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Nomina mystica or Nomina deliria ... !? (1 Viewer)

No. 39, from page 231: "[Scolopax] Delamotti. Baill. 431"
[According to Rey (No. 431); a synonym of today's Common snipe Gallinago gallinago]

... which ought to be "Scolopax Lamotti" BAILLON 1833 (or 1834?), here (possibly an attempt to put his name right), named for Monsieur de Lamotte (see foot-note, on the same page). Either way (also) a synonym of Common snipe Gallinago gallinago.

The latter bird has earlier (in 2016) been discussed here on BirdForum, in threads; At least a start on delamotta (here) and in Six contradictory claims in various sources!? (here, posts #21-23).

Also compare with (for example); Vieillot's "Sterna Delamotte" (here).
 
● No. 40, also from page 235: "[Strix] Kirchoffi. Br. 62"
[According to Rey (No. 62); a synonym "Strix flammea. L."... !?]

... which must be "St. [Strix] Kirchhoffii, nobis.**" BREHM 1857 (here, p.440):
**Viro generosissimo, amico magnanimo et Ornithologiae fautori peritissimo hanc avem pulchram dedicant animo grato et reverenti pater et filii Brehm.
Also mentioned (in the former spelling!) by Harvie-Brown, as "Aluco flammea Kirchoffi", (here)!?

If a synonym of today's Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus or the Barn Owl Tyto alba is all unknown to me. Is it possible to tell either way by Brehm's description?
 
No. 41, from page 242: "[Tringa] grenvicensis. Lath. (J.Kl.) 417"
[According to Rey (No. 417); a synonym "Machetes pugnax. Cuv.", which ought to be as below.]

... yet another typo, this time for "[Tringa] grenovicensis" LATHAM 1790 (here), a synonym of the Ruff (Philomachus) Calidris pugnax.
 
No. 42, also from page 242: "[Tringa] lamotina. Licht. 410"
[According to Rey (No. 410); a synonym of the (Red) Knot Calidris canutus]

... which most likely originates is "[Tringa] lomatina" LICHTENSTEIN 1854 (here), a bird from Bengal, or here, (in Bonaparte, 1856, however no description what-so-ever).

Also (in the latter version), mentioned (for example) by Hellmayr & Conover 1948, here, on p.166: "no locality, type from Bengal."!?! According to those knowledgeable guys most likely a synonym of today's subspecies "Calidris canutus rogersi".
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No. 43, yet another from page 242: "[Tringa] morodunka. Messerschm. 436"
[According to Rey (No. 436); a synonym for today's Terek Sandpiper (Tringa) Xenus cinereus]

Also mentioned, here, or (capitalized) as "Tringa Morodunka" here.

Where "Messerschm" (whomever he was) described is as such is all unknown to me!

However; still a synonym för the Terek Sandpiper (Tringa) Xenus cinereus. Which I assume has its origin in the Russian (or possibly Azerbaijani?) name Мородунка (Morodunka). Also confirmed here.
 
No. 44, from page 244: "[Turdus] Seiffertitzi. Br. 184"
[According to Rey (No. 184); a synonym of "Turdus pallidus. Gm."]

... which ought to be "Turdus Seyffertitzii" BREHM 1826 (here), a synonym of the Eyebrowed Thrush Turdus obscurus.
 
No. 45, also from page 244: "[Turdus] Wheitei. Eyt. 169"
[According to Rey (No. 169); a synonym for "Turdus varius. Pall." (here) which, in its turn, is (as far as I can tell) a synonym of Zoothera (dauma) aurea ... ?)

... which ought to be (yet another typo) for "Turdus Whitei NOBIS" EYTON 1836 (here).
 
No. 46, from page 245: "[Vanellus] Villotai. Audouin. 386"
[According to Rey (No. 386); a synonym of "Vanellus leucurus. Glog"]

... which ought to be "Vanellus villotaei" AUDOUIN 1826 (OD unseen by me), a synonym of today's White-tailed Lapwing Vanellus leucurus LICHTENSTEIN 1823 a k a Chettusia leucura.
 
No. 47, from page 246: "[Vultur] fulvus, Kolbei. Schl. 1", "[Vultur] Kolbei. Temm. (J. Kl.) 1" and "[Vultur] Kolbei. Lath. 1" + "[Vultur] Kolbei. Crezschm. 1"
[According to Rey (No. 1) a synonym of today's (Eurasian) Griffon Gyps fulvus]

... which ought to be "V. [Vultur] Kolbii" LATHAM 1801, or 1802 (here)

According to the Richmond Card for "Gyps Kolbii" (here): "Named for Peter Kolbe".

Today's Key explain this eponym as:
kolbii
Dr Peter Kolb (1675-1726) German philosopher in the Dutch employ, astronomer in South Africa 1705-1713 (his name was also spelled Kolbe and Kolben) (syn. Gyps coprotheres (ex “Aigle chasse-fiente” of Kolbe 1741 (French ed.), and “Chasse-Fiente” of Levaillant 1796, pl. 10)).
His true name? Who knows? If there was/is such a thing as "true", when it comes to spelling in the late 1600-hundreds.
 
No. 48, also from page 246: "[Vultur] trincalos. Bechst. 1"
[According to Rey (No. 1) a synonym of today's (Eurasian) Griffon Gyps fulvus]

... which ought to have its origin in "Vultur Trencalos Bechstein" listed, by Ranzani in 1823 (here), as a synonym for (the same species as Rey claimed); "Vultur fulvus Lin.", ...

If so originating in a Catalan Vulture name (according to this Richmond card) ... "of the Gypaetos"!

If Bechstein ever, somewhere wrote it with "Trincalos" is unknown to me. And; if this Catalan name truly, originally, pre-scientific-nomenclature was used (locally) for or for the (Eurasian) Griffon Gyps fulvus or for the Lammergeier Gypaetus barbatus is as well unknown (to me).

__________________________


Well, that´s it. My session in the "asylum" is over. That´s all the 48 "odd ones", those unfamiliar names, that simply caught the eye!

A lot of typos, errors and/or purist corrections, for sure, (and equally a lot of unnecessary work, I agree! ;)), but at least a few red ones, not included in today's Key. Or maybe they, as well, are only typos/erroneous versions of names already known ... names that I simply didn´t manage to find? And those 48 was only what I found at a first glance, quickly flipping through this book, simply taking notice on whatever caught the eye. Rey's book could include many, many more!

For example, it also gives us the synonym (question mark, in today's Key) for Alauda/Calandrella "Kollyi. Cab." (pp.165, 176) as equal of "No.278"; (i.e. "Alauda brachydactyla Leisl.") which is today's (Greater) Short-toed lark (Calandrella brachydactyla LEISLER 1814. As well as other "question marked" synonyms in the Key. If Eugène Rey was/is right in any of those his claims is all unknown to me. But I sure wouldn´t bet on it!

To me it looks like it could, might be worth the trouble going through all of it, every single name, used by Rey ... in the whole book! Quite a task, a challenge I wouldn't recommend to anyone. Too much work, and "very little pay". Such a Sisyphean job certainly won´t be done by me, I´ve got too much on my Plate, as it is. This thread alone was more (far more) than enough!

I'm done. Time for a Summer break.

Björn

PS: The above said; without even considering to look at any of the generic names, used by Rey! Like; the very first one; "Acnemius. Gray." (= Acnemis, Kaup) or "Gennaja. Kaup." (= Gennaia, Kaup) ... and onwards. Rey was surely a tiresome guy!
___
 
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His true name? Who knows? If there was/is such a thing as "true", when it comes to spelling in the late 1600-hundreds.

In Danish writings from that period, there was no set spelling of names from what I have seen.

Niels
 
If a synonym of today's Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus or the Barn Owl Tyto alba is all unknown to me. Is it possible to tell either way by Brehm's description?
A Barn Owl it is. Strix at that date was universally used for barn owls. "Schleiereule" in German is Barn Owl. The Latin diagnosis indicates a bird with flavescent upperparts and immaculate white underparts. Last, Short-eared Owl is "Die kurzörige Eule" Brachiotos palustris on the next page.
 
No. 25, from page 210: "[Merops] chaddaejr. Forsk. 102"
[According to Rey (No. 102); a synonym of today's Blue-cheeked Bee-eater Merops persicus]

... as far as I know this ought to be The Bee-eater described by Peter Forsskål in 1775, as: "Merops ægyptius, totus viridis, gula flava, ..." (here), which (as I understand it) is not a binomial name, simply a description, in Latin ... whith the additional info; its Arabian name: "Chaddæjr."

I´ve seen no trace of it being used as a scientific ditto! Has it?
MEROPS ÆEGYPTIUS (the genus name followed by a word singled-out by the use of small capitals, the rest of the diagnosis being in lower case italics) is a binomen. Chaddæjr is indeed just the Arabian local name.
 
No. 35, from page 223: "[Picus] baskiriensis. Verr. 86"
[According to Rey (No. 86); a synonym of "Picus numidicus", which to me must be today's subspecies (Algerian) Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major numidus]

I have no idea where, or if, Verreaux (alt. Bonaparte?) truly ever used this name. In any case it´s also mentioned, listed as a synonym, by Dresser (here). Could it be a Woodpecker from the Basque Country (Baskien, in Swedish)? Or from the Bashkiri Steppes, of south-western Russia.
Bonaparte cited it in his Conspectus volucrum zygodactylorum [here]. (This is what Dresser is citing in the link you provided.)
Malherbe also commented on this bird [here]:
Je possède dans ma collection le pic que MM. Verreaux ont reçu du pays des Baskirs et qu’ils ont nommé picus Baskiriensis ; j’ai pu me convaincre, après une comparaison minutieuse, que c’était bien un jeune mâle du picus major.
(I have in my collection the woodpecker that Messrs. Verreaux received from the country of the Baskirs and that they named picus Baskiriensis ; I could convince myself, after a detailed comparison, that it was indeed a young male of the picus major.)
A bird is labelled 'Baskiriensis' on his [Plate XVI] (the #4).
 
No. 3, from page 172: "[Astur] polyoparejus. Heugl. (X?X ad.) 22"
[According to Rey (No. 22); a synonym of today's Levant Sparrowhawk Accipiter brevipes]

... no idea where, or based on what, this name originated.

And what symbol is that? A tilted/Up-side-down Male?
= "Accipiter polioparejus" nobis, HEUGLIN 1862 (here)

Yet another typo/error by Rey! However not included in today's HBW Alive Key!
 
= "Accipiter polioparejus" nobis, HEUGLIN 1862 (here)

Yet another typo/error by Rey! However not included in today's HBW Alive Key!
Not as such, but a mere variant of polioparea / poliopareia.
Additionally, spelled poliopareius on the first page of the paper where the name was introduced (*): [here] -- the 'j' was presumably a typo. (Not only Brehm and Rey make typos... ;))

(*) By Hartlaub, though.
 
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No. 1, from page 163: [Acnemius (sic)] "gymnopodius. Gray. 67"
[According to Rey (No. 67); a synonym of today's (Eurasian) Scops owl Otus scops]

gymnopodius is of the greek origin Γυμνοπους; γυμνός means naked, bare and πούς means foot, hence barefoot.

● No. 4, from page 173: "[Botaurus] fretihudsonis. Briss. 456"
[According to Rey (No. 456); a synonym of today's American bittern Botaurus lentiginosus]

Freti(fretī) is genetive singular of fretum which means strait, channel or sea in latin. So it is either "of Hudson strait" or "of Hudson bay" but bay should be sinum or sinus, then Hudson strait is more semantically accurate.
 
but could Rey have been aiming for "Curruca nana" HEMPRICH & EHRENBERG 1833? A double typo!?! And even if so, the latter is today's (Asian) Desert Warbler (Curruca) Sylvia nana ... !? Or what bird is manca?

manca is feminine singular form of mancus which means infirm, defective. Could this be relatable with nana that means midget, dwarf?
 
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