Macronyx ameliae de Tarragon, 1845 (1 Viewer)

[Taphrospilus]

Macronyx ameliae de Tarragon, 1845 OD here

The Eponym Dictionary of Birds claims:

Rosy-throated Longclaw Macronyx ameliae de Tarragon, 1845
Louise-Amélie de Turenne (DNF) was the wife of French explorer Marquis Leonce de Tarragon (1813–1897). The Marquis's mother was Amélie Louise Virginie Goislard de Villebresme (1788–1865). The longclaw may be named after either of these women. The original description is silent on the matter, perhaps deliberately so de Tarragon could avoid upsetting either lady.

The Key to Scientific Names

Amélie Louise Virginie Goislard de Villebresme Marquise de Tarragon (1788-1865) mother of French explorer and collector Louis-Charles-Léonce de Tarragon Marquis de Tarragon (d. 1897) (cf. Louise-Amélie de Turenne Marquise de Tarragon (fl. 1842) wife of Léonce de Tarragon (Beolens et al. 2014)) (Macronyx).

So indeed both are possible. I would tend to the wife Louise-Amélie de TURENNE as relatively newly married if 8 September 1842 is correct. Her life dates are still missing. So that needs some digging in Archive en ligne to get her dates. Generally the french people seem not to tend to use the first of all their names. This would also count against the mother (probably Virginie).

 

[l_raty]

Elisabethe Thomassine Louise Amélie de Turenne

• b. 2 Jan 1821, Paris, 1er Arr. : here, 100/101.
• m. to Louis Charles Léonce de Tarragon, 7 Sep 1842, Paris, 11e Arr. : here, 16/51.
• d. 11 Apr 1893, Paris, 8e Arr. : here, 28/31.

(She is certainly called "Amélie de Turenne" in various places, e.g., see : https://www.google.com/search?q="Amélie+de+Turenne"&tbm=bks. And the mother is called "Virginie Goislard de Villebresme", for example in the French Wikipedia. I'd tend to agree that his wife is a more likely dedicatee.)

 

[l_raty]

Phascogale virginiae Tarragon 1847 (Red-cheeked Dunnart, now in Sminthopsis; OD), although lacking a proper dedication too, may be more likely to be named after his mother ?

 

[l_raty]

Just to be complete:

• "Louis Charles Léonce de Tarragon Marquis de Tarragon (d. 1897)" was born on 7 Nov 1813.
• He was originally a Comte, and inherited the title of Marquis (see here) at the death of his cousin Arthur Charles Louis (1815-1887) (see also on Léonore): I do not think that his mother Virginie Goislard de Villebresme (Amélie Louise Virginie, Comtesse de Tarragon, 1788-1865) really ever was a Marquise herself, as currently claimed in the Key. In her death record here, 98/255, she was still called Comtesse de Tarragon.

 

[Taphrospilus]

Phascogale virginiae Tarragon 1847 (Red-cheeked Dunnart, now in Sminthopsis; OD), although lacking a proper dedication too, may be more likely to be named after his mother ?

Not in The Key to Scientific Names and Eponym?

 

[l_raty]

Not in The Key to Scientific Names and Eponym?

It's a mammal, so would not be expected to be in the Key.

It's in the Eponym dictionary of mammals, but without an explanation:

Virginia

Virginia Dunnart Sminthopsis virginiae de Tarragon, 1847 [Alt. Red-cheeked Dunnart]​

The type specimen of this small marsupial is lost, and de Tarragon did not specify a type locality. The significance of the scientific name virginiae is not known. The species is found in northern Australia, southern New Guinea, and the Aru Islands.

 

[Taphrospilus]

Sorry I should have checked.😔

 

[l_raty]

I might have made it clear from the start

My main point was that the fact that he named another species (be it a mammal) virginiae, in my opinion after his mother (I can find no other "Virginie" close to him), seems consistent with Macronyx ameliae being named after someone else.