Björn Bergenholtz
(former alias "Calalp")
Here´s a theory, maybe worth considering, regarding the obscure scientific name ...
florenciae as in:
• the invalid "Piezorhynchus florenciæ" SHARPE 1890 (here), no dedication, nor any explanation [syn. Monarcha richardsii RAMSAY 1881]
Today's HBW Alive Key tells us nothing more than:
So; how about Woodford's wife Florence Palmer, of Bathurst, that he´d met in 1888, on the ship Ormuz (when she was returning from a long holiday in London), on Mr Woodford´s voyage to Sydney, just before he traveled onwards, to the Solomon Islands (for the first time).
He married Florence Margaret Palmer, the second child of grazier John Palmer and his wife Margaret Yates Beatty, at the All Saints Cathedral, Bathurst on 2 March 1889. I wouldn´t be surprised if Sharpe coined the name on request by the newly wed (love-struck) husband! Or as a polite marriage gift?
All the facts on her, and much more, particularly regarding Mr. Woodford, is to be read in: The Naturalist and his ‘Beautiful Islands’ – Charles Morris Woodford in the Western Pacific, by David Russell Lawrence, 2014.
Note that I haven´t read all of it, it´s a long Paper, so take the above for what it´s worth!
It´s just an idea ... a simple suggestion of a possible dedicatee.
Björn
florenciae as in:
• the invalid "Piezorhynchus florenciæ" SHARPE 1890 (here), no dedication, nor any explanation [syn. Monarcha richardsii RAMSAY 1881]
Today's HBW Alive Key tells us nothing more than:
However; without any dedication, nor an explanation, one tiny clue is given: the type was collected by "(C. M. W)" = C. M. Woodford (see earlier same Paper, as the OD) = Charles Morris Woodford (1853–1927), later Commissioner in the Solomons Protectorate from 1895/6 (? first report as Commissioner in 1896) until his retirement in 1914.florenciae
[...]
● Female eponym; dedication not given (Sharpe 1890, Ibis, 206) (syn. Monarcha richardsii).
So; how about Woodford's wife Florence Palmer, of Bathurst, that he´d met in 1888, on the ship Ormuz (when she was returning from a long holiday in London), on Mr Woodford´s voyage to Sydney, just before he traveled onwards, to the Solomon Islands (for the first time).
He married Florence Margaret Palmer, the second child of grazier John Palmer and his wife Margaret Yates Beatty, at the All Saints Cathedral, Bathurst on 2 March 1889. I wouldn´t be surprised if Sharpe coined the name on request by the newly wed (love-struck) husband! Or as a polite marriage gift?
All the facts on her, and much more, particularly regarding Mr. Woodford, is to be read in: The Naturalist and his ‘Beautiful Islands’ – Charles Morris Woodford in the Western Pacific, by David Russell Lawrence, 2014.
Note that I haven´t read all of it, it´s a long Paper, so take the above for what it´s worth!
It´s just an idea ... a simple suggestion of a possible dedicatee.
Björn