Type specimens of bats (Chiroptera: Mammalia) in the collections of the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin

Abstract

The present catalogue documents all the chiropteran type specimens found in the collections of the Zoological Museum of the Humboldt-University, Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin (ZMB). Due to insufficient labeling at the time of receipt and description, many types have until now remained unrecognized, labelled with synonymous or incorrect names. From more than 13,000 specimens examined, we identified 540 types (86 holotypes, 249 syntypes, 22 lectotypes, 168 paratypes or paralectotypes, 5 of ambiguous status, 10 missing). These types belong to 218 described bat species, of which 116 are currently accepted (valid) species names. Lectotypes were designated for the original descriptions of Chilonycteris Boothi, Chiroderma villosum, Molossus ferox, Phyllorhina bicornis, Phyllostomus spiculatus, Rhinolophus capensis, Vespertilio Bocagii, Vespertilio Schreibersii and Vesperus cubanus.

Catalogue of primary types of Neotropical Myotis (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae)

“…Remarks : According to Turni and Kock (2008) , the name polythrix is a nomen oblitum, due to page priority. This is the first available name (p. 443), whereas levis (nomen protectum) is on page 444 in Geoffroy’s publication (1824).…”

Bats from Lebanon at the Natural History Museum, Vienna: a cautionary tale on the reliability of museum specimen data (Chiroptera)

“…Both these names represent unavailable manuscript names (most probably first used by hemprich and/or ehrenberg in their labelling and later by Lichtenstein in the list; cf. Peters 1871); the former name represents an unavailable synonym of the valid name Rhinolophus ferrumequinum (Fitzinger 1870, Peters 1871, Andersen 1905, Turni & Kock 2008.…”

First confirmed records of two bat species for Iraq: Rhinolophus euryale and Myotis emarginatus (Chiroptera)

“…This view was accepted by other authors, too ( Ellerman and Morrison-Scott 1951, Koopman 1994, Csorba et al 2003. However, investigating the type series, Benda et al (2006) and subsequently Turni and Kock (2008) arrived at the conclusion that R . ( Euryale ) judaicus was in fact a junior synonym of R. mehelyi .…”