Origin and identity of the von Borcke collection of amphibians and reptiles in the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin: A cache of Seba specimens?

Abstract

Approximately 150 specimens of amphibians and reptiles donated by Graf von Borcke in the first years of the museum's existence are still present in the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin (ZMB). Based on information published by Blasius Merrem and additional historical sources, it can be determined that a portion of von Borcke's collection was purchased from the estate of Willem Xaver Janssen (= Wilhelm Xaver Jansen) and that this was probably obtained indirectly (possibly via Adrianus van Royen) from the second collection of Albertus Seba, auctioned in 1752. Comparison of the von Borcke material with Seba's illustrations reveals five credible and 18 questionable matches. Most convincing is a specimen of Python sebae partly dissected to show a bird in its abdomen. The Seba figure of this specimen is an iconotype of Python bivittatus Kuhl, 1820. An additional ten ZMB specimens are possible matches to Seba illustrations that have served as iconotypes. The stylized appearance of many of Seba's figures, particularly those of snakes, makes the unambiguous identification of surviving Seba specimens difficult. In addition, five snake specimens are probable matches to specimens from Janssen's collection that were described and figured by Merrem. Three of these are type specimens of subsequently described species, including the widespread and invasive Boiga irregularis (Bechstein, 1802). A combination of historical information and specimen correspondences yields a strong case for the survival of a large part of Seba's herpetological collection in Berlin. (© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Disentangling the Pelomedusa complex using type specimens and historical DNA (Testudines: Pelomedusidae)

“…This makes sense as the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie) in 1652 established an outpost near the Cape of Good Hope for provisioning their ships coming from East India. This outpost, later becoming the Cape Colony and finally Cape Town, was a supplier of early natural history specimens for Europe (Wren-Sargent 1999;Bauer & Günther 2013;Bauer & Wahlgren 2013), and such specimens might have been mixed up or confused with materials coming from East India. Gray (1831: p. 40) wrote exactly in this spirit about helmeted terrapins "I have never seen this tortoise from India, but being brought from the Cape by the Indian ships, they, as well as many other Cape animals, are often called Indian."…”

Tracking a syntype of the Australian skink Anomalopus leuckartii (Weinland, 1862): 'lost' treasures in the Senckenberg Natural History Collections Dresden highlight the importance of reassessing and safeguarding natural history collections

“…This fluctuation for herpetological collections is perhaps best exemplified by the natural history cabinet of the Dutch-German natural history collector albertus seba (*1665 †1736), whose first collection was sold to Peter the great (*1672 †1725) (engel, 1937; boeseman, 1970), with a second, rebuilt and even larger collection auctioned and dispersed following seba 's death (e.g., engel, 1937;boeseman, 1970;Juriev, 1981;daszKieWicz & bauer, 2006;bauer & günther, 2013). Fortunately, some dispersed specimens were subsequently rediscovered, such as in the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin, Germany (ZMB) (bauer & günther, 2013).…”

Burmese pythons in Florida: A synthesis of biology, impacts, and management tools

“…The Burmese python was initially named and described using iconotypes (i.e., illustrations that serve as the type for the species description), which were later demonstrated to be the Python sebae species (Bauer and Günther 2013). Thus, the Burmese python has no type, and if elevated to species rank, a petition to the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is required to stabilize the name of P. bivittatus (Bauer and Günther 2013).…”