HBWAlive Key; mission accomplished or mission impossible? (1 Viewer)

melittae.
Given Koelz's interests in mythologies and cultures, I believe this epithet could refer to Greek myth; Melitta, another name for Aphrodite, the Mylitta or Earth-Mother of the Babylonians.
(see also under manis).

melittae

• melittae as in "Aethopyga gouldiae melittae" KOELZ 1954 (OD here, see Mark's attached File) ... no dedication, nor any other explanation. And no Lady by the name Melitta (or even Melissa) found in the closest Family.

James Jobling said:

melittae.
Given Koelz's interests in mythologies and cultures, I believe this epithet could refer to Greek myth; Melitta, another name for Aphrodite, the Mylitta or Earth-Mother of the Babylonians.
(see also under manis).

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I was pondering in the same line of thoughts, James, simply as Wikipedia (here) has the following text, for: Melissa/Melitta ... "comes from the Greek word μέλισσα (mélissa), 'bee', which in turn comes from μέλι (meli), 'honey' ...", but also (among much else): "Melitta ... This Deity, Melitta, was the same as Mylitta, the well-known Venus of the Babylonians and Arabians. ... Melissa or Melitta is also said to be ..." and onwards.

If true? Or even relevant? I haven't got a clue. Either one might (from my perspective) fit a Sunbird (in Nectariniidae), frequently visiting flowers (rich in nectar), like a bee. Or like a loving godess?

For what it's worth.

Björn

PS. I doubt Koelz had a cup of coffe (Melitta Filtered) inventing, coming up with this name
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gilmorius

• gilmorius as in "Quiscalus gilmorius" TORREY 1894 (here) ... even if not much of an OD:

On this first occasion, however, the green heron was speedily forgotten; for just then I heard another note, unlike anything I had ever heard before,—as if a great Northern shrike had been struck with preternatural hoarseness, and, like so many other victims of the Northern winter, had betaken himself to a sunnier clime. I looked up. In the leafy top of a pine sat a boat-tailed grackle, splendidly iridescent, engaged in a musical performance which afterward became almost too familiar to me, but which now, as a novelty, was as interesting as it was grotesque. This, as well as I can describe it, is what the bird was doing. He opened his bill,—set it, as it were, wide apart,—and holding it thus, emitted four or five rather long and very loud grating, shrikish notes; then instantly shook his wings with an extraordinary flapping noise, and followed that with several highly curious and startling cries, the concluding one of which sometimes suggested the cackle of a robin. All this he repeated again and again with the utmost fervor. He could not have been more enthusiastic if he had been making the sweetest music in the world. And I confess that I thought he had reason to be proud of his work. The introduction of wing-made sounds in the middle of a vocal performance was of itself a stroke of something like genius. It put me in mind of the firing of cannons as an accompaniment to the Anvil Chorus. Why should a creature of such gifts be named for his bodily dimensions, or the shape of his tail? Why not Quiscalus gilmorius, Gilmore's grackle?

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... which I think lead us to this most unexpected Gilmore?! Who had seen that one coming! I sure didn't.

Thereby it seems to honour the Irish-born, American entertainer, showman, composer and bandmaster Patrick Gilmore (1829–1892), and his loud, pompous Military band, cannons and all! [Wikipedia; here]

A (silent) commemoration from one "fine spirit" (artist) to another?

However; enjoy!

Björn

Thanks, Björn,
In fact, I revisited gilmorius earlier in the week and had come to the same conclusion. At the same time I came to final decisions on granti, khosrovi, nigellii, phillipsi, phoebe, sophia and stokesii. The only new unresolved entry is steenbergii, which will interest you and your Scandinavian colleagues. There are currently 45 unresolved eponyms, and 82 epithets of undiscovered etymology.
As at 10pm yesterday the number of Key headers totalled 29,916. I am hoping to make 30,000 by Christmas.

"steenbergi Holb." should be by Holbøll, I believe. (He lived 1795-1856 -- the dedicatee should most likely be a contemporary.)
"Pastor Thomas Steenberg", as in [this] (1844)...?

James Jobling said:

Thanks, Björn,
In fact, I revisited gilmorius earlier in the week and had come to the same conclusion. At the same time I came to final decisions on granti, khosrovi, nigellii, phillipsi, phoebe, sophia and stokesii. The only new unresolved entry is steenbergii, which will interest you and your Scandinavian colleagues. There are currently 45 unresolved eponyms, and 82 epithets of undiscovered etymology.
As at 10pm yesterday the number of Key headers totalled 29,916. I am hoping to make 30,000 by Christmas.

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He seemed to be pharmacist in Helsingör here. S. A. Steenberg according here. And just a guess Schack August Steenberg (1790-1859) or here (but there born 1792). Birth 1792 supported by here.

But late in 1853 would count against him. Therefore Laurent seems to be correct (even with Godthaab mentioned in his text).

P.S. Not to be confused with August Krogh.

Taphrospilus said:

He seemed to be pharmacist in Helsingör here.

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Yes, that seems correct. Cited by Holbøll himself: https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/33410940 (footnote).

Ouups, that was quick!?

The Key updated into:

steenbergii
Schack August Steenberg (1792-1859) Danish apothecary and collector (Martin Schneider in litt.) (syn. Haliaeetus albicilla).

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Though ... this far, I´m not all that convinced.

But, first: Anyone who've seen the OD? What is the protonym? Author? Year?

/B

Before here was quoted in the key refering to here as a Nomen nudum.

In short -- this appears to be a manuscript name by Holbøll, which Gray took from the label of a Greenlandic specimen in the British Museum, and which he cited (with a misspelling) as a synonym of Haliaeetus albicilla.

This is not an available name -- a name can be deemed available from a source where it is treated as a synonym only if it was subsequently, but before 1961, treated as an available name, and either adopted as a valid name, or treated as a senior homonym; no such thing happened. Thus, strictly speaking, there is no OD (= publication where the name was made available), author (= person who made the name available), or original spelling and combination (= spelling and combination used by this author in that publication -- 'protonym' is not a term recognized by the ICZN, hence I prefer to avoid it).

But, of course, all this does not mean that the name cannot be explained.

Laurent (#310) is correct. Although I try to follow the Illustrated Checklist, the Key itself is not a check-list. The Key merely explains names, and makes no attempt to validate or otherwise pass judgement on them. I pluck names from the literature, and here syn. (= synonym) does not have the restricted sense otherwise used in taxonomy (see explanation of syn. under Symbols, standard abbreviations and short glossary). I hope that still makes it an enjoyable source of reference.

Taphrospilus said:

Before here was quoted in the key refering to here as a Nomen nudum.

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So we're looking at a single label, not even an OD ... tricky case.

However, this far, I'd say that another Dane; Carl Junius Optatus Steenberg (1812–1872) could, possibly, be as likely as the dedicatee.

I´ll look into it (and some Danish references) a bit deeper onwards. A bit short of time right now.

To be continued.

/B
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steenbergi.
I think we can discount Carl Steenberg (d. 1872), as Reinhardt, 1861, Ibis, p. 6, refers to our man as "the late Mr. Steenberg", and this fits well with Schack Steenberg's death in 1859.

Just starting to look into this Topic again ... but, Martin, sorry, I cannot follow your reasoning ...

Taphrospilus said:

...
But late in 1853 would count against him. Therefore Laurent seems to be correct (even with Godthaab mentioned in his text).
...

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Who's "late in 1853"? And, even if so, why would this "count against him"?

Do you/we know in what year that single label was written?

Björn

PS. James, I will check Carl Steenberg further ... onwards. But good point!

Sorry thought I have read 1853 and late in the key and may have mixed things up. Did not realize it was Reinhard 1861 here.

"Apoteker Steenberg" (Danish) / "Apotheker Steenberg" (German) is cited in many nature science-related publications, often with the additional indication that he was from Helsingør; and as I noted above, Holbøll himself cited him (calling him a friend, to whom he had offered birds he had brought back from Greenland); I have no real doubt that the person referred to by Reinhardt in Ibis was him.
Carl Junius Optatus Steenberg was a missionary in Godthåb, Greenland, not a pharmacist, and does not appear associated to Helsingør anywhere so far as I can find; I do not find his name associated to birds, or otherwise to nature sciences. His name was associated to Holbøll's in some documents, but what they had in common seems to have been Greenland itself, rather than ornithology.
I guess the main question here would be whether there might have been a reason, for Holbøll, to name a bird after this other Steenberg...?

Hartert 1914 https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14031721 gave no info about the bird that had this label attached to it, except that it was from Greenland.
Sharpe 1874 https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/8307840 listed five Greenlandic specimens of Haliaeetus "albicillus" in the British Museum, among which three juvenile birds collected ("[C.]") by "Governor Holböll" -- one of which might presumably have been "our" bird. These specimens were not listed by Gray 1848 https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/21658. If "our" bird was one of them, these specimens must have been acquired by the British Museum at some point between the writing of Gray 1848, and that of Gray 1869 https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/38575370, where "Steinbergii" was cited.
But, of course, the bird itself might have been collected (and the label written) significantly earlier.

steenbergi(?)/steenbergii/Steinbergii ... ?

Ok, enough reading done, regarding Steenberg's (White-tailed) Eagle.

The reason why I came to think of, and suggested Carl (Junius Optatus) Steenberg as a possible candidate was that he happened to be stationed in/on Western Greenland, first in Holsteinborg (today's Sismiut) in 1840, transferred in 1844 to Godthaab (or Godthåb, today's Nuuk), and he left Greenland ten years later, in 1854 (to became a plain Parish Priest back in Denmark), and as such (time-wise, and also by location) he could have been the one who supplied Holbøll (whom he seems to have known), with the Eagle specimen, but now, after having read all posts carefully (and whatever I could find on the net), I think I went astray ... no pharmaceutical skills found on that guy, and he certainly wasn't late in 1861, as earlier mentioned in this thread (repeatedly mentioned by Reinhardt, at least three times in that single paper in The Ibis; on p.5, 6 and 7!).

In Ornithologiske bidrag til Danmarks fauna [Ornithological contributions to the Fauna of Denmark], by Jonas Collin (1877), here, we again find "Apotheker Steenberg i Helsingør" [the Pharmacist Steenberg in Helsingør"]. He's mentioned twice (see bottom page 6, and top of page 23), from back in 1844 (... even if it's all in Danish).

If we're assuming that "Holb." (as written on that separate, single label) stands for Holbøll (which I think we ought to/should do), as in the Danish Colonial officer and (amateur) Naturalist Carl Holbøll [i.e. Carl Peter Holbøll (1795–1856)*], I might add one single, additional, tiny detail (but never the less important)!!

In Holbøll's own, Original Paper Ornithologiske Bidrag til den grønlandske Fauna (here), published in Naturhistorisk Tidsskrift 4 (1843): pp. 361-457 [translated into German by J. H. Paulsen, and titled Ornithologischer Beitrag zur Fauna Groenlands (1854), the one referred to, by Laurent in post #307] ... there's a small, but significant part (all left out in the translation) [my blue/bold]:

"... min Ven Hr. Apotheker S. Steenberg i Helsingøer."

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[... my Friend (Herr) Mr Pharmacist S. Steenberg, in/of Helsingør.]

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.. which talks (strongly?!) in favour of Schack Steenberg, from Helsingør (Elsinore). Whomever he was. I´d never heard of him before James presented the "only new unresolved entry" steenbergii, in post #304.

Thereby it does look like you're all correct guys (and that my hesitation/doubt was uncalled for). Apotheker Steenberg's connection to Holbøll does talks in favour of "your" guy.

But also note that there are quite a few Steenberg, also by the given name Schack (as well as August), listed in von Lengnick's Genealogier over adelige og borgerlige familier (from 1844) [Geneaologies over Noble and Middle class Families], as in Martin's fifth link (in post #306), even if the only one (that I can see) mentioned as a Pharmacist from Helsingør, is the one seemingly born in 1792. It ought to be him.

Thereby, I fold [even if I, for quite a while, (also) had a hard time to let go of "Pastor Thomas Steenberg" 1844, mentioned by Laurent in post #305]. But there seems to have been quite a few Steenbergs, in various capacities, on Greenland in that Era. And most of them ought to have knew, or had met, the "top dog", inspektør Holbøll [i.e. Royal Inspector (of Colonies and Whaling), the highest ranking colonial officer in Danish Greenland, in those days, also, at times, referred to as "Governor Holbøll"].

Well, with no dedication, no explanation, not even an OD, it's not the strongest case I´ve seen, but certainly a fairly (strong) circumstantial one.

Sorry for the disturbance of consensus.

If if turns out (in a distant future) that the name ""steenbergi Holb." [single ending -i (?), as in Laurent's post #305], or "steenbergii Holb" [double-i, as in Hartert 1912-1921], alt. even "Haliaeetus Steinbergii Holb." [Gray, 1869], wasn't coined by Holbøll, but by someone else, presumably by the name Holbeck, Holbein, or similar, it would (of course) be a completely different ball game (however, this far, nothing indicating such was the case). Any obscure, possible Mr Steinberg is even less known (at least by me).

Well, that's it, on my part. I rest my case.

Mr Steenberg ... over and out (at least on my part).

Björn
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*Carl Holbøll was/is commemorated in quite a few taxa, by the name/s; holbo/e/lli/i (see the Key here) ... even if I wouldn't limit his Natural History skills/accomplishments, to only "zoologist". On top of birds and insects, he also seems to have been a keen botanist (equally a collector of many specimens, in those fields, + fishes, shells, sea snails, etc., etc.). I´d go for (amateur) naturalist.
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While looking at angelica I found archangelica
From the Key: Late L. archangelicus archangelic < archangelus archangel < Gr. αρχαγγελος arkhangelos archangel, chief messenger < αρχων arkhōn, αρχοντος arkhontos chief < αρχω arkhō to rule; αγγελος angelos messenger.
But it does not list a taxon. I found Bonaparte archangelica in Catalogue Ois de Cayenne .
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/36735#page/35/mode/1up ,
D. angelica is from De filippi’s super rare Museum Mediolanense. Animalia Vertebrata, classis 2, Aves.
Bonaparte in a footnote copies the OD from De filippi. Atti della Sesta Riunione degli scienziati italiani tenuta in Milano 1845 page 404.

Dacnis arcangelica Bp. Thanks Mark, I have created a separate entry for this interesting combination in the Key.

Quick return to Mr Steenberg, as in steenbergii

Just one more short post (bear with me), simply confirming, in line with consensus (nothing else).

The same J. Reinhardt [Professor Johannes Theodor Reinhardt (1816–1882), who wrote the piece in The Ibis 1861, see #313 and #315], also wrote an even earlier piece, all in Danish, in Videnskabelige Meddelelser fra Dansk Naturhistorisk Forening (back in 1853), here, where we find : "Apotheker S. Steenberg", mentioned trice, as reciever of various bird specimens sent from Greenland (though the Eagle specimen itself wasn't mentioned in this particular paper, at least not from what I can tell).

However: "S. Steenberg" it is.

Even more convincing, even more convinced .

Björn

PS. Note that this paper also includes the OD of "Podiceps Holböllii" (on p.76)
[an original spelling (with the letter ö) not included in today's Key].