The correct source and precise date of the name Gyps africanus Salvadori, 1865
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Giorgio Aimassi 93 Zoological Bibliography 2023 8(6)
The correct source and precise date of the name
Gyps africanus Salvadori, 1865
Giorgio Aimassi
COPYRIGHT: © 2023 Aimassi. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
ABSTRACT: The year that Gyps africanus was described is well known, but almost all recent
authors cite an incorrect reference paper, published some years later. The evidence reveals that
Salvadoriʹs description was published in at least three different versions, with differences in the
wording. This seems most likely to have been caused by a failure in thorough planning of when
and where to publish the papers read to the Reale Accademia delle Scienze di Torino, after the
reports of such meetings ceased to be published in the Memorie della Reale Accademia delle Scienze
and began to be published independently, in the Atti della Reale Accademia delle Scienze.
Presently available evidence reveals the exact day on which the binomial Gyps africanus was
introduced, and the original version of the reference text. In this the author used two spellings
affricanus and africanus, a situation resolved by the application of Art. 24.2.4 of the Code
(I.C.Z.N., 1999).
KEYWORDS: Gyps africanus, Tommaso Salvadori, original description, original spelling, citation,
ICZN Code.
INTRODUCTION
The name Gyps africanus was proposed and the taxon described by Tommaso Salvadori in
a paper read by Filippo De Filippi at the Reale Accademia delle Scienze di Torino (Royal
Academy of Sciences of Turin) during the session of 7 May 1865. The date is clearly
established, like that of every session of the Academy. However, an oral declaration is not
publication and the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (I.C.Z.N., 1999) dates
publication from printing and distribution.
Over the years a number of different titles (or their abbreviations) have been cited and
there has been some dispute over the source and the date of that publication. The purpose of
this article is to identify the full title of the journal concerned and the correct publication date.
Following some initial doubt that this was a distinct species (see Anon., 1865b: 339; von
Heuglin, 1867a: 199), Salvadori’s new taxon was accepted and it has usually been attributed
to the genus Gyps as proposed by Salvadori, although it was attributed to Pseudogyps by Sclater
(1924: 48) and Friedmann (1930). This genus is sometimes split and Wolters (1975) placed the
species in the subgenus Pseudogyps.
The year date 1865 has been in general use, see Sharpe (1874: 12), Swann (1919: 5),
Friedmann (1930: 42), Peters (1931: 262), Wolters (1975: 79), Stresemann & Amadon (1979: 305),
Brown (1982: 326), Dickinson (2003: 102), del Hoyo et al. (1994: 126), Dickinson & Remsen
(2013: 239), del Hoyo & Collar (2014: 526). Only Royal Society (1879: 821) and Mundy et al.
(1992: 122) differed citing 1869.
ISSN 2045–4651 3D7CE89D‐FF1D‐4972‐9B05‐796E7E3CB57C Published 20 January 2023
Giorgio Aimassi 94 Zoological Bibliography 2023 8(6)
Table I. This list includes most of the authors who reported the description of Gyps africanus. The abbreviations
are those used by the author(s) cited. The full titles of the papers are provided in the references.
Author(s), year and pages Source of Salvadoriʹs paper as cited by this author
Anon., 1865a (May): 224 Estratto dalla Gazzetta Ufficiale del Regno dʹItalia, No. 126 del 1865; “Von
Demselben” [i.e. Salvadori]
Anon., 1865b (July): 339 “read on the 7th of May last” [without quoting the Turin Academy] “paper
recently communicated by him” [i.e. Salvadori]
Newton, 1866: 91 Gazz. Uffic. del Regno dʹItalia, 1865, no. 126
Hartlaub, 1866: 28 Gaz. offic. del regn. dʹItal Nr. 126 [1865]
Anon., 1867: 33 Estratto dalla Gazzetta Ufficiale, in‐8 di pag. 9 [date not specified]
von Heuglin, 1867a: 199 Conf. Sitz.‐Bericht der königl. Akad. v. Turin, 7. Mai 1865
von Heuglin, 1867b: 290 Sitzungsbericht der Turiner Akademie vom 7. Mai 1865
von Heuglin, 1869: 6 Accad. di Torin. Adunanz. 7. Magg. 1865
Salvadori, 1870: 721 Boll. R. Acc. Sc. Tor., nel Giorn. Off. del Regno d’Italia, 27 maggio 1865, n°
126, e Not. Stor. dei lav. della R. Acc. Sc. Tor. degli anni 1864 e 1865, p. 129
Giebel, 1872: 64 Gazett. offic. regn. Ital. 1865. No. 126
Sharpe, 1874: 12 Not. Stor. R. Accad. Torin. 7 May, 1865, p. 133
Barboza du Bocage, 1876: 47 R. Accad. Sc. di Torino. Adun. 7 mag. 1865
Barboza du Bocage, 1877: 1 Not. Stor. Accad. Torino, 7 mai, 1865, p. 133
Royal Society of London, Torino, Lavori Sci. Fis. Mat. 1869, pp. 129‐136
1879: 821
Shelley, 1896: 154 R. Accad. Torino, 1865, p. 133
Salvadori, 1915: 19 Notizia storica dei lavori fatti dalla Classe di Scienze Fisiche e Matematiche
della R. Accademia delle Scienze di Torino, pp. 129‐136, 1865
Swann, 1919: 5 Nat. (sic) Stor. R. Accad. Torin., 7th May. 1865, p. 133
Pierantoni, 1925: 9 Notizia Stor. dei lavori fatti dalla Cl. di Sc. Fis. e Mat. della R. Acc. delle Sc.
di Torino, pp. 129‐136 [1865]
Friedmann, 1930: 42 Not. Stor. R. Acad. Torino, 1865, p. 133
Peters, 1931: 262 Not. Stor. R. Accad. Torino, 1865, p. 133
Winterbottom, 1971: 56 Nat. (sic) Stor. R. Accad. Torino, 1865: 133
Stresemann & Amadon, Notizia Storica Lavori Classe Sci. Fis. Mat. R. Accad. Sci. Torino, p. 133
1979: 305 [1865]
Brown, 1982: 326 Not. Stor. R. Accad. Torino, p. 133 [1865]
Mundy et al., 1992: 122 Notizia Storica of the Royal Academy of the Sciences of Turin (1869)
del Hoyo et al., 1994: 574 Notizia Storica Lavori Classe Sci. Fis. Mat. R. Accade Sci. Torino: 133 (1865)
gbif.com (accessed 8 January Notizia Storica dei lavori fatti dalla Classe di Scienze Fisiche e Matematiche
2022) della Reale Accademia delle Scienze di Torino, 1864‐1865: 129‐136
[published 1865]
WHERE AND WHEN WAS THE FIRST DESCRIPTION OF GYPS AFRICANUS PUBLISHED?
The survey tabulated above includes reports of the oral introduction of the name and
reports on the publication name and details.
Since the work of Salvadori was read on 7 May 1865 in a session of the Academy of
Sciences of Turin, one would expect to find the publication in one of the two journals of the
ISSN 2045–4651 3D7CE89D‐FF1D‐4972‐9B05‐796E7E3CB57C Published 20 January 2023
Giorgio Aimassi 95 Zoological Bibliography 2023 8(6) Figure 1. The pages 1 (1a) and 2 (1b) of the Gazzetta Ufficiale No. 126 of 1865. The paper by Salvadori is highlighted by a green border; the shaded area in (1b) is detailed in Figure 2 (downloaded from www.gazzettaufficiale.it and modified). Figure 2. Detail of page 2 in Salvadori (1865a): the red arrow highlights the spelling “affricanus”, the green arrows highlight the spelling “africanus” (downloaded from www.gazzettaufficiale.it and modified). ISSN 2045–4651 3D7CE89D‐FF1D‐4972‐9B05‐796E7E3CB57C Published 20 January 2023
Giorgio Aimassi 96 Zoological Bibliography 2023 8(6)
Figure 3. The spelling “africanus” in Salvadori (1869).
Academy: Memorie della Reale Accademia delle Scienze di Torino (of which the first numbers date
back to the end of the 18th century) or Atti della Reale Accademia delle Scienze di Torino (the first
volume, 1865‐66, is dated 1866). In fact, the description of Gyps africanus never appeared in
these journals. Sobrero (1869: 2) explained that the reports of the sessions of the Academy prior
to 1864 (i.e., until the end of 1863) were always printed at the beginning of the volumes of the
journal Memorie, and that it was intended that the subsequent ones would appear in the
Acanemy’s new journal, the Atti. However, the first volume of the Atti published works read
to the Academy since November 1865; thus, the publications based on papers read between
31 January 1864 and 2 July 1865 appear neither in the Memorie nor in the Atti.
The earlier reports mentioning this work by Salvadori either refer to the date of the
meeting of the Turin Academy of Sciences on 7 May 1865, at which Salvadoriʹs work was read,
or cite the Gazzetta Ufficiale n. 126 of 1865. Salvadori (1870: 721) was the first author to state
that the paper with the description of Gyps africanus had appeared in the Notizia storica dei
lavori fatti dalla reale Accademia delle Scienze di Torino (hereafter Notizia Storica), however, he did
not specify the date, although quoting the Gazzetta Ufficiale of 1865, and also referring to the
“Giorn. Off.ʺ. Almost all subsequent citations associate the first description with the Notizia
Storica, and (wrongly) date it to 1865, although, as shown above, they use different words and
abbreviations for the journal. Only Royal Society of London (1879: 821), Mundy et al. (1992:
122) and Aimassi et al. (2020: 82) have cited the Notizia Storica with Salvadoriʹs paper with the
date 1869.
In fact, it appears that first publication was in the Gazzetta Ufficiale No. 126 of 27 May 1865
(Salvadori, 1865a; Figures 1a and 1b).
Surprisingly, the same paper appeared in another journal, the Giornale delle Alpi, degli
Apennini e Vulcani (Salvadori, 1865b), but none of the authors listed above (Table 1) reported
the description of G. africanus from this journal, which was published only for a very short
period, between 1864 and 1866. Its name was changed to Rivista delle Alpi, degli Appennini e
Vulcani starting with issues 7‐10 in “Anno II”. Salvadoriʹs paper was finally republished as
part of an occasional work of the Turin Academy edited by the secretary Ascanio Sobrero, the
ʺNotizia Storicaʺ mentioned above (Salvadori, 1869). Two undated separates of this paper have
been found: one is present in the library of the Accademia di Agricoltura di Torino, and the
other is in the Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali di Torino.
ISSN 2045–4651 3D7CE89D‐FF1D‐4972‐9B05‐796E7E3CB57C Published 20 January 2023Giorgio Aimassi 97 Zoological Bibliography 2023 8(6)
THE ORIGINAL SPELLING
The texts of the different versions of Salvadoriʹs paper do not have exactly the same
wording, but it is not necessary to describe all the differences in detail. However, it is
important to focus on the spelling of the new taxon, which appears in two different ways:
1. “affricanus” in the first (Salvadori, 1865a) and in the second work (Salvadori, 1865b), but
towards the end of the paper, in both versions, G. africanus also appears, with a single
“f” (Figure 2);
2. “africanus” in the third work (Salvadori, 1869) (Figure 3) and in the undated reprint.
Article 24.2.3 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (I.C.Z.N., 1999)
introduces the requirement of selection of correct original spellings, which must take place “if
a name is spelled in more than one way in the original work” (in this case affricanus and
africanus). The same article of the Code establishes that “the first author to have cited them
together and to have selected one spelling as correct is the First Reviser”. Article 24.2.4
establishes that, if the original author of the name uses one of the two spellings as valid in a
subsequent work before any other action under Art. 24.2.3, he is considered to be the First
Reviser and the spelling used by him becomes the “correct original spelling”. No case has been
identified where Article 24.2.3 was applicable, but Salvadori (1869) only used the spelling
“africanus” and thus became the First Reviser.
This case of double spelling is analogous to many of those listed by David et al. (2009),
Part I(b), Species‐group names. Fortunately, the First Reviserʹs non‐explicit choice corresponds
to the spelling “africanus”, the only one currently in use, so no further action is needed.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author is very grateful to Edward Dickinson, who provided important suggestions
for the design and implementation of the work. He also thanks the friends of the Museo
Regionale di Scienze Naturali di Torino, where the type specimens of Gyps africanus and some
bibliographic material are kept: Elena Gavetti, Pier Giuseppe Chiadò Fiorio, Luca Ghiraldi,
Marina Spini.
Many researchers and librarians helped find the material used to prepare the article or
discussed some related issues with the author. Many thanks to all:
Hans‐Martin Berg (Naturhistorische Museum, Wien, Austria), Alan Brown (Bodleian
Library, Oxford), Maximilian Bugert, Gerald Mayr (Senckenberg Naturmuseum Frankfurt,
Germany), René Dekker, Pepijn Kamminga (Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden,
Netherlands), Michaela Forthuber (Staatliches Naturhistorisches Museum, Braunschweig,
Germany), Sylke Frahnert (Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin), Khalid Elnoor Ali Hassaballah
(The Hydraulics Research Center, Wad Medani, Sudan), Marina Maniago, Carlo Girardi,
Gianni Oliva (Accademia di Agricoltura, Torino), Alessandra Ravelli (Biblioteca Nazionale del
Club Alpino Italiano, Torino), Frank D. Steinheimer (Martin‐Luther‐Universität Halle‐
Wittenberg, Halle, Germany), Paul R. Sweet (American Museum of Natural History, New
York), Erik Weber (Eberhard‐Karls‐Universität Tübingen, Germany).
ISSN 2045–4651 3D7CE89D‐FF1D‐4972‐9B05‐796E7E3CB57C Published 20 January 2023Giorgio Aimassi 98 Zoological Bibliography 2023 8(6) REFERENCES Aimassi, G., C. Pulcher & L. Ghiraldi, 2020. Type specimens of Birds in the Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali (Torino, Italy). – Journal of the National Museum (Prague), Natural History Series, 189: 65‐154. Anon., 1865a (May). Nachrichten. An die Redaction eingegangene Schriften. N. 573. – Journal für Ornithologie, 13 (3) (No. 75): 224. Anon., 1865b (July). XXX. Recent Ornithological Publication. 3. Italian. – The Ibis, 7: 338‐339. Anon., 1867 (March). Pubblicazioni del Regno. – Bibliografia dʹItalia, 1 (3): 25‐36. Barboza du Bocage, J.V., 1876. Aves das possessões portuguezas d’Africa occidental. Decima lista. Jornal de Ciencias Mathematicas Physicas e Naturaes, 5: 47‐60. Barboza du Bocage, J.V., 1877. Ornithologie d’Angola. 1‐576, pll. I‐X. – Imprimerie Nationale, Lisbonne. Brown, L.H., 1982. Falconiformes, pp. 294‐478 in: Brown L.H., Urban, E.K., Newman, K.B. (Eds.), The Birds of Africa. 1. 1‐521. – Academic Press, London. del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott, J. Sartagal (Eds.), 1994. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 2: New World vultures to guineafowl. 1‐638. – Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. del Hoyo, J. & N.J. Collar, 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Vol. 1: Non‐passerines. 1‐903. – Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. David, N., E.C. Dickinson & S.M.S. Gregory, 2009. Contributions to a List of First Reviser actions: Ornithology. – Zootaxa, 2085: 1‐24. Dickinson, E.C., 2003, The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World, 3rd. Edition. 1‐1039. – Christopher Helm, London. Dickinson, E.C., J.V. Remsen Jr. (Eds.), 2013. The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. 4th. Edition, 1. i‐l, 1‐461 + CD. – Aves Press, Eastbourne, UK. Friedmann, H., 1930. Birds collected by the Childs Frick expedition to Ethiopia and Kenya colony. Part 1: Non‐Passeres. – United States National Museum Bulletin, 153: 1‐506. Giebel, C.G., 1872 ‐ Thesaurus Ornithologiae. Repertorium der gesammten ornithologischen Literatur und Nomenclator sämmtlicher Gattungen und Arten der Vögel, nebst Synonymen und geographischer Verbreitung. Erster band. 1‐868. – F.A. Brockaus, Leipzig. Hartlaub, G., 1866. Bericht über die Leistungen in der Naturgeschichte der Vögel während des Jahres 1865. Pp. 1‐34. – Archiv für Naturgeschichte, 32 (2): i‐ii, 1‐468. I.C.Z.N., 1999. International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, 4th edition. i‐xxix, 1‐306. – International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature, London. Mundy, P.J., D. Butchart, J. Ledger, S. Piper, 1992. The Vultures of Africa. 1‐460. – Academic Press, London. Newton, A., 1866. Aves. Pp. 54‐138. In: A.C.L.G. Günther (Ed.), The record of Zoological Literature. 1865. Vol. 2. 1‐798. – J. van Voorst, London. Peters, J.L., 1931. Check‐list of Birds of the World, Vol. I. i‐xviii, 1‐345. – Harvard University Press, Cambridge. Pierantoni, U., 1925. Tommaso Salvadori. Bollettino dei Musei di Zoologia ed Anatomia comparata della R. Università di Torino, n.s., 15: 1‐24. Royal Society of London, 1879. Catalogue of scientific papers (1864‐1873). Vol. VIII. 1‐1310. – G.E. Eyre & W. Spottiswoode, London. Salvadori, T., 1865a [May, 27]. Descrizione di una nuova specie d’Avoltojo (gen. Gyps, Savig.). – Gazzetta Ufficiale del Regno dʹItalia, n. 126: 1‐2. ISSN 2045–4651 3D7CE89D‐FF1D‐4972‐9B05‐796E7E3CB57C Published 20 January 2023
Giorgio Aimassi 99 Zoological Bibliography 2023 8(6)
Salvadori, T., 1865b [June]. Descrizione di una nuova specie d’Avoltojo (gen. Gyps, Savig.). – Giornale delle
Alpi, Appennini e Vulcani, Anno II (fascicoli 3‐4)1 : 167‐173.
Salvadori, T., 1869. Descrizione di una nuova specie d’Avoltoio (Gen. Gyps, Savign.). Pp. 129‐136 in: A.
Sobrero, Notizia storica dei lavori fatti dalla Classe di Scienze Fisiche e Matematiche della Reale Accademia delle
Scienze di Torino negli anni 1864 e 1865. Stamperia Reale, Torino.
Salvadori, T., 1870. Rivista critica del catalogo descrittivo di una collezione di uccelli fatta da Orazio
Antinori, nell’interno dell’Africa centrale nord dal maggio 1859 al luglio 1861. – Atti della Reale Accademia
delle Scienze di Torino, Vol. 5: 719‐746.
Salvadori, T. [undated]. Descrizione di una nuova specie d’Avoltoio (Gen. Gyps, Savign.). Estratto dalla
Notizia storica dei lavori fatti dalla Classe di Scienze Fisiche e Matematiche della Reale Accademia delle Scienze di
Torino negli anni 1864 e 1865 (Adunanza del 7 Maggio 1865). [1]‐10. – Stamperia Reale, Torino.
Salvadori, T., 1915. Notizie storiche intorno alla Collezione Ornitologica del Museo di Torino. – Memorie
della R. Accademia delle Scienze di Torino, serie 2a, vol. 65 [1916]: 1–49.
Sclater, W.L., 1924. Systema Avium Aethiopicarum: a Systematic List of the Birds of the Ethiopian Region. Part
1. i‐iv, 1–304. – Taylor & Francis, London.
Sharpe, R.B., 1874. Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. I. Catalogue of the Accipitres or diurnal
birds of prey in the collection of the British Museum. (Accipitres). i‐xiii, 1‐479; pll. I‐XIV. – Trustees of the
British Museum, London.
Shelley, G.E., 1896. The Birds of Africa. Vol. 1. i‐viii, 1‐196. – Porter ed., London.
Sobrero A., 1869. Notizia Storica dei lavori fatti dalla Classe di Scienze Fisiche e Matematiche della Reale
Accademia delle Scienze di Torino negli anni 1864 e 1865. 1‐152. – Stamperia Reale, Torino.
Stresemann, E. & D. Amadon, 1979. Order Falconiformes, pp. 271‐425 in: Mayr, E. & G.W. Cottrell (eds.),
Check‐list of Birds of the World, Vol. 1. Second edition. Revision of the Work of James L. Peters. i‐xvii, 1‐547.
– Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, Mass.
Swann, H.K., 1919. A synoptical list of the Accipitres. Part I. 1‐38. – J. Wheldon & Co., London.
von Heuglin, M. Th., 1867a. Berichtigungen und Noten: Zu Antinori‘s Katalog der nordost‐afrikanischen
Vögel. – Journal für Ornithologie, 15 (May): 198‐207.
von Heuglin, M. Th., 1867b. Ueber die ornithülogiseJjen Arbeiten des Herzogs Paul Wilhelm von
Würtemberg, während seiner Reise in die oberen Nil‐Länder. – Journal für Ornithologie, 15 (September):
289‐304.
von Heuglin, M. Th., 1869. Ornithologie Nordost‐Afrika’s. Erster Band. I‐XVI, i‐cviii, A‐H, 1‐416, 16 Taf. −
V. & T‐ Fischer, Kassel.
Winterbottom, J.M., 1971. A Preliminary Check List of the Birds of South West Africa. 1‐268. – SWA Scientific
Society, Windhoek, Namibia.
Wolters, H.E., 1975. Die Vogelarten der Erde. Eine systematische Liste mit verbreitungsangaben sowie deutschen
und englischen Namen. Pt. 1. 1‐80. – Paul Parey, Hamburg.
Address: Giorgio Aimassi, Lungo Po Antonelli 175, I–10153 Torino, Italy. e‐mail: aimassi.giorgio
@gmail.com.
1 This edition of Salvadori’s paper can be found online in a volume kept in the Bodleian Library and digitized
by Google books. Unfortunately, this book (which actually corresponds to the entire “Anno II”, 1865‐1866,
parts 1‐11) was clumsily bound and, as a cover, it has the issue wrapper only relating to parts 7‐11, published
in 1866 when the name of the journal had already been changed to “Rivista delle Alpi, degli Appennini e Vulcani”.
Correct correspondence between volume and scan has been confirmed by Bodleian Library (Alan Brown, pers.
comm., 17 January 2022).
ISSN 2045–4651 3D7CE89D‐FF1D‐4972‐9B05‐796E7E3CB57C Published 20 January 2023You can also read
