys sp. This
specimen is from the lower part of the Cedar Creek Member
of the White River Formation. However, this specimen is
described as having a large, heavy jaw, which is decidedly
not the case in E, eliensis.
E. cricetodontoides, latidens, and spokanensis (White, 1954)
are all large species comparable in overall size to E. eliensis
but in all three forms the length of the molars decreases from
10 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 48
M, to M,. There are also several differences in crown pattern.
There is no lingual portion of the anterior cingulum in E.
eliensis, which further separates it from EF. cricetodontoides
and latidens. It is probably closest in crown pattern to EF.
spokanensis from which it differs in the slight development of
the mesolophid on M, and the buccal crest between the proto-
conid and hypoconid of My. Furthermore, E. spokanensis is of
Middle Oligocene age.
As White (1954, p. 410) has pointed out, the intermontaine
species of Eumys (cricetodontoides, latidens, and spokanensis,
to which may be added eliensis) share certain features not
possessed by the plains forms (Eumys obliquidens, elegans,
brachyodus, exiguus, and planidens). Until a revision of the
genus as a whole is undertaken, however, exact relationships
will be extremely difficult to determine. It would appear, never-
theless, that EF. eliensis was probably derived from the Middle
and Late Oligocene Eumys complex known to have been living
to the west of the Fort Logan area. It certainly shares more
characters with this group than with the plains forms.
MEASUREMENTS
a-p cr.
I 2.3 2.1
M, 2.50 1.7-1.95
M, 2.60 2.3-2.3
M 2.75 2.25-1.75
Paciculus montanus n. sp.
(Figure 4a & b)
Type: Y.P.M. No. 14027, partial right maxillary with M'-M?.
Hypodigm: Type and Y.P.M. No. 14026, broken right maxil-
lary with M' in place and isolated M?-M®.
Horizon and Locality: Section 8, TION, R5K, and Section 3,
TION, R5E, Meagher County, Montana. Deep River Forma-
tion, Upper Hemingtordian,
Jan. 16, 1961 Rodents and Lagomorphs 13!
Diagnosis: Relatively high crowned; teeth narrow in relation
to length; all buccal re-entrants deepening toward centers of
teeth; posterior cingulum short; all five crests extremely prom-
inent; mesoloph reaching to buccal margin on all molars; no
accessary lophs of Ewmys type; no hypocone on M*.
Figure 4. Paciculus montanus n. sp. A. Y.P.M. No. 14026, right M'-M?°,
anterior end to the right, X15. B. Y.P.M. No. 14027, type, right M’-M?,
anterior end to the right, X20.
DESCRIPTION
The upper molars are all extremely simple when compared
with those of Ewmys, Leidymys, or Scottimus. There are no
accessory lophs passing from the protocone to the anterior
cingulum nor any sign of mesoloph-metacone connections.
M! of Paciculus montanus is smaller than those of the various
species of HKwmys and than it is in Letdymys. All the teeth are
narrower in relation to their lengths than are those of other
12 Postilla Yale Peabody Musewm No. 48
eumyines with the exception of Scottimus. The complete meso-
loph passing transversely across M® to the buccal margin is
unique for the group.
DISCUSSION
Paciculus montanus is extremely similar to P. imsolitus
(Wood, 1936a) from the Middle John Day of Oregon. It differs
somewhat in tooth proportions and is possibly somewhat higher
crowned than the earlier species, but could easily have been
derived from it. The relationships of the genus are still not
clear. The dentition is more conservative than any other
eumyine, which makes it difficult to derive Paciculus from any
of the known Oligocene species of Ewmys.
= MEASUREMENTS .-
No. 14027 No. 14026
a-p Ge: a-p [a
VW 2.3 1.6-1.5 2.35 lee ale
Me een 1.8-1.65 1.80 1.8-1.65
M° 1.50 1.60
Family Heteromyidae
Mookomys sp. cf. M. altifluminus Wood, 1931
Figure 5a
(Fig
Referred specimen: Y.P.M. No. 14036, left ramus with P,-Ms,,
lacking ascending ramus and condyle.
Horizon and Locality: Section 14, TION, R5E, Meagher
County, Montana. Deep River Formation, Upper Heming-
fordian.
DESCRIPTION
This specimen appears to be identical in nearly all respects
to A.M.N.H. No. 21360 from the Deep River Beds, 7 mi. south
of Logan, Montana. The teeth are more worn but exhibit the
same pattern. The only difference between the two is that M,
is slightly larger than M, in Y.P.M. No. 14086 (Wood, 1981,
p- 4, fig. 4) whereas it is slightly smaller in the type. In this
respect it resembles M. parvus from Colorado. Since the type
of M. altifluminus and Y.P.M. No. 14036 both come from the
Jan. 16, 1961 Rodents and Lagomorphs 13
Deep River Beds near Logan, Montana, reference to M. alti-
fluminus rather than M. parvus is to be preferred. The possi-
bility exists that M. altifluminus and M. parvus are conspecific
but I have not had an opportunity to see the types.
Figure 5. A. Mookomys cf. M. altifluminus Wood, Y.P.M. No. 14036, left
P,-M., anterior end to the right, X15. B. Dikkomus woodi n. sp., Y.P.M. No.
14038, type, left P,-M,, anterior end to right, X10.
MEASUREMENTS ————
a-p tr.
ley 85 “10-85
M, 1.00 1.20-1.00
M, SLY) 1.25-1.10
M, 95 1.10-1.00
Family Geomyidae
Subfamily Geomyinae
Dikkomys woodi,’ n. sp.
(Figure 5b)
5 Named for Dr. A. EK. Wood.
14 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 48
Type: Y.P.M. No. 14038, left ramus with I, Py-M,.
Hypodigm: Type only.
Horizon and Locality: Section 23, T10N, R5E, Meagher
County, Montana. Deep River Formation, Upper Heming-
fordian.
Diagnosis: Crests uniting in centers of teeth; enamel complete;
two cusps on anterior lophid of P,, only slight trace of anterior
cuspule; anterior column of P, shorter than in D. matthew.
DESCRIPTION
The jaw is broken through the alveolus of M,. M.-M, are
missing together with the angle and the ascending ramus. The
masseteric ridge is very prominent, ending below the anterior
root of P,. The mental foramen lies antero-ventral to the an-
terior end of the masseteric ridge. The diastema is long and
shallow.
P, and M, are similar to those of D. matthewi (Wood,
1936b) except that the anterior column of P, is not as long as
in that species. The teeth are not as worn as those previously
described. The anterior and posterior lophids of P, bear two
distinct cusps. The two lophids of P, and M, unite just buccal
of the center of the tooth to form the typical geomyine H-pat-
tern. The buccal re-entrant is shallower than the lingual and is
closed on M,. On P,, a shallow valley immediately lingual to
the antero-posterior crest just fails to split the anterior lophid
in two and there is a small shallow fossettid in the center of
the posterior leophid. At an advanced stage of wear the meta-
lophid and hypolophid of M, would unite into a single column
completely ringed with enamel.
DISCUSSION
Wood (1986b, p. 26) suggested that Dikkomys would be
an “ideal starting point for the evolution of the latter Geo-
myinae.” This interpretation was based on the pattern of the
lower premolars in which the two lophs unite at the center of
the tooth to give a subcircular metalophid and a compressed
Jan. 16, 1961 Rodents and Lagomorphs 15
hypolophid as in the later forms. Wilson (1936, p. 28), in
discussing Pliosaccomys, said, “the genus cannot be directly
ancestral to any existing gopher but in cheek-tooth characters
at least, may show a structural stage through which the Geo-
myinae have passed.” However, I may observe that worn teeth
(Wilson, op. cit. Pl. 2, fig. 5 & 6) are certainly suggestive
of those found in Thomomys. The absence of a groove in
the upper incisor would also agree with the condition seen
in Thomomys, although this is a rather tenuous character.
Hibbard (1954, p. 357) pointed out this possible relationship,
but at the same time he suggested that the genus Gregorymys
might be ancestral to the Geomyinae, stating (1954, p. 357)
that “in Gregorymys, the presence of the groove (“sulcus’’),
which varies as to position on the upper incisor, the develop-
ment of the skull, and the dental pattern seem to indicate an
ancestral relationship to, rather than a parallelism with, the
Geomyinae.” However, the dental pattern seen in Gregorymys,
especially in Py, is far removed from that of any geomyine.
There is no indication of a central union of the anterior and
posterior lophs. In the contemporary Dikkomys, however, we
do find a premolar pattern similar to that seen in T'homomys
and Geomys and also in Pliosaccomys.
If the suggestion that the geomyine premolars developed
from a condition such as that found in Dikkomys and Plio-
saccomys is accepted, the next consideration is the derivation
of the single column molar of the later forms. The molars of
Pliosaccomys are markedly different from those found in
Dikkomys. The union of the lophs in Pliosaccomys begins at
the buccal margin and spreads inwards until only one column
remains. In Dikkomys, on the other hand, the union is first
in the center of the tooth. The buccal margins then unite
enclosing a lake, the union then proceeding lingually. On the
basis of molar structure, it would seem that Pliosaccomys and
Dikkomys represent two distinct lines of later Tertiary geo-
myine evolution. Which of these lines, if either, is leading to
the modern forms it is impossible to say at present. It would
appear, however, that the premolar pattern seen in the two
genera is the most logical starting point so far known for
the recent Geomyinae.
16 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 48
MEASUREMENTS ———_
a-p EE:
By 1.45 1.15-1.30
M, 1.50 1.60-1.65
Order LacomorrHa
Family Leporidae
Palaeolagus hypsodus Schlaikjer, 1935
(Figure 6a)
Referred Specimen: Y.P.M. No. 14021, portion of left maxilla
with P?-M?.
Horizon and Locality: Section 5, T10N, R5E, Meagher
County, Montana. Fort Logan Formation, Arikareean.
Figure 6. A. Palaeolagus hypsodus Schlaikjer, Y.P.M. No. 14021, left
P*-M?, anterior end to left, X10. B. Megalagus dawsoni n. sp., Y.P.M. No.
14023, type, right P*-M’, anterior end to the right, X5.
Jan. 16, 1961 Rodents and Lagomorphs ari
DESCRIPTION
The specimen consists of a portion of the maxilla with
P?-M? and the alveolus of M*. P* has the typical abbreviated
anteroloph and the persistent J-shaped crescent. The hypos-
tria almost reaches the crescent, traversing about a third of
the width of the tooth. The hypostriae on P*-M* extend ap-
proximately half-way across the teeth and are persistent.
Enamel is absent externally and is thin posteriorly on all the
teeth. Cement is well-developed, filling the hypostriae on all
teeth and the crescent on P*. It does not appear to extend
onto the main body of any of the teeth, however.
DISCUSSION
As Dawson (1958) has pointed out, it is extremely difficult
to separate P. hypsodus Schlaikjer (1985) from P. burkei on
the basis of isolated dentitions, particularly upper dentitions.
Reference of Y.P.M. No. 14021 to P. hypsodus in this case
is based first on size and secondly on the flattening out of the
buccal face of the anteroloph of P°’. In P. burkei (Wood,
1940, Fig. 97) the buccal face of P’ appears to be of rather
uniform slope. Whether this character is constant remains to
be seen, but it is apparent in all illustrations of the two species
so far published.
This occurrence extends the range of the species as given
by Dawson (op. cit.) from Wyoming, South Dakota, and
Nebraska, into Montana.
pea MEASUREMENTS
a-p Er
RP 1.80 2.00-3.10
| Pei 1.80 3.30-3.00
M? 1.80 3.30-2.90
M? 1.50 2.60-2.10
Megalagus dawsoni’, n. sp.
(Figure 6b)
®’ Named for Dr. Mary Dawson.
18 Postilla Yale Peabody Musewm No. 48
Type: Y.P.M. No. 14023, right maxillary with P?-M?’.
Hypodigm: Type and Y.P.M. No. 14037, left maxillary with
P°-M* poorly preserved.
Horizon and Locality: Section 28, TI1IN, R5E, and Section
23, TION, R5E, Meagher County, Montana. Fort Logan
Formation, Arikareean.
Diagnosis: Buccal roots presumably present (seen on M°);
teeth high-crowned ; hypostriae cement-filled, shallow on P*-P*,
deeper on M'-M*, passing one-third of the way across the
crown.
DESCRIPTION
The cheek teeth are more high-crowned than in any other
species of the genus, and have prominent buccal roots. P* ex-
hibits two anterior re-entrants, the buccal being shallow and
extending approximately 2.5 mm. down the anterior face of
the tooth, the lingual deeper and extending halfway down the
anterior face. The hypostriae are shallow and extend only
partway down on P*-P*, but are deeper and extend well below
the level of the alveoli on M'-M’. The teeth are longer in rela-
tion to their width than in any other species of Megalagus.
DISCUSSION
The reference of these specimens to Megalagus is based
upon the presence of buccal roots and the shallow development
of the hypostriae on P°-P*. The dentition of M. dawsoni shows
several advances over other species of the genus, notably the
development of cement and greater hypsodonty. In this regard,
M. dawsoni has progressed further than M. primitivus, the
only other Miocene species. M. dawsoni represents a further,
more advanced level of development, derivable from M. tur-
gidus, as is M. primitivus, but distinct from it.
Jan. 16, 1961 Rodents and Lagomorphs 19
= _MEASUREMENTS ——_—
Y.P.M. No. 14023
a-p bie:
1B 2, 2.1
Be 3.0 2.5-3.4
Ee 2.8 3.5-3.5
M! 2.5 3.3-3.1
M- 2.2 3.1-2.5
Hypolagus sp.
Referred Specimen: Y.P.M. No. 14028, partial left maxillary
with alveolus of P*, broken P*, and P*-M!.
Horizon and Locality: Section 25, TION, R5E, Meagher
County, Montana. Deep River Formation, Upper Heming-
fordian.
DESCRIPTION
The specimen is much too poor for definite reference, but
on the characters available it would seem to be close to Hypo-
lagus vetus. The crenulations of the hypostriae are slight on
M', more wavy on P*.
ee MBAS URE VRE INED Ss
a-p tr
Pt ae | 4.2
M'! ee 4.3
REFERENCES
Dawson, M. R., 1958. Later Tertiary Leporidae of North America. Univ.
Kansas Paleont. Contrib., Vertebrata, Art. 6, pp. 1-75, 2 pl.
Galbreath, E. C., 1953. A Contribution to the Tertiary Geology and Paleon-
tology of Northeastern Colorado. Univ. Kansas Paleont. Contrib.,
Vertebrata, Art. 4, pp. 1-120, 2 pl.
Hibbard, C. W., 1954. A new Pliocene Vertebrate Fauna from Oklahoma.
Papers Mich. Acad. Sci., Arts, and Letters, v. 39, pp. 339-359.
20 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 48
Matthew, W. D. and Mook, C. C., 1933. New Fossil Mammals from the
Deep River Beds of Montana. Amer. Mus. Novit., 601, pp. 1-7.
Riggs, E. S., 1899. The Mylagaulidae: An extinct Family of Sciuromorph
Rodents. Field Columbian Museum, Geol. Ser. 1, pp. 181-187.
Schlaikjer, E. M., 1935. Contributions to the Stratigraphy and Paleontology
of the Goshen Hole Area, Wyoming. IV. New Vertebrates and the
Stratigraphy of the Oligocene and Early Miocene. Bull. Mus. Comp.
Zool., v. 76, no. 4, pp. 97-189, 41 pl.
Shotwell, J. A. 1958. Evolution and Biogeography of the Aplodontid and
Mylagaulid Rodents. Evolution, vy. 12, pp. 451-484.
Stirton, R. A., 1935. A Review of the ‘Tertiary Beavers. Univ. Calif. Publ.
Bull. Dept. Geol. Sci., v. 23, no. 15, pp. 391-458.
White, ‘I’. E., 1954. Preliminary Analysis of the Fossil Vertebrates of the
Canyon Ferry Reservoir Area. Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., y. 103, no. 3326,
pp. 395-438.
Wilson, R. W., 1936. A Pliocene Rodent Fauna from Smiths Valley, Ne-
vada. Carn. Inst. Wash. Publ., 473, pp. 15-34, 2 pl.
Wood, A. E., 1931. Phylogeny of the Heteromyid Rodents. Amer. Mus.
Novit., 501, pp. 1-19.
1936a. The Cricetid Rodents described by Leidy and Cope from
the Tertiary of North America. Amer. Mus. Novit., 822, pp. 1-8.
1936b. Geomyid Rodents from the Middle Tertiary. Amer. Mus.
Noyit., 866, pp. 1-31.
——1937. The Mammalian Fauna of the White River Oligocene.
Part II. Rodentia. Trans. Amer. Phil. Soc., n.s., 28, pp. 115-269, 11 pl.
1940. The Mammalian Fauna of the White River Oligocene. Part
III. Lagomorpha. Trans. Amer. Phil. Soc., n.s., 28, pp. 271-362, 2 pl.
bol
YALE PEABODY MUSEUM |
oF Natura. History
Number 49 June 23, 1961 New Haven, Conn.
RESULTS OF RESEARCH IN THE ANTOFAGASTA
RANGES OF CHILE AND BOLIVIA
I. Birds: Luss KE. Pena
II. Diatoms: Rutu Parricx
Color Plate: Roger Tory PETERSON
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7
-
-
- ~~ f Swiinoradl
7 | rr aay
iD) 4oe
? = :
- 7 i °F Way ite) ae
cm b. ‘ ; Se
: in the middle of a plain where
of “algarrobo” and “chanares’
corn and alfalfa are cultivated, irrigated by the salt water
of the ravine.
Titorozo: On the extreme south of the Atacama salt marsh
there is a large area of marsh covered with grasses. We trav-
eled as far as the Banos de Tilopozo which spring from a
hot-water overflow. This place must be ideal for birds dur-
ing the summer nesting season, but they are now absent. The
28 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 49
hurricane-force wind made continuing with the jeep impossible
because of the hail of sand and rock which had already heavily
scratched the windshield.
We returned to Santiago on July 26 after a fruitless visit
to the salt marshes of Pedernales and Maricunga, more than
250 kilometers to the south of Atacama. Flamingos do nest
on these marshes in the summer months.
PART TWO
Awxnnoratep List oF Brros CoLLECTED OR OBSERVED
The list of birds reported here includes observations made
in December, 1957, and in January, 1958, on a second visit
with Dr. Roger Tory Peterson. Specimens collected are now
in the Peabody Museum at Yale University. A series of our
material is also in the collection of the Museo Nacional de
Historia Natural of Santiago.
Pterocnemia pennata tarapacensis Chubb
Several pairs were observed in Inacaliri at 8,900 meters,
and on the Turi pampa (3,100 meters). One specimen was
captured by persons from Inacaliri and carried to the San
Pedro station with the object of removing its fat, since it is
highly desired as a remedy for rheumatism and arthritis. Be-
fore this, however, I took the following measurements: length
from the point of the bill to the end of the tail, 144 cm; wing,
50 cm; bill, 7.2 cm; tarsus, 33 cm.
On examining the contents of the stomach, I found it replete
with roots and thick stems of the tola.
Tinamotis pentlandi Vigors
This species of “partridge” is somewhat frequent in the high
regions of the Antofagasta range between 3,500 and 4,500
meters. A slightly wounded specimen attacked me by flying
against my face as I approached to photograph it at a dis-
tance of 3 meters; later it fled, tossing off a large quantity
of fetid excrement. An example was captured in Inacaliri at
June 25,1961 Antofagasta Ranges of Chile and Bolivia 29
4,000 meters altitude. A small flock was observed on the T'atio
voleano at 4,400 meters.
Phoenicopterus chilensis Molina
The Chilean flamingo is common in the central zone of Chile.
It is found in the lagoons of the north where it is known by
the name of ‘‘tococo.”
The specimen taken came from the
lagoons of the Ceja marshlands, situated in the interior of
the upper sections of the Atacama salt marsh approximately
30 kilometers to the south of San Pedro de Atacama. It was
a solitary bird.
Phoenicoparrus andinus (Philippi) Bonaparte
At Ojos del Rio San Pedro two immature specimens of this
““parina” were captured, locally called “hiticti.”” Birds were
observed in the Ceja lagoons and in those of Carvajal, situated
in the interior of the Atacama salt marsh. At night they could
be heard calling, and it is at that hour that they move from
lagoon to lagoon. It is difficult to distinguish them from the
“parina chica” (Ph. jamesi), when they are in their habitat,
since it is impossible to approach them, and their coloration
and size is very similar.
Phoenicoparrus jamesi (Sclater)
One of the objects of this expedition was to study this rare
flamingo. No one has had recent news of this species. In 1957,
Dr. Francisco Behn, in company with Mr. A. W. Johnson and
Mr. Guillermo Millie, had traveled in these areas with the sole
object of finding this bird and making studies of a biological
character (Johnson, Behn, and Millie, 1958). They succeeded
in capturing a female example and obtained several nests of
eggs, all in the Laguna Colorada of Bolivia in the month of
February, 1957. In the same place, situated a few kilometers
from the frontier, I succeeded in capturing an adult male
example and two immature specimens. The population was
reduced. I was only able to see 7 adults and about 20 nestlings
already old enough to fly. The adults were extremely shy; not
so the young ones which walked about tranquilly scarcely
30 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 49
10 meters from us, as we, with the water a little bit below
our knees, were exploring the lagoon in the region not affected
by ice. Later on, in the lagoons at Carvajal to the east of the
Atacama salt marsh and in front of the Hekar or Camar
ravine, we succeeded in capturing another example.
This “parina,” called “chururu” by the inhabitants, is prob-
ably not as rare as had been thought previously. Many times
my attention was called to the fact that the mountain lagoons
were almost completely deserted by birds, according to infor-
mation received from the inhabitants. However, the flamingos
were abundant in the Laguna Colorada during the summer and
nested there. This was proved by Dr. Behn, although his cal-
culation for the species was low, 6-8% of the total of 3,000
birds of 3 species seen (tom. cit. 1958: 296).
With the object of studying the possible movements of the
species about the Atacama salt marsh area, I traveled among
the lagoons of the interior observing an immense quantity of
flamingos in a number almost impossible to calculate. But, in
view of the quantity of little lagoons which exist in this vast
region, I cannot make any firm estimate of this population.
Unfortunately, I was not able to go as far as the Punta Negra
salt marsh which is south of the Imilac railroad station. I was
assured that flamingos nest there by the thousands during
the months from December to February. It seems to me that
the Atacama salt marsh is the nesting center and the place in
which the majority of the flamingos spend the winter.
These flamingos are vagrants. The mountain lagoons freeze,
though not entirely, since nearly all of them receive hot springs.
But the influence of hot water is only felt in a limited space.
as I had observed in the Laguna Colorada (Bolivia) and the
Laguna Verde. These birds migrate to salt-water lagoons of
a better climate such as the Atacama salt marsh. Some speci-
mens maintain themselves in the Andean lagoons, but they are
always isolated.
In the entire region the people who know about the “pa-
rinas,” including the natives who spend the summer on the
Laguna Colorada as well as the people from Toconao, Peine,
and Socaire, who live for a part of the year on the eggs of
these birds, distinguish four well-defined species of flamingos
June 23,1961 Antofagasta Ranges of Chile and Bolivia 31
and “parinas.” They have a name for each, taken from the call
which the birds emit. The first is the “tococo” (Ph. chilensis),
the common species which is also found in the central region
of Chile. The second is the “hiticti” (Ph. andinus) which is
more reddish in color than the first one and larger in size. Its
call is very similar to its name: “hi-ri-ri-ri-ri-ri.” The third
one is the “chururu” (Ph. jamesi) which is the species that
was thought to be the most scarce and turns out to be the
most abundant. Its characteristic call is ‘‘chu-ru-ru-ru-ru-ru.”’
The fourth is a species which we have not been able to locate.
In my opinion it comprises young examples of jamesi. On vari-
ous occasions I was able to hear its call of “huaj-cha-ta-ta.”
Upon observing the stomach contents of these birds (Ph.
jamest), I found only some mud of greenish-yellow color mixed
up with fine sand. Under the microscope I could see that the
contents represented a compact mass of diatoms, which agrees
with the observations of Dr. F. Behn.
Phoenicoparrus jamesi is a common enough bird, as are
all the “parinas”
and flamingos of the Andes. It is very diffi-
cult to observe and capture, however, since it is very shy.
It nests on the Laguna Colorada of Bolivia and almost posi-
tively on the Andean salt-water lagoons such as the Pujsa
salt marsh and the Loyoquis salt marsh. According to the
word of the people of the region, it lays eggs three times
a year.
A second visit to Laguna Colorada made by Dr. Roger Tory
Peterson and myself from December 20-27, 1958, adds to our
knowledge of the relative abundance of the three flamingo
species. During the second visit the observed ratio of flamin-
gos was:
ELDON CEST Ses pe i ie Ce orl SO ee no less than 7,000.
Re LAIN Stat ee ee ee 300.
VRC RIUCTISUS eet n Tee Bake. inte td ee 100.
This compares with the figures of Johnson, Behn, and Millie
| g
for January, 1957 (tom. cit. 1958) :
JE] LO OTAR OTAGO Ss ate Sr aaa 40 to 50.
Phadnis 2 8. 2.
Ph. chilensis
,., eae ee 1,500 approximately.
re tie, We 2 neck SN le aie eer ean 1,500 approximately.
32 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 49
Chloéphaga melanoptera (Eyton)
I have observed this species always in pairs at altitudes of
3,500 meters (Ojos del Rio San Pedro) to 4,250 meters on
the marshlands which are the sources of the Salado River;
that is, the T'atio Geysers. It was not possible to capture
examples.
Lophonetta specularioides alticola (Ménégaux)
This is perhaps the most commen duck of the mountain
marshlands which were explored. I observed it from 2,400 me-
ters to 4,400 meters in Chile as well as in Bolivia. It nearly
always travels in pairs and is rarely seen in flocks (the ravine
of Pastos Largos, Atacama). It is known as the “pato rial”
and is very much desired on account of its flesh and size. It is
easily distinguished because it is much larger than the other
ducks with which it lives.
Anas versicolor puna Tschudi
Rare in the region explored; I observed some examples only
in the Ojos del Rio San Pedro (3,800 meters) and in the
Laguna Colorada of Bolivia at 4,400 meters.
Anas flavirostris ovyptera Meyen
A common duck on the Inacaliri marshes and on the Ojos
del Rio San Pedro. They were observed in flocks of from 15 to
30 examples. It was also seen on Laguna Colorada, Bolivia,
at 4,400 meters; Tilopozo (2,400 meters); the Putana River;
and the ravine of Pastos Largos, this last in the province of
Atacama.
Fulica americana peruviana Morrison
Very common in the Ojos del Rio San Pedro where it is
persecuted by hunters.
Fulica cornuta Bonaparte
This rare species is known only from the high ranges of
b)
the Andes. It is called “huari” or “socar” by the natives.
June 23,1961 Antofagasta Ranges of Chile and Bolivia 33
Very little is known about its habits. I observed 36 examples
on the Laguna Verde at 4,100 meters. They were all swimming
on the eastern side of the lagoon, since the water there is
always temperate. The rest of the lagoon was frozen over with
a thick cap of ice. It was very amusing to see these birds
emerge from the water and try to walk on the ice, while at-
tempting to fly. It was impossible for them to maintain their
footing on the frozen surface. They lived there in common with
a large group of Podiceps occipitalis juninensis, some pairs of
Lophonetta speculariotdes alticola and Anas flavirostris oxyp-
tera, Three examples were captured and were weighed as fol-
lows: 2.4 Ibs.= 6), 5ulbs. 12° 0z.;°6 4.5 Ibs: 5 oz:
The color of the bill is yellow, with greenish-olive tints.
Towards the base it is somewhat reddish and the upper part
of the culmen is black. The feet are greenish-black with some
yellow. The iris is red.
All of the examples which were observed had fully developed
‘aruncles. On opening their stomachs, I found little food, and
this was made up of aquatic grasses which abound in the
temperate parts of the lagoon. Most of the stomach contents
consisted of voleanic sand.
In a little lagoon near the Laguna Verde (Bolivia) the
remains of the nests of these F'ulica were seen. For a descrip-
tion of the nests farther south see Ripley (1957 a and b), and
Behn and Millie (1959).
Oreopholus ruficollis (Wagler )
Flocks with numerous specimens were observed in the marsh-
lands of Turi at 3,200 meters. They were extremely shy. They
flew in more or less compact groups and at a distance of
more than 200 meters. They are known by the name of ‘“‘chu-
ehiri” or “tiutila.”
Charadrius alticola (Berlepsch and Stolzmann)
A relatively scarce bird which was observed only in the Ina-
‘alir1 marshes (4,000 meters). It was abundant at the Tatio
voleano (4,250 meters) and was even more common in the
O4 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 49
Atacama salt marsh, on the Carvajal lagoons, and the marsh-
lands at Ceja.
This plover was seen running after food on the muddy little
beaches which are formed at the shores of the salt marsh
lagoons.
Phegornis mitchell (Fraser)
It is known as “pijlulo” by the inhabitants of the Inaca-
liri region. Only two examples were observed in the Inacaliri
marshes at approximately 4,000 meters.
Capella paraguaiae innotata Hellmayr
Only one snipe was observed in the marshes of Inacaliri.
It flew off at the moment my foot was about to crush it.
According to what I was told, it is quite common during the
summer months.
Recurvirostra andina Philippi and Landbeck
‘ ’
The “caiti,’” known in the region as “caichén,” is frequently
found in the salt-water lagoons and lowlands of the Andean
region. The two examples obtained are immature and come
from the Laguna Colorada. At that place there were small
groups of three to seven specimens resting on the warm water
of the lagoon, since the rest of the water was frozen. This
friendly little bird was also observed in the lagoons of the
marshes of Ceja and Carvajal in the interior of the Atacama
salt marsh (2,400 meters).
Thinocorus rumicivorus rumicivorus Eschscholtz
Two examples were taken in June while the camp was being
set up in the desert region in front of the village of Domeyko
in the province of Atacama. It is a bird which abounds in
the region.
Thinocorus orbignyianus orbignytanus
I. Geoffroy St. Hilaire and Lesson
The “puco-puco” or “poco-poco” is very common in all of
the marshes explored; it was observed between 3,800 and 4,300
June 23,1961 Antofagasta Ranges of Chile and Bolivia 35
meters. It is always seen in little flocks of three to eight. It is
elusive, hiding itself among the crevices where the water from
the marshes runs, always with its head sticking up. As soon
as it takes flight, it utters a characteristic cry.
Larus serranus Tschudi
The “gaviota” is frequently found in all weather in the
lagoons of the high ranges of the Andes. An example was
observed in the Laguna Colorada of Bolivia (4,400 meters)
living with “caitis” and “parinas.” Others were seen on the
lagoons of Carvajal and the marshes of Ceja in the interior
of the Atacama salt marsh (2,400 meters). All were wearing
their faded winter plumage.
Zenaidura auriculata auriculata (Des Murs)
This dove, so common in the central zone of the country,
had not been captured previously in Antofagasta. In San
Pedro de Atacama it is extremely abundant during the winter
months. Several flocks were observed in Toconce as well as
in the high desert zone of Paposo (the southern coast of the
province of Antofagasta). An example was secured from To-
conce (3,030 meters).
Metriopelia melanoptera melanoptera (Molina)
An example was collected in Lasana on the banks of the
Loa River.
Psilopsiagon aurifrons orbygnesius (Souanceé)
Several flocks of ‘“‘caturros’? were observed in Inacaliri
(4,100 meters), in Toconce (3,030 meters), and on the out-
skirts of the Talabre ravine (3,200 meters). It is a rather
common little parrot which nests in the area.
Crotophaga sulcirostris sulcirostris Swainson
I was surprised to find an example of this bird in Peine
because it had to cross so many kilometers of desert area to
36 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 49
arrive there. I observed it among the branches of a Bolivian
pepper tree which is near the public square. According to
what the natives told me, this bird had arrived there at the
end of the month of March. It was not captured.
Oreotrochilus estella @Orbigny and Lafresnaye
Common in Toconce where some examples were collected.
They are to be seen in cultivated areas visiting the flowers of
the nettle “ortiga.”
Geositta isabellina (Philippi and Landbeck)
This species, so rare in collections, was observed on the
outskirts of Potrerillos in the province of Atacama while I
was on the road to the salt marshes of Pedernales. It has
only been known previously from the province of Coquimbo
further south.
Geositta punensis Dabbene
Very common in several places between 8,200 meters and
4,300 meters. It is found most frequently around houses and
in the regions of the tolas. It is known by the name of “roilita”
(Talabre). Some examples were taken on the outskirts of the
Turi marshes (3,100 meters) and in the tolas of Inacaliri.
Upucerthia dumetaria hallinant Chapman
A rather common species which is difficult to capture because
it is very shy. Examples were observed in Ayquina (3,030
meters), Guatin (8,500 meters), Peine (2,400 meters), and
San Pedro de Atacama (2,400 meters). It is always seen
traveling over the sown and cultivated terraces. It emits a
strident and characteristic call. It is commonly known as the
“lucho-lucho” (Toconce) or the “lichi-lichi” (‘Talabre).
Upucerthia ruficauda (Meyen)
This bird is quite rare. It frequents the tolas where a few
examples were seen. It was observed in Linzor (4,100 meters )
and Inacaliri (4,000 meters).
June 23,1961 Antofagasta Ranges of Chile and Bolivia 37
Asthenes modesta modesta (Kyton)
Common above 3,500 meters, it was observed among the
tolas. It is frequently seen on rocks and on the ground search-
ing out its food. It is very easy to capture since it allows one
to approach to within a few meters. The vulgar names given
5
to it in these regions are “‘pipo,” “‘lucho-lucho,” and “‘caci-
que”’ (Peine).
Leptasthenura aegithaloides berlepschi Hartert
Known as “tijerita” or “chirivir1” (Talabre) and as ‘‘qui-
ron” in Peine, it is a very common little bird between 2,400
meters (San Pedro de Atacama) and 4,100 meters (Linzor).
It frequents cultivated fields and the regions of the tolas. It is
always seen among the shrubs searching out food.
Cinclodes fuscus albiventris (Philippi and Landbeck )
Very common in the marshes and rivers in Inacaliri (4,100
meters), the Ojos del Rio San Pedro (3,800 meters), Silala
(4,200 meters), Vegas del Tatio (4,300 meters), Toconce
(3,800 meters), Guatin (3,500 meters), Peine (2,400 meters),
and the Laguna Colorada of Bolivia (4,400 meters). It is
extremely tame; the natives call it “requete chico” (Toconce),
“alcalde,” and “itirico” (Peine), and “sapero” (Talabre). It
lives in some places with the congeneric C. atacamensis ata-
camensis, In observing the stomach contents of some samples,
we found insect larvae, possibly of Lepidoptera Heterocera,
and many remains of aquatic vegetation.
Cinclodes atacamensis atacamensis (Philippi)
Less frequent than the previous species. Several examples
were captured in Toconce (3,300 meters), Linzor (4,100 me-
ters), and Silala or Siloli (4,800 meters). No examples were
observed in Inacaliri (4,100 meters). In an example taken in
Linzor, I found remains of coleopterous insects of the family
Elmidae, so common beneath the stones submerged in the
streams. There were also little stones and an uncountable num-
ber of little snails of the genus Littoridina.
38 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 49
Agriornis andicola albicauda (Philippi and Landbeck)
The “gaucho” is one of the rare species which with luck
may be observed from time to time. It has only been found in
Putre in the interior of the province of Tarapaca, Department
of Arica. A specimen from Linzor was collected on the out-
skirts of the Ojalar River at an altitude of 4,100 meters.
Agriornis montana maritima (Lafresnaye and d’Orbigny )
Examples were observed in Inacaliri (4,000 meters) and
in its immediate environs. In Linzor (4,100 meters) it seems
to be more common, though not so in Toconce (3,300 meters )
where it was rather scarce.
The stomach contents of one of the examples was com-
posed of the seeds of the prickly grass (Oxychloe andina Phil.)
which grows in the swamps and marshes, the remains of a
chrysidid hymenopteran, and a species of Diptera (Syrphidae,
genus Volucella). In a female example captured in Linzor I
found its stomach full of the same seeds, water plants from
the streams, and the remains of insects which were impossible
to determine. In another male example I found seeds and a
“oaucho” in
wing-bone of a small bird. In Peine I observed a
the process of killing a small mouse.
These birds frequent the tolas, the shores of streams, and
marshes.
Muscisaxvicola rufivertex pallidiceps Hellmayr
> it is one of the most char-
Known as “fraile”’ or “‘cura,’
acteristic birds of the traveled regions. It is quite common
between 3,300 meters and 4,250 meters. It frequents the marsh-
lands and streams in search of food.
Muscisaxicola capistrata (Burmeister)
As common as the previous species and with very similar
habits. Examples were observed in all the places visited from
3,200 to 4,250 meters. This “fraile’ dwells in Patagonia and
in Tierra del Fuego and spends the winter in the ranges to
the north. All of the examples had very faded plumage.
June 23,1961 Antofagasta Ranges of Chile and Bolivia 39
Muscisavicola maculirostris maculirostris
Lafresnaye and d’Orbigny
Called the “‘fraile chico,” it is very common in Ayquina
(3,030 meters). It has been observed running on the cultivated
terraces and on the shores of running waters. In San Pedro
de Atacama (2,400 meters) ground-tyrants were observed in
the fields cultivated with alfalfa.
Lessonia rufa oreas (Sclater and Salvin)
Only one example was captured at the Ojos del Rio San
Pedro (3,800 meters), even though some pairs were observed
in the marshes which form the streams which are the sources
of the San Pedro River. Few examples were observed in the
lagoons of Carvajal in the interior of the Atacama salt marsh.
Anthus correndera catamarcae Hellmayr
I observed this subspecies of “bailarin chico” in the marsh-
lands of the Ojos del Rio San Pedro, 3,800 meters; also, in
a lesser quantity, in the marshlands of Ceja, which are in the
interior of the Atacama salt marsh at 2,450 meters; and in
great abundance at the southern extremity of the same salt
marsh at the location of the Tilopozo marshes. They are al-
ways found in humid places among the tall grasses where they
hide, making their capture rather difficult. It is a rather shy
little bird.
Troglodytes musculus atacamensis Hellmayr
Common in the thickets of San Pedro de Atacama between
2.400 and 3,300 meters.
Turdus chiguanco anthracinus Burmeister
This species of thrush, very common in Bolivia and Argen-
tina, has been sporadically collected in Chile. Its nesting had
never been observed before in Chilean territory. On this trip
I was able to observe numerous examples in the valleys of the
Loa (Lasana) River. In San Pedro de Atacama, where it is
40 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 49
known as “lachirachi,” it is extremely abundant, as it is also
in the oasis of Toconao (2,400 meters). According to infor-
mation given by the natives, I was assured that they nest there.
Passer domesticus domesticus (Linnaeus )
The “gorrion” has now arrived at the village of San Pedro
de Atacama, with its usual instinets of destruction towards
the small autochthonous birds.
Phrygilus atriceps (Lafresnaye and d’Orbigny )
I found this beautiful fringilline in abundance in 'Toconce
at 3,300 meters. Some examples were captured on the outskirts
of Linzor (4,100 meters). They also abound in Guatin, a
place located to the northeast of San Pedro de Atacama at
more or less 3,500 meters altitude. They always travel in small
flocks. The female is much rarer than the male, and we were
able to capture only one example in Toconce. It is a harmful
bird since it destroys vegetables and eats corn, wheat, and
oats, especially when they have not yet matured. It is vulgarly
known by the name of “‘comesebo.” In Talabre it is called
“chasea.”
Phrygilus unicolor unicolor (Lafresnaye and d’Orbigny )
Only a few examples were observed, both in Siloli (Silala)
at 4,200 meters and in Toconce (3,300 meters). An example
was observed in the Laguna Colorada and another in the La-
guna Verde, both in Bolivia.
Phrygilus dorsalis Cabanis
This rare little bird, known in Chile by only two or three
examples found in these ranges, turns out to be extremely
common and numerous specimens were observed and captured.
The “sulte,” as they call it in some places, was observed in
Inacaliri (4,100 meters), Silala or Siloli (4,800 meters), the
Tatio Geysers (4,200 meters), Linzor (4,100 meters), and
Laguna Colorada in Bolivia (4,400 meters). I understand that
June 23,1961 Antofagasta Ranges of Chile and Bolivia 41
it abounds in Tumbre, a place to the northeast of the Laskar
voleano at an approximate altitude of 4,000 meters, where I
was assured that it nests. It is not a shy bird and frequently
approaches to within a few meters. Numbers are seen in the sur-
rounding areas of the small streams which form the marshes
of the deep ravines. When chased, they fly toward the walls
of the ravine, resting themselves on the rocks. From time to
time they may be seen flying directly upwards where they
remain immobile in the air by beating their wings. Later they
let themselves fall again toward the earth. Their presence 1s
revealed by a fine call which they express with a penetrat-
Ine Tis,
Phrygilus fruticeti fruticeti: (Kittlitz)
The “yale” is known in a large part of the country as a
rather destructive and damaging little bird. It is frequently
seen in Toconce (3,800 meters), Guatin (3,500 meters), and
Talabre (3,300 meters) where I was able to observe it in
flocks of about 20 birds.
Zonotrichia capensis antofagastae Chapman
This is perhaps the most characteristic bird of agricultural
sites situated between 2,400 meters and 3,500 meters in the
entire region visited. It is known by the name of ‘“chincol”
and is extremely common in the village of Toconce (3,800
meters), at Ayquina (3,030 meters), San Pedro de Atacama
(2,400 meters), Tilomonte and 'Toconao (2,500 meters). It is
observed in groups or alone.
Spinus atratus (Lafresnaye and d’Orbigny )
The “canario” is very much desired by the natives as
it has a beautiful song. After capturing them by means of
traps, they raise them in cages. They abound in the region
of Siloli in the summertime. We were not able to obtain ex-
amples in spite of having seen some in the Toconce ravine
(3,300 meters).
42 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 49
Sicalis uropygialis uropygialis (Lafresnaye and d’Orbigny)
I only observed two flocks of this “chirigue,” both very
numerous. One of them was at the Ojos del Rio San Pedro
(3,800 meters) and the other at the Vegas de Inacaliri, a
place close to 4,000 meters.
Lirerature Crrep
Behn, F. and Millie G. 1959. Beitrag zur Kenntnis des Riisselbliisshuhns
(Fulica cornuta Bonaparte). Jour. f. Orn. 100: 119-131.
Johnson, A. W., Behn, F., and Millie, W. R. 1958. The South American
flamingos. Condor 60: 289-299.
Koford, C. B. 1957. The vieuna and the puna. Ecol. Monog. 27: 153-219.
Ripley, S. D. 1957a. Notes on the horned coot, Fulica cornuta Bonaparte.
Postilla no. 30: 1-8.
Ripley, S. D. 1957b. Additional notes on the horned coot. Postilla no.
S2eml2:
June 23,1961 Antofagasta Ranges of Chile and Bolivia 43
si
DIATOMS (BACILLARIOPHYCEAE) FROM THE
ALIMENTARY TRACT OF PHOENICOPARRUS
JAMESI (SCLATER)*
Rury Parrick
Acapemy or NaruraL SCIENCES, PHILADELPHIA, Pa.
~
During December, 1957, Phoenicoparrus jamest (Sclater)
was collected by Sehor Luis Pena from Laguna Colorado Puna
de Atacama, Bolivia, at an elevation of 4,400 meters. Walcott
(1925) describes this lake as strongly alkaline with springs
at the north end. On the shores were salt deposits consisting
of sodium and potassium carbonate, sodium chloride, and
borax. In July, 1957, Senor Luis Pena collected this species
in Salt Lake, Atacama, Chile and in Lagunas de Carvajal
(salt), Atacama, Chile. Both collections were taken at an
elevation of 2,400 meters.
An analysis of the contents of the alimentary tracts of these
birds showed that they were mainly diatoms. The most common
species were Navicula carvajaliana sp. nov., Amphora ataca-
mana sp. nov., Navicula luisit sp. nov., and Nitzschia accedens
var. chilensis var. nov.
These findings confirm the prediction of Jenkins (1957),
based upon the type of filters of Phoenicoparrus jamesi, that
this bird would feed on algae or diatoms. It is interesting to
note that the more common diatoms in the alimentary tract
have a similar size range.
At all three locations the commoner diatoms were the same.
This is probably due to the fact that the areas in the lake
which were favorable feeding grounds for these birds supplied
ecologically similar habitats for diatoms. Also, since these
strongly alkaline salt-water lakes represent a very specialized
*'The author wishes to express her appreciation to an anonymous donor
who helped to make this publication possible. She also wishes to thank
Miss Helen Wu who made the drawings.
44 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 49
habitat for diatoms, the numbers of kinds of species which
can grow under these conditions are relatively limited, and
therefore the diatom floras of these lakes would be more similar
than is generally the case in the more usual fresh or brackish
water lakes. The two lakes in Chile are quite close together,
but it is unlikely that the birds captured in Bolivia had pre-
viously fed in the Chilean lakes.
The fact that flamingos may feed on algae has been re-
ported by various workers. Ridley et al. (1955) and Jenkins
(1957) state that in East African Lakes, Phoeniconaias minor
(Geoffroy) feeds almost exclusively on blue-green algae and
on small diatoms. Usually diatoms are mixed with the blue-
green algae and sometimes diatoms without the blue-green
algae seem to be the main source of food.
According to a letter written by Dr. Robert P. Allen to
Mr. Ridley (Jenkins, 1957), Phoentcopterus ruber Linné in
the Bahamas feeds on mud rich in bacteria, blue-green algae
and, to a lesser extent, diatoms.
A systematic list of the species identified in this study 1s
given below. The slides on which these identifications are based
are in the diatom herbarium of the Academy of Natural Sei-
ences of Philadelphia. The type specimens are ringed on
the slides.
Suborder MONORAPHIDINEAE
Family ACHNANTHACEAE
Genus Achnanthes Bory
Achnanthes brevipes var. intermedia (Kiitz.) Cl.
Achnanthes brevipes var. intermedia (Kitz) Cl. K. Svenska
Vet.-Akad. Handl., ser. 2, 27 (3): 1938, 1895.
Disrripution: Chile, Atacama, Salt Lake, alt. 4,400 m, coll.
Luis Pena, July, 1957 (A-G.C. 26098).
Achnanthes hauchkiana var. rostrata Schultz
Achnanthes hauckiana var. rostrata Schultz, Bot. Arch., 13:
191, fig. 39, 1926.
Disrrisutrion: Chile, Atacama, Salt Lake, alt. 4,400 m, coll.
Luis Pena, July, 1957 (A-G.C. 26098a) ; Lagunas de Carva-
jal, alt. 2,400 m, coll. Luis Pefia, July, 1957. (A-G.C. 26100).
June 23,1961 Antofagasta Ranges of Chile and Bolivia 45
Family NavicuLacEAE
Genus Navicula Bory
Navicula atacamana sp. nov. Pi Big. 0
Valva lineari-lanceolata apicibus acutis apiculatis leniter.
Area axiali angusta. Area media rectangularis latus distendens
ad margines valvae. Striis lineatis, parallelis in media parte
valvae et convenientibus ad apices. Striis, 10-11 in 10”; longi-
tudo, 49-50; latitudo, 6-7.
Valve linear-lanceolate with acute, slightly apiculate ends.
Axial area narrow. Central area a broad rectangle extending
to the margins of the valve. Striae lineate, parallel in’ the
center of the valve and slightly convergent toward the apices.
Striae, 10-11 in 10p; length, 49-50; breadth, 6-7.
This species is similar in shape, striae structure and angle,
and narrowness of axial area to Navicula directa (W. Sm.)
Cl. It differs in the presence of a broad rectangular central
area and in its smaller size.
Tyre tocariry: Bolivia, Puna de Atacama, Laguna Colo-
rado, alt. 4,400 m, coll. Luis Pena, December, 1957.
SPECIMEN ILLUSTRATED: A-G.C. 26098a, Holotype.
Disrrisution: Known only from the type locality.
Navicula carvajaliana
var. carvajaliana sp. nov. Bie i abigss 1, 2513
Valva lineari ad linearem-lanceolatam. Apicibus mutabilibus
in forma rotundis, cuneatis aut rostratis. Pseudosepta brevi
distende supra apices. Area axiali distincta semper ferme minus
quam uno quadrante latitudinis valvae. Area media mutabili,
transversa formante fasciam saltem in uno latere valvae, altero
latere saepe cum uno aut duobus stris positis late. Stris
radiatis leniter in media parte valvae, parallelis aut conventis
leniter ad apices. Angulo striarum inique facto valve concava
leniter ad aream axialem. In formis angustis strus paene pa-
rallelis et valva non concava ad aream axialem. Strus fractis
inaequaliter, punctis obscurissimis, s1 adsunt. Strius, 14 in 10
in media parte valvae ad 18 in 10 ad apices valvae; longitudo,
36-70; latitudo, 8-15p.
46 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 49
Valve linear to linear-lanceolate. Apices variable in shape,
rounded, wedge-shaped or rostrate. A short pseudoseptum ex-
tending over each of the apices. Axial area distinct, usually
less than one-fourth the width of the valve. Central area vari-
able, transverse, forming a fascia at least on one side of the
valve, the other side often with one or two widely placed striae.
Striae slightly radiate in center of valve, parallel or slightly
convergent at the apices. Angle of striae partially caused by
the valve being slightly concave toward the axial area. In nar-
row forms the striae almost parallel and valve not concave
toward axial area. Striae irreguiarly broken. Puncta if present
very indistinct. Striae, 14 in 10 in center of valve to 18 in 10p
at ends of valve; length, 36-70”; breadth, 8-15.
This taxon is highly variable as to the shape of the valve,
and one would recognize some of the variations as separate
subspecies or varieties if they did not intergrade into each
other. On plate 1, figs. 1, 2, 3 are illustrations showing some
of the extremes of variation of these intergrading populations.
Some specimens have been found, that are not illustrated, in
which the apices of the valve are not drawn out, but the valve
simply narrows to a rounded end.
This species is a member of that group of taxa which are
intermediate between Stauroneis and Navicula, that is, it seems
to be closely related to S. thermicola (Peters.) Lund (New
Phytol., 45(1): 61, figs. 3 K-AA, 1946) and Navicula incom-
posita Hagelstein (New York Acad. Sci., Sci. Surv. Porto Rico
& Virgin Isl., §(3) : 286, pl. 7, fig. 2, 1939). This taxon resem-
bles Stauroneis in that the specimens have a transverse hyaline
area which in girdle view seems to be slightly thickened, par-
ticularly at the central nodule of the valve. However, it does
not have striae which are radiate at the ends of the valve and
resolvable into puncta, which characters are typically asso-
ciated with species belonging to the genus Stauroneis. This
species has a pseudoseptum at the ends of the valve which is
found in species belonging to the genera Stauroneis and Navi-
cula. Since I cannot be sure that the central area is a true
stauros and since the striae, although breaking into irregular
pieces, do not resolve into puncta and are slightly convergent
at the ends, it seems wiser to place this species in the genus
Navicula.
June 23,1961 Antofagasta Ranges of Chile and Bolivia 47
This taxon is also related to Navicula allorgei Manguin
(Algues Guadeloupe, p. 58, pl. 3, fig. 51, 1952) but differs in
the angle of the striae and the usual presence of a distinct
fascia at least on one side of the valve. It is also larger and
the shape is more variable.
Tyre Ltocauiry: Bolivia, Puna de Atacama, Laguna Colo-
“ado, alt. 4,400 m, coll. Luis Pena, December, 1957.
SPECIMEN ILLUSTRATED: A-G.C. 26098a, Holotype, fig. 1;
Cotypes, figs. 2, 3.
Distrisution: In addition to the type locality: Chile, Ata-
‘ama, Carvajal Lake, alt. 2,400 m, coll, Luis Pena, July, 1957
(A-G.C. 26100) ; Atacama, Salt Lake, alt. 2,400 m, coll. Luis
Pefia, July, 1957 (A-G.C. 26099a, b).
Navicula carvajaliana yar. attenuata var. nov. Pl. 1, Fig. 12
Valva lineari lanceolata, apicibus rotundis attenuatis. Pseu-
doseptis praesentibus. Area axiali angusta, distincta. Area
media fascia transversa interdum stria praesenti in ea in uno
latere valvae. Striis radiatis leniter in media parte valvae, plus
aut minus convenientibus ad apices. Stris intermissis inaequa-
liter sed non punctatis. Striis, 13 in 10 in media parte valvae
usque 16 in 10h ad apices; longitudo, 44-601 ; latitudo, 6-11.
Valve linear-lanceolate with attenuated, rounded apices.
Pseudosepta present. Axial area narrow, distinct. Central area
a transverse fascia sometimes with a stria present in it on one
side of the valve. Striae slightly radiate in the center of the
valve, more or less convergent at the ends. Striae irregularly
interrupted but not punctate. Striae, 13 in 10» in middle part
of valve to 16 in 10p at apices; length, 44-60»; breadth, 6-11.
This taxon is distinguished from the nominate variety by
the narrow attenuated ends of the valve. No intergrades were
found between this form and the other forms which are highly
variable.
Typr Locauiry: Chile, Atacama, Salt Lake, alt. 2,400 m,
coll. Luis Pefia, July, 1957.
SPECIMEN ILLUSTRATED: A-G.C. 26099a, Holotype.
Disrripurion: Known only from the type locality.
48 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 49
Navicula luisii sp. nov. Pl. 1, Fig. 4
Valva lineari lanceolata, apicibus rotundis acutis. Pseudo-
septo ad apices. Area axiali distincta circa unum quadrantem
latitudinis valvae. Area media fascia transversa. Stris attin-
gentibus aream crassioribus quam alterae striae. Strus radiatis
leniter per magnam partem valvae, parallelis ad apices. Strus,
14-17 in 104; longitudo, 63-89; latitudo, 9-14y.
Valve linear-lanceolate with acute, rounded ends. Pseudo-
septum present at apices. Axial area distinct, about one-fourth
the width of the valve. Central area a transverse fascia. Striae
bordering the central area a little thicker than the other striae.
Striae slightly radiate throughout most of the valve, parallel
at the apices. Striae, 14-17 in 10/; length, 63-89; breadth,
9-L4pu.
This species is distinguished from Navicula carvajaliana
by the striae bordering the fascia being distinctly thicker
than the other striae and by its larger size. It is near N. in-
composita Hagelstein (New York Acad. Sci., Sci. Surv. Porto
Rico and Virgin Isl., 8(3) : 386, pl. 7, fig. 2, 1989) but differs
in the regularity of the striae which are a little coarser than
in N. incomposita. The shape of the valve is also different
and the axial area is broader.
This species is named for Senor Luis Pena who collected the
flamingos which were examined for this study.
Type tocauiry: Chile, Atacama, Salt Lake, alt. 2,400 m,
coll. Luis Pena, July, 1957.
SPECIMEN ILLUSTRATED: A-G.C. 26099a, Holotype.
Disrrisutrion: Known only from the type locality.
Navicula oppugnata Hust.
Navicula oppugnata Hust., Arch. Hydrobiol., 40(4) : 925, pl.
42, fig. 1, 1945.
Our specimens differ from those illustrated by Hustedt in
that the central area is a little larger and the striae in the
middle of the valve are slightly curved. The central area of
these specimens is similar to those illustrated by Foged (Folia
Limnol. Scandinavica, no. 6, pl. 2, figs. 12-14, 1954).
June 23,1961 Antofagasta Ranges of Chile and Bolivia 49
This species was fairly common in Laguna Colorado.
Disrrisution: Bolivia, Puna de Atacama, Laguna Colorado,
fo)
alt. 4,400 m, coll. Luis Petia, December, 1957 (A-G.C. 260982).
Navicula pseudosepta sp. nov. Pl. 15; Big. 5
Valva lanceolata, apicibus rostratis ad rostratis-capitatis.
Pseudoseptis praesentibus. Area axiali angusta, distincta. Area
media non dissimili areae axiali. Striis radiatis in media parte
ralvae et parallelis ad convenientibus leniter ad apices. Inter-
dum striis in uno latere nodulis mediae crassioribus quam in
latere altero. Striis non decernunt in puncta. Strus, 13-15 in
10 ad mediam partem valvae usque 18 in 10 ad apices;
longitudo, 51-68»; latitudo, 11-13.
Valve lanceolate with rostrate to rostrate-capitate ends.
Pseudosepta present. Axial area narrow, distinct. Central area
not differentiated from axial area. Striae radiate in the center
of the valve and parallel to slightly convergent at the apices.
Sometimes striae of one side of the central nodule coarser
than on the other side. Striae do not resolve into puncta.
Striae, 13-15 in 10 at center of valve to 18 in 10 at apices;
length, 51-68; breadth, 11-18p.
This species is most closely related to N. carvajaliana which
is described in this paper. It differs in the lack of a central
area which is a fascia on one or both sides of the valve. Also,
the striae are not irregularly broken. It resembles in shape of
valve and structure of axial and central areas N. cuspidata
var. ambigua (Ehr.) Cl. It differs in the formation of the
striae which do not resolve into puncta forming longitudinal
lines. Nor are pseudosepta present in N. cuspidata var. ambi
gua (Ehr.) Cl.
Tyrer tocatiry: Chile, Atacama, Lagunas de Carvajal, alt.
2.400 m, coll. Luis Pena, July, 1957.
SPECIMEN ILLUSTRATED: A-G.C. 26100a, Holotype.
Disrripurion: Known only from the type locality.
50 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 49
Navicula salinicola yar. boliviana yar. nov. Pl i> Bie sir
Valva lineari attenuata ad apices acutos. Area axiali an-
gusta, distincta. Fissuris terminalibus distinctis. Area media
vix dissimili areae axiali. Striis lineatis parallelis in media
parte valvae et conventis leniter ad apices. Striis, 10-12 in
10u; longitudo, 16-30; latitudo, 4-6.
Valve linear, narrowed toward the acute apices. Axial
area narrow, distinct. Terminal fissures distinct. Central area
scarcely differentiated from axial area. Striae lineate, parallel
in center of valve and slightly convergent at the apices. Striae,
10-12 in 10/; length, 16-30; breadth, 4-6p.
This taxon is very similar to the nominate variety N. salini-
cola Hust. (Abhandl. Naturwiss. Verein zu Bremen, 3/: 638,
figs. 61-69, 1939) in size, shape, structure of axial and central
areas, and type and angle of striature. It differs in the number
of striae, which are much coarser in this taxon.
Tyrer Locauiry: Bolivia, Puna de Atacama, Laguna Colo-
rado, alt. 4,400 m, coll. Luis Pena, December, 1957.
SPECIMEN ILLUSTRATED: A-G.C. 26098a, Holotype.
Disrrisution: Known only from the type locality.
Family CyMBELLACEAE
Genus Amphora Ehr. emend. Kitz
Amphora atacamana sp. nov. PI 1, Figs
Margine dorso valvae convexo valide, margine ventrali con-
cavo leniter. Raphe propiore ad marginem dorsum quam ad
marginem ventralem. Area axiali angusta, distincta. Area
media parva. Strus punctatis subtilissime. Striis, 26-28 in 102;
longitudo, 31-52; latitudo, 6-9p.
Dorsal margin of valve strongly convex, ventral margin
shghtly concave. Raphe nearer to dorsal margin than to ven-
tral margin. Axial area narrow, distinct. Central area small.
Striac very finely punctate. Striae, 26-28 in 104; length,
31-524; breadth, 6-9n.
The valves of the frustules are very convex and therefore
the shape varies greatly according to the angle at which they
June 23,1961 Antofagasta Ranges of Chile and Bolivia pil
lie on the slide. In some specimens the raphe appears very
close to the dorsal margin. Sometimes, as in the illustration,
a hyaline area is present near the ventral margin. One rarely
finds this diatom in girdle view, but in such specimens as I
have seen the intercalary zone is complex.
This species is distinguished by the convexity of the valve,
the raphe which is fairly near the dorsal margin, and the very
fine striae. The portion of the valve ventral to the raphe lies
in a distinctly different plane from the portion dorsal to
the raphe.
Type Locauity: Bolivia, Puna de Atacama, Laguna Colo-
cado, alt. 4,400 m, coll. Luis Pena, December, 1957.
SPECIMEN ILLUSTRATED: A-G.C. 26098a, Holotype.
Distrisution: In addition to the type locality: Chile, Ata-
cama, Salt Lake, alt. 2,400 m, coll. Luis Pefia, July, 1957
(A-G.C. 26099a); Lagunas de Carvajal, alt. 2,400 m, coll.
Luis Pefia, July, 1957 (A-G.C. 26100).
Amphora boliviana sp. noy. Pl lakes 9
Margine dorso valvae convexo valide, margine ventrali con-
cavo leniter. Area axiali angusta. Area media lanceolata in
forma in latere ventrali raphis, obscuro in latere dorso. Striis
punctatis crasse in latere dorso raphis, punctatis obscure in
latere ventrali. Stris 18 in 10» in latere dorso raphis praeter
ad apices ubi sint 20 in 104. Striis in margine ventrali 22-2:
in 10h, punctatis obscure; longitudo, 57-58; latitudo, 7-8p.
Dorsal margin of valve strongly convex, ventral margin
slightly concave. Axial area narrow. Central area lanceolate
in shape on ventral side of raphe, indistinct on dorsal side.
Striae coarsely punctate on dorsal side of raphe, indistinctly
punctate on ventral side. Striae 18 in 10 on dorsal side of
raphe except at the apices where they may be 20 in 10. Striae
on ventral margin 22-23 in 10, indistinctly punctate; length,
57-58; breadth, 7-8.
This species is characterized by the striae which are coarse
and distinctly punctate on the dorsal side and fine and in-
distinctly punctate on the ventral side. The central area is
52 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 49
absent on the dorsal side of the valve and lanceolate in shape
on the ventral side. This species does not seem to be very
closely related to any species which I have seen. It belongs in
the general group of species comprising A. coffeaeformis Ag.
and A. acutiuscula Kiitz.
Tyre Locauity: Bolivia, Puna de Atacama, Laguna Colo-
rado, alt. 4,400 m, coll. Luis Pena, December, 1957.
SPECIMEN ILLUSTRATED: A-G.C. 26098a, Holotype.
DisrrisutTion: Known only from the type locality.
Amphora carvajaliana sp. nov. Pl. 1, Rien
Valva marginibus ventralibus concavis et margine dorso con-
vexo valide. Apicibus valvae rostratis-capitatis. Raphe prope
marginem ventralem valvae. Area axiali distincta, nulla area
media in latere dorso valvae. Striis absentibus in latere ventrali
valvae; in latere dorso punctatis crasse, radiatis leniter. Strus,
18 in 10¢; longitudo, 10-28; latitudo, 4-5.
Valve with ventral margin concave and dorsal margin
strongly convex. Apices of valve rostrate-capitate. Raphe
near ventral margin of valve. Axial area distinct, no central
area on dorsal side of valve. Striae absent on ventral side of
valve; on dorsal side coarsely punctate, slightly radiate. Striae,
18 in 104; length, 10-28; breadth, 4-5y.
This species is characterized by the lack of striae on the
ventral margin of the valve and the coarsely punctate striae on
the dorsal side of the valve. This species, in size and shape,
resembles A. banyaiana Greguss and Weber ? (Botanikai
Kozlemenyek, 35: 287, pl. 3, fig. 55, 1988) but differs in that
it does not have a broadening of the axial area into a recog-
nizable central area on the dorsal side of the valve, and the
striae are distinctly and coarsely punctate. It also resembles
A, turgida Greg. (Trans. Roy. Soc. Edinb., 2/(4) : 510, pl. 12,
fig. 68, 1857) but differs in the striae which are coarsely
punctate and finer.
Tyre tocaritry: Chile, Atacama, Lagunas de Carvajal, alt.
2,400 m, coll. Luis Pena, July, 1957.
June 23,1961 Antofagasta Ranges of Chile and Bolivia 53
SPECIMEN ILLUSTRATED: A-G.C. 26100a, Holotype.
Disrrinution: In addition to the type locality: Chile, Ata-
cama, Salt Lake, alt. 2,400 m, coll. Luis Pena, July, 1957
(A-G.C. 260992).
Family NirzscHIAcEAE
Genus Nitzschia Hass
Nitzsehia aecedens yar. chilensis yar. nov. Pl, 1, Eig. 6
Valve linear with rounded ends. Keel puncta short, distinct,
distinctis, 12-13 in 10; striis distinctis, non decretis facile in
puncta, 26-28 in 10; longitudo, 56-90; latitudo, 5-6z.
Valve linear with rounded end. Keel puncta short, distinct,
12-18 in 10. Striae distinct, not easily resolved into puncta,
26-28 in 10; length, 56-90»; breadth, 5-6p.
This variety differs from the nominate variety (Hust., Abh.
Naturw. Ver. Bremen, 3/: 663, fig. 115, 1939) in the more
rounded apices, size of the valve, and the fine keel puncta.
Type Locauiry: Chile, Atacama, Salt Lake, alt. 2,400 m,
coll. Luis Pena, July, 1957.
SPECIMEN ILLUSTRATED: A-G.C. 26099a, Holotype.
Disrrinution: In addition to the type locality: Chile, Ata-
‘ama, Lagunas de Carvajal, alt. 2,400 m, coll. Luis Pena,
July, 1957 (A-G.C. 26100).
Nitzschia amphibia Grun.
Nitzschia amphibia Grun., Verh. Zool.-Bot. Ges. Wien, 12: 574,
pl. 18, figs. 23 a-c, 1862.
This species was common in the collection.
Disrrinution: Bolivia, Puna de Atacama, Laguna Colo-
rado, alt. 4,400 m, coll. Luis Pefia, December, 1957 (A-G.C.
26098a).
54 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 49
Nitzschia epithemoides Grun. in Cl. and Grun.
Nitzschia epithemoides Grun. in Cl. and Grun., K. Svenska
Vet.-Akad. Handl., ser. 2, 17(2): 82, 1880.
This species was fairly common in the collections. It is a
brackish to marine species.
Disrrisution: Bolivia, Puna de Atacama, Laguna Colo-
rado, alt. 4,400 m, coll. Luis Pefia, December, 1957 (A-G.C.
26098a). Chile, Atacama, Salt Lake, alt, 2,400 m, coll. Luis
Pefia, July, 1957 (A-G.C. 26099a); Lagunas de Carvayjal,
alt. 2,400 m, coll. Luis Pefia, July, 1957 (A-G.C. 25100).
Nitzschia hungarica Grun.
Nitzschia hungarica Grun., Verh. Zool.-Bot. Ges. Wien, 1/2:
568, pl. 18, figs. 31 a-b, 1862.
This is a brackish to fresh-water species. It was fairly fre-
quent in the one collection.
Disrrisuttion: Bolivia, Puna de Atacama, Laguna Colo-
rado, alt. 4,400 m, coll. Luis Pena, December, 1957 (A-G.C.
26098a).
Nitzschia palea (Kiitz.) W. Sm.
Nitzschia palea (Kitz.) W. Sm., Syn. British Diat., 2: 89,
1856.
This species can stand a great variety of water conditions
and often develops in large masses in polluted water.
Disrrisution: Bolivia, Puna de Atacama, Laguna Colo-
rado, alt. 4,400 m, coll. Luis Pena, December, 1957 (A-G.C.
26098a).
June 23,1961 Antofagasta Ranges of Chile and Bolivia DD
LaireraAtTuRe CIvrepD
Jenkins, P. M. 1957. ‘The filter-feeding and food of flamingoes (Phoeni-
copteri). Philos. Trans. Roy. Soc. London, Ser. B., (no. 674) 240:
401-495.
Ridley, M. W., B. L. Moss, and R. C. Lord Percy. 1955. The food of
flamingoes in Kenya Colony. Jour. East Africa Nat. Hist. Soc., 22,
no. 5 (97): 147-159.
Walcott, F. C. 1925. An expedition to the Laguna Colorado, Southern
Bolivia. Geogr. Rev., 15: 345-366.
56 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 49
PLATE 1
Fig. 1, 2, 3 Navicula curvajaliana sp. noy.
Fig. 4 Navicula luisii sp. nov.
Fig. 5 Navicula pseudosepta sp. nov.
Fig. 6 Nitzschia accedens var. chilensis var. nov.
Fig. 7 Amphora carvajaliana sp. nov.
Fig. 8 Amphora atacamana sp. noy.
ice Amphora boliviana sp. noy.
Fig. 10 Navicula atacamana sp. noy.
Fig. 11 Navicula salinicola var. boliviana yar. nov.
Fig. 12 Navicula carvajaliana var. attenuata var. nov.
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YALE PEABODY MUSEUM
or NaTurRAL History
Number 50 June 26, 1961 New Haven, Conn.
=>
THE AVIFAUNA OF MOUNT KATANGLAD
S. Ditton RieLey
AND
D. S. Razor
In April-May and again in the last week of December
1960, the Peabody Museum of Yale and Silliman University
jointly sponsored a small trip by Professor Rabor’s assistant,
Mr. R. B. Gonzales, and a group of Silliman University
students to Mount Katanglad, Bukidnon Province, central
Mindanao Island. This area had been visited once before by
ornithologists of the Danish Philippine Expedition (Salo-
monsen, 1953). Mount Katanglad is most interesting as it
reaches an altitude of over 7,800 feet above sea level and lies
in a range of hills in central Mindanao, somewhat isolated
from the high massif of Malindang and Dapiak to the west
in the eastern edge of the Zamboanga Peninsula. Likewise, it
is separated from the Mount Apo hills of the southeast by the
drainage valley of the Mindanao River and from the Diuatan
Mountains of the northeast by the similar but narrower valley
of the Kalgasan River.
Of the endemic subspecies of montane birds of Mindanao
found on Mount Katanglad, four prove to belong to more
western Malindang forms and six to southeastern Mount Apo
or Mount McKinley forms. Twelve others are shared in com-
mon with both areas of mountains, while five forms are found
to be endemic to this central mountain massif alone.
ae
2 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 50
The discovery of two new species, a finch and a fire-tail
finch, illustrated herein by Robert Verity Clem, is particularly
noteworthy.
Accipiter trivirgatus extimus Mayr
A pair of crested goshawks from Mount Katanglad have
prompted us to re-examine the Mindanao population. We
have, therefore, borrowed material kindly loaned by Dr. A. L.
Rand of the Chicago Natural History Museum and Mr. R. M.
de Schauensee of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sci-
ences. Mayr (1949) reviewed the races of this species and
pointed out the differences between the male and female
plumages in the adult.
Adult females of extimus are very dark tawny rufous on
the breast with a variable amount of rufous sometimes form-
ing an almost solid rufous breast-shield as in the male. The
flanks are variably barred more lightly or more heavily. When
heavily barred they are very close to trivirgatus and in fact
would be very difficult to separate except for size, being much
smaller. When the underparts are lightly barred, the appear-
ance is close to the continental forms except again for size.
The Palawan race palawanus Mayr is far more distinct from
its neighbors, the female’s pattern of droplets of blackish
rufous on the breast being close only to layardi of Ceylon.
Males of ewxtimus are far more distinct interalia than
females, their pale light-rufous underparts setting them apart
from palawanus or trivirgatus with minor variation. The
single male from Katanglad is astonishingly dark, approaching
javanicus. Two Negros males are very light in color with some-
what reduced barring, although they can be matched by a
Davao male. A Negros immature tends to be very darkly
spotted on the underparts. Altogether, this population shows
considerable variation in color which, were it not for its small
size, would make it difficult to identify with certainty.
Writing of Ceylon and South India birds, Mayr (tom.
cit.: 8) questions Whistler’s diagnosis of the difference between
females from the two areas. Comparing a female of layardi
June 26, 1961 Avifauna of Mount Katanglad 3
from Ceylon with one of peninsulae from Kerala, the differences
cited by Whistler are shown to be correct. The Cevlon female
has smaller and darker markings on the lowerparts, exactly
as pointed out by Whistler.
Trichoglossus johnstoniae johnstoniae Hartert
A large series from Mount Katanglad belongs to the Mount
Apo form rather than pistra Rand and Rabor from Mount
Malindang.
Prioniturus montanus waterstradti Rothschild
Six specimens from Mount Katanglad seem as bright about
the head as waterstradti from Mount McKinley and Apo and
also similar to birds from Mount Malindang which have been
kept separate as malindangensis Mearns by Rand and Rabor
(1960). We feel that these Katanglad birds span the slight
differences enumerated by Rand and Rabor and that Salo-
monsen was right in combining the Mindanao populations.
Collocalia esculenta bagobo Hachisuka
A male was taken May 1 above 4,200 feet.
Cuculus saturatus horsfieldi Moore
A female from Katanglad enlarges our collection of this
migrant cuckoo from the Philippines to include Luzon, Min-
doro, Samar, and Mindanao. Found from sea level to 5,000
feet; all specimens taken in April and early May. Weight:
66 92-5, 106.5 ¢, 2 2.80, 80) zc.
Otus bakkamoena everetti (Tweeddale)
A pair taken on Mount Katanglad at 4,200 feet are in the
rufous phase of this small owl as listed by Delacour and Mayr
(1946), agreeing well in size and color with two additional
specimens from Davao in the Hachisuka collection. A male
from Bohol, boholensis auctorum, agrees in size with the
Mindanao birds but is in the gray phase. The race nigrorum
4 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 50
Rand (1950) is a striking one. An adult male in ‘the Yale
collection from Cuernos de Negros has a wing measurement
of 148 mm; tail, 75; culmen, 20.
Mimizuku gurneyi (Tweeddale)
A female taken on Mount Katanglad at 4,300 feet repre-
sents perhaps the sixth known specimen of this rare species.
It measures: wing, 274; tail, 139; culmen (from cere), 26.
The description of this genus in Hachisuka (1934) empha-
sizes the cere which is indeed tumid and in which the external
nares are large and prominent. The bill is heavy, the maxillary
tomia are buttressed with a cutting tooth-like point before
the downward sweep begins towards the tip, a feature totally
unlike the smooth bills of Otus species. The upper surface has
a softly mottled appearance, not heavily vermiculate as in
Otus, the scapulars ornamented with patches of whitish buff,
tipped black, the patches on both inner and outer webs. The
back is heavily streaked with black as in the head, the nuchal
collar is very broad, the feathers only tipped with black,
and the primaries and secondaries have a much reduced, barred
pattern.
Until more is known of the habits and behavior of this rare
owl, we would hope that its distinct appearance and huge size
would entitle it to remain as a monotypic genus.
Batrachostomus septimus septimus 'Tweeddale
A juvenal sexed as a female was collected May 6. Presum-
ably just out of the nest, this bird has well-formed wings and
tail feathers capable of flight, but the feathers about the head
and face are still downy. Overall, the plumage can be charac-
terized as juvenal. Some downs, barb downs, carried on the
ends of barbs of the juvenal feather tips, may be seen, especi-
ally on the throat and undersurface. On the back this bird is
indistinctly barred with wavy bars of blackish brown. Some
feathers are much darker than others, perhaps indicating a
replacement stage. On the undersurface the throat and breast
are barred, the belly whitish, the lower tail coverts pale buff.
above Serinus mindanensis
below Erythrura coloria
6 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 50
Lanius validirostris hachisuka Ripley
Two females of this species have wing measurements of 86.5,
90; culmen (from skull), 20, 20. In size, therefore, they agree
with both hachisuka Ripley from Mount Apo and quartus Rand
and Rabor from Mount Malindang. The-type and one other
specimen of hachisuka measure: wing, 87.5, 87.5; culmen
(from skull), 20, 19.5. (In the original description [1949 ]
I measured the culmen from the beginning of the feathers of
the forehead.) The type and unique quartus (1958) measure:
wing, 93.5; culmen, 22.
Rand and Rabor separated quartus on size and color. The
breast and abdomen are whiter, the under tail coverts white,
and the flanks richer and deeper rufous. The Katanglad speci-
mens are mixed in color. One resembles hachisuka in having
a rich rufous wash on the underparts. The other has this con-
fined to the flanks. Dr. Rand has kindly examined these and
states (in litt.): “One specimen [pale-breasted with rufous
flanks] is very similar to the type of quartus, differing only
in the 2 mm shorter wing, the slightly more pale gray in the
forehead (in quartus the forehead is almost like the back),
and the faint rufous wash on the breast.”
These wholly unexpected specimens representing 40% of the
known specimens of Strong-billed Shrikes from Mindanao,
occurring as they do on an isolated mountain in central
Mindanao separating eastern Mount Apo from western Mount
Malindang, are surprising in bridging exactly the essential
color differences which allowed quartus to be described from
the west and hachisuka from the east. It appears likely that
additional Mindanao material would show that these shrikes
are oversplit.
Coracina mcgregort Mearns
We have examined 39 specimens from Mount Katanglad and
15 from Mount Malindang, and we find individual differences
in the shade of the color of the flanks are great enough in each
population to prevent assigning them to a geographical local-
June 26, 1961 Avifauna of Mount Katanglad a
ity. There is no appreciable difference in the color of the breast.
In size we note the following:
Mount Katanglad wing adult ¢ ¢ 103-108 (104.6),
2 2 99-104 (100.8).
Mount Malindang wing adult ¢ ¢ 104-109 (107.2),
2 2 101, 103;
These wing measurements imply an overlap of all but 1
millimeter which seems far too small to be significant. Re-ex-
amination of Salomonsen’s description and comparison of
these specimens forces us to the conclusion that peterseni
Salomonsen (1953) should be regarded as a synonym of
mcgregort.
Katanglad Mt.
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MINDANAO
ISLAND
8 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 50
Pericrocotus flammeus gonzalesi subsp.n.
Type: 6 ad. (Y.P.M. No. 58896), collected May 10, 1960,
by R. B. Gonzales on Mount Katanglad, Malaybalay, Bukid-
non Province, Mindanao Island, Philippines.
Diacnosis: From johnstoniae of Mount Apo, this form
differs in the male by being more richly orange-yellow on
undersurface, wing edgings, and tail. Two females appear to
bear this color difference out, although in one specimen the
difference is only readily observable in the color of the tail.
Compared to novus of Luzon, males are paler, far less ver-
milion, especially on the rump and tail. Similarly, gonzalesi
is far less vermilion than is leytensis. In general then, gonzalesi
is a very well-marked intermediate, especially in the males,
representing a discontinuous cline in a stage from the lemon-
vellow or egg-yellow populations, johnstoniae and marchesae
of Sulu, and the rich vermilion orange of novus and leytensis.
MEASUREMENTS: Wing, ¢ ¢ 78, 83, 2 2 78, 80; tail, ¢ 2
76, 83, 2 80.
Rance: Mount Katanglad, central Mindanao from 4,000
to 5,000 feet.
Turdus poliocephalus hatanglad Salomonsen
Salomonsen’s description (1953) brings out very well the
striking characters of this well-marked subspecies.
Zoothera andromedae 'Temminck
Another record for Mindanao, taken in May and December.
Ptilocicichla mindanensis mindanensis (Blasius)
A single female of this little-known form was taken December
26, between 4,500 and 5,200 feet.
Macronus striaticeps mearnsi Deignan
A small series of this species confirms the dark-rufous tone
of the montane forms of striaticeps from Mindanao. It appears
as if the Katanglad birds are even darker than those from
Mount Apo and Mount Malindang.
June 26, 1961 Avifauna of Mount Katanglad 9
Bradypterus caudatus unicolor (Hartert)
Two females were taken on Mount Katanglad April 24 and
May 9. They measure: wing, 57, 61; tail, 67, 77; culmen, 15,
14.5. These two specimens are the first of this rare species
received at Yale. The bird with smaller measurements is pre-
sumably subadult. In any case, the throat is buffy with reduced
white patch, no blackish spotting, and the gray of the breast
is patchy. It compares favorably with the type of wnicolor
which is also in immature plumage according to Dr. Amadon
(in litt.) who has kindly compared our specimens in New York.
The adult bird appears indistinguishable from malindangensis
(Mearns) according to the plate in Hachisuka (19385). Under
the circumstances, it seems wiser to combine the Mindanao
populations under the oldest name wnicolor for that island
pending securing additional material from the Philippines.
Megalurus palustris forbesi Bangs
Taken at 4,000 feet.
Phylloscopus trivirgatus flavostriatus Salomonsen
A series of this form exhibits the distinctive character cited
by Salomonsen, darker, more olive crown, more buffy super-
ciliary and pale, washed-out looking underparts. Collected
from 5,800 to 7,400 feet above sea level.
Phylloscopus olivaceus olivaceus Moseley
Apparently common from 4,200 to 5,500 feet.
Phylloscopus borealis borealis (Blasius )
Found from 4,200 to 5,200 feet.
Orthotomus cucullatus heterolaemus (Mearns)
Apparently common in the forest from 4,200 to 6,200 feet.
Rhinomyias gularis goodfellowi Ogilvie-Grant
Two males and a female of this little-known form were taken
on Mount Katanglad in April at 6,200 feet. The males with
wing measurements of 95, 96 are larger than the female (wing
10 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 50
93.5), but otherwise indistinguishable, being perhaps only a
trace darker, more slaty on the back.
Muscicapa hyperythra montigena (Mearns)
Three males and five females belong to the rufous-tailed
Mount Apo form of this thicket flycatcher. There appears to
be no difference in size or color between these birds and the
latter race.
Muscicapa panayensis nigriloris (Hartert)
Apparently common above +,200 feet on Mount Katanglad.
Muscicapa mugimahi Temminck
A female from Mount Katanglad taken December 22 repre-
sents our second specimen of this migrant flycatcher from the
Philippines, the first being a male from Cuernos de Negros,
Negros I., taken December 25, 1952, by Rabor.
Rhipidura nigrocinnamomea hutchinsoni Mearns
This is a somewhat intermediate population, as might be
expected, between hutchinsoni of northwest Mindanao, Mount
Bliss, and Mount Malindang, and southeast Mindanao, nigro-
cinnamomea from Mount Apo. In a series of 22 specimens, all
have a more or less broad band of white across the forehead,
although the makeup of the skins is often poor in this region.
However, 2 of the 22 show traces of white on the upper breast.
One of these has the white area as well-developed as typical
nigrocinnamomea. The other is paler only on the upper breast.
Sitta frontalis apo Hachisuka
A series of 25 specimens from Katanglad is nearer the south-
eastern Mindanao apo, of which the type is in the Ripley
collection at Yale. One Katanglad bird, a male, is as dark
below and washed with lilac as Rand and Rabor’s zamboanga
(1957). Three specimens of the latter from Mount Malindang
show a considerable range of color from very dark washed
with lilac below to closely similar to our Katanglad and Mount
Apo birds. Evidently, this is a somewhat variable population.
June 26, 1961 Avifauna of Mount Katanglad ie
Rhabdornis inornatus zamboanga Rand and Rabor
The smaller creeper from Mount Katanglad appears to
match closely zamboanga from Mount Malindang, although
here we lack the race alaris from Mount McKinley.
Dicaeum anthonyt kampalili Manuel and Gilliard
As Salomonsen has pointed out (1960), the Katanglad
population agrees with southeastern Mindanao hampalili. Our
4 specimens are smaller than those measured by Salomonsen
and are, therefore, closer in size to the race named by Manuel
and Gilliard. Measurements: wing, $ 55, 57.5; 2 56, 57. At
present there appear to be 10 known specimens of this species.
We are grateful to Dr. Gilliard for comparing our male with
the American Museum specimen of ham palili.
Dicaeum ignipectus apo Hartert
Five males and two females of this rare form were collected
at the 4,200 foot level.
Nectarinia jugularis jugularis (Linnaeus )
A pair were collected at 4,200 feet, and agree well with
lowland specimens.
Aethopyga primigena primigena (Hachisuka)
A series of 33 specimens from Mount Katanglad agrees
perfectly with the type and another male in the Ripley collec-
tion at Yale from Mount Apo. These birds were found up to
6,000 feet. An immature specimen taken April 3 has a paler
throat with more pronounced yellow on the longitudinal central
streak and more noticeable yellow breast spot. The vellow
color on the flanks and underparts is paler, also more citrine
than in adult examples.
Aethopyga boltoni malindangensis Rand and Rabor
These birds are closer to the west Mindanao race than to
that of Mount Apo. They are somewhat darker below, the
feathers of the breasts of males and females having pronounced
greenish-olive centers, but above they are indistinguishable,
sharing with malindangensis the tendency to iridescence on
We Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 50
the head which is nearly absent in typical boltoni. It seems
best, then, to keep this population combined with that of
Malindang.
Arachnothera clarae malindangensis Rand and Rabor
This newly described form (1957) proves to be represented
on Mount Katanglad from whence Gonzales has sent one male
taken March 20 at 4,200 feet in breeding condition, and a
further 5 specimens in December.
Zosterops montana montana Bonaparte
Apparently very common from 4,000 to 6,200 feet. We can-
not distinguish the slight differences between these birds and
those of Mount Apo cited by Salomonsen (1953).
Apoia goodfellowt goodfellowi (Hartert)
This mountain whiteye belongs to the Mount Apo subspecies
and was found from 4,200 to 7,400 feet.
Hypocryptadius cinnamomeus Hartert
A series of 34 specimens from Mount Katanglad proves
to be intermediate when compared with 7 specimens from
Mount Apo (topotypical cinnamomeus) and 17 specimens from
Mount Malindang (malindangensis Rand and Rabor). The
latter form was described (1957) as being “like citnnamomeus
of Mount Apo but upperparts brighter cinnamon rufous;
breast tinged with brighter cinnamon; abdomen and under tail
coverts whiter (less grayish).” One individual from Mount
Apo is as bright and whitish below as any specimen from
Mount Malindang. Katanglad birds are in general rather
somberly colored below, more grayish throughout, but on the
upperparts they are indistinguishable from those of Mount
Malindang. These differences may be described below:
Upperparts Lowerparts
AMOS cricnrae rsp oousearieirs © tele, Fee darker? darker (86% )
Ka tan pla de jemicutnecoccroratciey lighter darker
Malindanga ae aceecria eae : lighter lighter
June 26, 1961 Avifauna of Mount Katanglad 13
If, then, these characters are to be taken at face value, the
Katanglad birds should be combined with the Malindang pop-
ulation on the basis of the color of the upperparts, and with
the Apo population on the basis of the lowerparts. There is no
difference in size.
As the differences at best seem relatively slight, perhaps
indicative only, faced with this solomonian choice it seems
wisest to us to include all the Mindanao birds under a single
name and revert to a monotypic species.
Birds were collected from 4,200 to 6,200 feet.
Serinus mindanensis, sp.n.
Tyre: 6 ad. (Y.P.M. No. 58898), collected Aprjl 19, 1960,
by R. B. Gonzales at Malaybalay, Mount Katanglad, Bukidnon
Province, Mindanao Island, Philippines.
Diacnosis: Upperparts blackish-brown, the margins of the
feathers indistinctly and widely edged with greenish olive;
forecrown extending very nearly to the base of the bill, golden
vellow, reaching below to the cheeks, throat, and breast; no
white ring around the eye; greater median and lesser wing
coverts, rump and upper tail coverts broadly edged with
golden yellow; underparts including under tail coverts dull
white, the flank feathers narrowly streaked with a central
streak of blackish brown; primaries and rectrices black, a
faint trace of a yellowish edging on the outer margin of the
median portion of the sixth and seventh primary. Bill appar-
ently olive horn-colored, feet dark-brown.
The bill of this species is remarkably stout and arched, far
more so in proportion than in estheraec. The maxillary tomia
are angled and thickened to produce a dentate bulge midway
from the angle to the tip. This gives a pronounced cutting
mechanism to the mid-point of the comissural line.
MeasurEMEnTs: Wing, 70; tail, 49; culmen, 9 mm.
Rance: Known only from Mount Katangiad, central Min-
danao, southern Philippines.
14 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 50
Remarks: Serinus mindanensis, while obviously close te
estherae, is best kept in a superspecies. The species estherae
divides into 3 subspecies as follows:
(a) vanderbilti (de Schaunensee), of which ripley: (Chasen)
is a synonym, Mount Loser area, Atjeh, north Sumatra, 7,000
feet above sea level:
(b) estherae (Finsch), west Java on Mount Pangrango
and Poentjakpas near Bogor 4,300 to 6,000 feet and perhaps
Mount Telemojo south of Semarang in central Java; and
(c) orientalis (Chasen, 1940) east Java on Mount Ajekajek,
Tengger mountains over 7,000 feet.
All these races are very similar to each other, differing only
in size, tone of color, and size of the white ring around the
eye. These populations are roughly equivalent to each other;
the sub-specific category is unequivocal. In contrast, mindan-
ensis is distinctly different in pattern and color, not equivalent,
and to merge it with the races of estherae would be decidedly
ambiguous.
This specimen has prompted us to look again at the relation-
ships of these isolated montane relict forms. The most recent
note on the taxonomy of estherae is that of Delacour (1946)
who remarked simply: ‘The species estherae is certainly not
referable to the genus Serinus, but to Carduelis, its nearest
relative being C. (=Hypacanthis) monguilloti from the moun-
tains of southern Annam.” Hypacanthis (type, spinoides) had
been combined earlier with Carduelis by Mayr, among others,
who remarked (1941): “‘As far as the genera Hypacanthis
and Spinus are concerned, nobody has yet brought forward
any valid reason why they should not be united with Carduelis,
as Hartert proposed more than thirty years ago.”
Hartert (1910) indeed proposed that the Goldfinch be
united with the Siskins, Linnet, Twite, and American Gold-
finches on the basis of bill shape, color pattern, similarity of
wing and tail, and stout feet. This suggestion was followed
in the British Handbook (1938 et seq.) in which the genus
Carduelis includes, besides the Goldfinch, the Siskin, the Twite,
the Linnet, and the Redpoll. These latter birds, in which the
wing pattern differs, browns and pinkish reds predominate in
June 26, 1961 Avifauna of Mount Katanglad 15
the plumage, and in which the pale-edged forked tail appears
longer in proportion to the wing, have been kept separate in
Acanthis more recently by Vaurie (1959). All of these species
have a distinctive bill, almost conical in shape with a tendency
to a thickened, swollen base. In contrast Serimus, the Serin,
the Citril, and the Gold-Fronted Finch, §. pusillus, all have
short, stubby, thick bills, with the culmen distinctly curved,
not straight.
After looking over these species of the Palearctic, it seems
impossible to align the species from Java, Sumatra, and
Mindanao with Carduelis monguilloti or its relatives, ambigua
and spinotdes. Some of the differences may be expressed below:
Longest Wing Tail
Primary Patch Patch | Top of Head Bill
Carduelis first; not | present on| present | dark, only sharp,
superspecies always primaries yellow conical
superciliary
estherae, second and | absent absent | yellow swollen,
mindanensis third bullfinch-like
Once a careful examination of the specimens is made, the
island birds with bills as tumid and curved as in the genus
Carpodacus or Pyrrhula, with an entirely different wing pat-
tern, with areas of yellow round the head and breast in a very
different arrangement, with the yellow edgings of the rump
feathers carried right out throughout the upper tail coverts,
it can be seen that they are strikingly different. These species
are as different from Carduelis in their own right as is
Rhynchostruthus of the Somali arid zone of northeastern
Africa and southwest Arabia.
If these birds do not fit in Carduelis, could they then fit in
some other Cardueline genus? The first description of estherae
(Finsch, 1902) placed it in Crithagra. The type of this genus
is sulphuratus of South Africa, and the genus is now considered
synonymous with Serinus. In the arrangement of the pri-
maries, second and third longest, they fit in better with Serinus
than with Carduelis. Serinus, found in the Palearctic and in
Africa, is characterized as having a very short, thick, tumid
bill, culmen distinctly curved, tail deeply emarginated. The
16 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum
No. 50
wing is long, longer than the tail, the wing/tail index varying
from 75-82%.
Serinus
estherae,
mindanensis
small, tumid
more rounded, more
tumid, larger in
proportion
tendency to super-
ciliary ; crown patch
in two species
Wing Covert Edgings ..
Outer Web of
streaked
forked, wing/tail
index 75-82%
yellow, usually not on
upper tail coverts
normally match color
of the back
edged with yellow
no eye stripe;
crown patch
plain
barely forked
67-10%
yellow extending
through upper tail
coverts
distinct from
back
almost totally reduced
Primaries or absent
The primary arrangement of Serinus, with the exception of
flaviventris in which the first primary is longest, inclines us
to feel that the tropical island species are nearer to Serinus
than to Carduelis contra Delacour. The bill shape is far more
similar, especially to some of the African members of the
Serinus throng. All these are less strongly hooked or rounded,
or indeed as swollen in the mid-section of the tomium of the
maxilla. In some ways these tropical island species strongly
resemble Carpodacus. The bill, although more bullfinch-like,
resembles that of the common Asian species erythrinus. The
plumage patterns, if yellows are substituted for reds, are not
too dissimilar.
In the same way Rhynchostruthus bears a certain re-
semblance to Rhodopechys. Callacanthis burtoni of the Hima-
layas bears an even closer resemblance to Carduelis carduelis,
and in this case it is possible to hazard a guess that burtoni
may be a Palearctic relict which was evolved from an ances-
tral goldfinch. No such guess seems readily apparent or in
order for Rhynchostruthus on the other hand.
June 26, 1961 Avifauna of Mount Katanglad 17
Our opinion, then, is that these birds belong with the ex-
panded genus Serinus and that the Philippine bird, though
sympatric, differs as significantly from the three known closely
allied races of estherae as do the three sympatric forms of
Carduelis, spinoides, ambigua, and monguilloti, kept by modern
workers, Mayr (tom. cit. supra) and Vaurie (1949), as
separate species in a superspecies.
Pyrrhula leucogenys coriaria, subsp.n.
iiver=6 ad. (Y.r-M: No. 58899), collected April 11, 1960,
by R. B. Gonzales at Malaybalay, Mount Katanglad, Bukidnon
Province, Mindanao Island, Philippines.
Diacnosis: From apo Hachisuka (1941), of which the type
and one other specimen are in the Ripley collection, this form
differs by being darker, more suffused with olive, “mummy
brown” rather than “prouts brown” both above and below.
From steerei Mearns this form differs by being much darker,
the darker smoky brown being of the same grayish tones
rather than in the more tawny tone of apo. All these three
populations are smaller than leucogenys of Luzon and have
all-black bills.
MeasurEMENTS: Wing, é 6 74-79, 2 2 76, 78; tail, ¢ 4
64-66.5, 2 2 61.5, 64; exposed culmen, ¢ 6 10-11, ? ? 10,
a5.
Remarks: It is interesting that this race situated in a
central position geographically should be much darker than
the two populations it separates, that of Mount Malindang
to the west and Mount Apo to the southeast. Taken together
running from west to east or vice versa, these populations
represent a sharply discontinuous geographical cline.
Lonchura malacca jagori (Martens)
As Parkes (1958) has pointed out, this variable black-
headed population had best be left under the catch-all jagori
rather than further split as Salomonsen (1953) has suggested.
18 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 50
Erythrura coloria, sp.n.
Tyer: ¢ ad. (Y.P.M. No. 58897), collected March~ 26;
1960, by R. B. Gonzales on Mount Katanglad, Malaybalay,
Bukidnon Province, Mindanao Island, Philippines.
Diacnosts: This species resembles Erythrura trichroa of
the Moluccas and Melanesian areas, thus differing completely
from hyperythra and viridifacies, the other known parrot
finches of the Philippines. From trichroa it differs in its
richer, more intense emerald-green coloration and in the pres-
ence of a bright scarlet patch lying behind the blue cheeks
and extending from the postocular area down to the sides of
the throat. The blue patch covers the forehead and forecrown,
the cheeks, and an area immediately behind the eyes.
MeasvurEMENTs: 446 6 wing, 51-56, 2? 54.5; tail, 35-38,
é 33; culmen (from skull), 11-13, 2 11 mm.
Rance: Known only from Mount Katanglad, Bukidnon
Province, central Mindanao, Philippines.
Remarks: This species was found in small clearings or
openings in the forest from 4,200-4,500 feet, often perching
on grass close to the ground. The birds were quiet and moved
singly or in pairs; when disturbed, flying to the nearest dense
growth, often near small streams, perching on branches close
to the ground.
ADDITIONAL Species TAKEN ON Mount KaTANGLAD
Pernis philorhynchus philippensis Mayr
Butastur indicus (Gmelin)
Accipiter virgatus confusus Hartert
Hieraaétus hieneri formosus Stresemann
Spilornis cheela holospilus (Vigors)
Falco severus Horsfield
Gallus gallus Linnaeus
Ptilinopus leucotis brevirostris ('Tweeddale)
Ptilinopus amethystina mindanensis (Manuel)
June 26, 1961 Avifauna of Mount Katanglad
Ptilinopus occipitalis Gray
Ducula carola mindanensis (Ogilvie-Grant)
19
Columba vitiensis griseogularis Walden and Layard
Macropygia phasianella tenuirostris Bonaparte
Loriculus philippensis apicalis Souancé
Cuculus fugax pectoralis Cabanis and Heine
Cacomantis variolosus sepulcralis (Miiller)
Surniculus lugubris velutinus Sharpe
Centropus viridis viridis (Scopoli)
Eurostopodus macrotis macrotis (Vigors)
Hemiprocne comata comata (Temminck)
Harpactes ardens ardens (Temminck)
Halcyon smyrnensis gularis (Kuhl)
Merops viridis americanus Miiller
Eurystomus orientalis cyanicollis Vieillot
Penelopides panini affinis Tweeddale
Aceros leucocephalus leucocephalus (Vieillot)
Megalaima haemacephala haemacephala (Miller)
Dryocopus javensis multilunatus (McGregor)
Dendrocopus maculatus fulvifasciatus (Hargitt)
Chrysocolaptes lucidus lucidus (Scopoli)
Lanius cristatus lucionensis Linnaeus
Lanius schach nasutus Scopoli
Oriolus chinensis suluensis Sharpe
Oriolus xanthonotus samarensis Steere
Dicrurus hottentottus striatus Tweeddale
Artamus leucorhynchus leucorhynchus (Linnaeus)
Aplonis minor todayensis (Mearns)
Sarcops calvus melanonotus Ogilvie-Grant
Basilorns miranda (Hartert)
Corvus macrorhynchus philippinus Bonaparte
Coracina striata kochii (Kutter)
Pycnonotus goiavier suluensis Mearns
Hypsipetes philippinus saturatior (Hartert)
Muscicapa griseisticta griseisticta (Swinhoe)
Muscicapa westermanni westermanni (Sharpe)
Muscicapa panayensis nigriloris (Hartert)
Culicicapa helianthea panayensis (Sharpe)
20 Postilla Yale Peabody Museum No. 50
Monarcha azurea azurea (Boddaert)
Pachycephala philippensis apoensis (Mearns)
Orthotomus atrogularis frontalis Sharpe
Turdus obscurus Gmelin
Dicaeum hypoleucum hypoleucum Sharpe
Dicaeum nigrilore nigrilore Hartert
Dicaeum bicolor bicolor (Bourns and Worcester )
Dicaeum pygmaeum davao Mearns
Lonchura leucogastra manueli Parkes
LireraturE CITED
Chasen, F. N. 1940. Notes on some Javan Birds. Treubia 17: 263-4.
Delacour, J. 1946. Notes on the Taxonomy of the Birds of Malaysia.
Zoologica 31: 4.
and Mayr, E. 1946. Birds of the Philippines. Macmillan, New York.
Finsch, O. 1902. Notes Leyden Museum 23: 151.
Hachisuka, M. 1934-1935. The Birds of the Philippine Islands (3, 4):
50, 402. Witherby, London.
1941. Further Contributions to the Ornithology of the Philippine
Islands. Tori 11 (51-52): 88.
Hartert, E. 1910. Die Vogel der paliktischen Fauna 1: 65-6.
Mayr, E. (with Stanford, J. K.) 1941. The Vernay-Cutting Expedition to
Northern Burma. Ibis: 361.
1949. Geographical Variation in Accipiter trivirgatus, Amer. Mus.
Novit. no. 1415: 1-12.
Parkes, K. C. 1958. Taxonomy and nomenclature of three species of
Lonchura (Aves: Estrildinae). Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 108: 291.
Rand, A. L. 1950. A new race of owl, Otus bakkanoena, from Negros,
Philippine Islands. Nat. Hist. Misc. 72: 1-5.
and Rabor, D. S. 1957. New Birds from the Philippines. Fieldiana:
Zool. 42: 18.
1958. The races of the Shrike, Lanius validirostris. Fieldiana:
Zool. 39: 85.
1960. Birds of the Philippine Islands: Siquijor, Mount Malin-
dang, Bohol, and Samar. Fieldiana: Zool. 35: 260-308.
Ripley, S. Dillon. 1949. A new race of Shrike from the Philippines. Bull.
Brit. Orn. Cl. 69: 121.
Salomonsen, F. 1953. Miscellgneous notes on Philippine Birds. Vidensk.
Medd. fra Dansk naturl. Foren. 115: 272-281.
1960. Notes on Flowerpeckers (Aves, Dicaeidae) 2. The Primitive
Species of the Genus Dicaeum. Amer. Mus. Novit. no. 1991: 22-3.
ee C. 1949. Notes on some Asiatic Finches. Amer. Mus. Novit. no.
1424: 8.
1959. The Birds of the Palearctic Fauna: 611. London.
Witherby, H. F., Jourdain, F. C. R., Ticehurst, N. F., and Tucker, B. W.
1938 et. seq. The Handbook of British Birds 1: 57.
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