Goeldi's Antbird Myrmeciza goeldii …in German (1 Viewer)

Here´s a real refined (maybe even finicking) eponymical challenge that requires some subtle knowledge of German! And of how Scientific Names/eponyms are latinized?!

My question is if whether Goeldi's Antbird Myrmeciza goeldii SNETHLAGE 1908 commemorates the "Museu Goeldi" or the man behind the same Museum?

With my tiny knowledge of German I have a hard time to understand the sentence:

"… zu Ehren des hochverdienten Erforschers vom Amazonien … ".

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Does this point explicit in either direction? Is it singular or plural?

Also consider the first line of the Introduction text:

"In den Jahren 1903 u, 1904 entsandte das Museu Goeldi, Pará, Brasilien …"

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Anyone with more refined linguistic skills feel like finding out … and explain?!

Type description: Snethlage, E. 1908. Eine Vogelsammlung vom Rio Purús, Brasilien. Journal für Ornithologie 56: 7–24. (Excerps attached; introduction, page 7, and formal description, page 16-17). Full article, see link: http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/43348#page/29/mode/1up

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PS. The only other bird (that I know of) with the same Scientific name, the subspecie Sicalis columbiana goeldii BERLEPSCH 1906 doesn’t reveal anything. In its type description (von Berlepsch, H. 1906. … descriptions of seven new Neo-tropical birds. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 16: 97-99) there is no dedication or motivation whatsoever.

I would translate "… zu Ehren des hochverdienten Erforschers vom Amazonien … " as "to the honour of the highly meritorious explorer of Amazonia ..."

"In den Jahren 1903 u, 1904 entsandte das Museu Goeldi, Pará, Brasilien …" is more difficult for me. "Entsandte" should be the past imperfect of "entsenden", meaning "seconded" or "posted". Can we have the rest of the sentence please ? ("In den Jahren" means "in the years" of course).

Hi Dave,

And thanks for your first attempt!

For the full article, including the "rest of the sentence", see begining of attached files in/under post #1.

The main question is still; if the name goeldii commemorates the "Museu Goeldi" or the man behind it.

It definitly, without question, commemorates "the man behind it".

Theo

Thanks Theo!

That concludes the "the case" Goeldi/Göldi:

Goeldi's Antbird Myrmeciza goeldii SNETHLAGE 1908 (as well as Sicalis columbiana goeldii BERLEPSCH 1906, I assume) commemorates the Swiss zoologist Emil August Göldi (1859–1917), a k a Emílio Augusto Goeldi, reorganizer of the older Museu Paraense (or Pará Museum of Natural History and Ethnography) and Director of the "Museo Goldei" (re-named, in his honour, 1902; more concentrating purely on Natural Science) 1894-1905 (today Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi), in Belem, Para.

If Göldi ever, officially, took the name Goeldi I do not know!?

PS. He was born August 28, 1859 in the little village Ennetbühl, in the (German speaking) Canton Saint-Gall (Saint-Gallen), North East Switzerland and died in Bern, back in Switzerland July 5, 1917. He left for Brazil in 1884 and retired from "his" Museum in 1905, due to ill health, and returned soon after to Switzerland.

According to the ICZN rules göldi should become goeldi if the person in question was german. But he was not german, but swiss! I don't know if this same rule applies for swiss people.

The same is true for Büttikofer.

Theo

8669 said:

According to the ICZN rules göldi should become goeldi if the person in question was german. But he was not german, but swiss! I don't know if this same rule applies for swiss people.

The same is true for Büttikofer.

Theo

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Theo, I´m sure your´e right and I have never claimed otherwise. The Scientific Nomenclature stands on firm rules, and I´m quite convinced the "German rules" cover the "Swiss" as well (especially in this case, since he was German speaking), making Emil August Göldi (as well as Emílio Augusto Goeldi) to goeldii as valid as ever.

I was only pointing out what the Civilian, Birth name was, of the man behind it.

That´s all!