Icterus pectoralis espinachi (1 Viewer)

[ElChivizcoyo]

Hello, there is an interesting story

I was researching about Spot-breasted Oriole subspecies and I found the name of the southernmost spp. Icterus pectorales espinachi and immediately tought that was about spinachs, this piqued my curiosity since I couldn't find anything about this name in the Helm Dictionary or in this forum.

After a few hours of research, I found, to my dissapointment, that espinachi was not referring to spinachs. Instead, this subspecies was described in 1882 by Robert Ridgway and named after Ramón Espinach, owner of La Palma ranch in Costa Rica, where the type specimens where colected from.

Here is the original description in page 392 https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/31825#page/412/mode/1up

 

[PScofield]

Manuel José Ramón Espinach Bonilla
Born 1843, Cartago, Costa Rica (this date is based on multiple published sources but marriage certificate suggests could be as late as 1847)
Married Gregoria Cerdas Galiano 1893 in Heredia (note this was 15 years after most of their children were born.)
Died December 22, 1922 San Jose, Costa Rica

Note the use of an "h" in the surname is very strange and not a typical Spanish construction. Ramón's various official records sometimes use it and sometimes don't. Probably because the officials thought it was weird.

P

 

[Paul Clapham]

It looked Catalan to me, and a quick search of Wikipedia tends to confirm that. And a lot of the people with that name are connected with Costa Rica in some way.

 

[Björn Bergenholtz]

Hello, there is an interesting story

I was researching about Spot-breasted Oriole subspecies and I found the name of the southernmost spp. Icterus pectorales espinachi and immediately tought that was about spinachs, this piqued my curiosity since I couldn't find anything about this name in the Helm Dictionary or in this forum.

After a few hours of research, I found, to my dissapointment, that espinachi was not referring to spinachs. Instead, this subspecies was described in 1882 by Robert Ridgway and named after Ramón Espinach, owner of La Palma ranch in Costa Rica, where the type specimens where colected from.

Here is the original description in page 392 https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/31825#page/412/mode/1up

Hi again Alberto, as I'm sure you know Jobling's Helm Dictionary (2010) was followed by the subsequent, now defunct HBW (no-longer) Alive Key (as of right now, put on hold, waiting for the BoW update), which had the following (short) entry about this certain Eponym:

espinachi
Ramón Espinach (b. 1843) Costa Rican landowner, rancher (subsp. Icterus pectoralis).

So you're perfectly correct, there's no Spinach, in sight!

On top of that: Paul X 2 (both Scofield, and Clapham) seems to have pin-pointed the dedicatee in full ... (even further away from any vegetables).



Björn

 

[RafaelMatias]

Still, in Catalán, espinach does mean spinach

 

[Björn Bergenholtz]

Fair enough Rafael, maybe I should have written; no actual, real, true Spinach in sight.

And Popeye (the Sailor) was still far, far away from even being sketched for the very first time ...



/B

 

[Taphrospilus]

Just want to add.

The Eponym Dictionary of Birds claims:

Spot-breasted Oriole ssp. Icterus pectoralis espinachi Ridgway, 1882
Ramón Espinach (fl.1880) was a Costa Rican landowner and rancher at La Palma de Nicoya. He apparently owned the oriole as a pet – it was reputed to have a wonderful voice, running through the scales perfectly!

 

[ElChivizcoyo]

Thank you for your comments!!