Nectariniidae (1 Viewer)

[Jim LeNomenclatoriste]

TiF Update February 19

Spiderhunters: Based on Campillo et al. (2018), the Purple-naped Sunbird has been restored to genus Hypogramma (from Arachnothera) and is placed sister to Arachnothera.
[Nectariniidae, Basal Passeroidea, 3.02]

Hypogramma Reichenbach, 1853, is preoccupied by Hypogramma Guenée, 1852. A replacement name is available : Kurochkinegramma Kashin, 1978.

TiF Update February 21

Hypogramma: The genus name Hypogramma is preoccupied, and is replaced by Kurochkinegramma (Kashin, 1978). Thus the Purple-naped Sunbird is Kurochkinegramma hypogrammicum.
[Nectariniidae, Basal Passeroidea, 3.02a]

 

[Taphrospilus]

Cyanomitra verreauxii or Cinnyris veroxii

I am a little bit confused about the Grey Sunbirds scientific name. OD here as Cinnyris veroxii. But....

and the specimen from whence the above description was taken, was given to me by Mr. VERREAUX, through whose liberality I have been put in possession of many new and interesting objects of Natural History.

So it looks like the name was given for one of the Verreaux brothers. But was Cinnyris veroxii like in IOC World Bird List or officially corrected as in Avibase? How would the code handle this?

 

[l_raty]

How would the code handle this?

The correction is based on:

32.5. Spellings that must be corrected (incorrect original spellings)
32.5.1. If there is in the original publication itself, without recourse to any external source of information, clear evidence of an inadvertent error, such as a lapsus calami or a copyist's or printer's error, it must be corrected. Incorrect transliteration or latinization, or use of an inappropriate connecting vowel, are not to be considered inadvertent errors.
[...]
Examples. If an author in proposing a new species-group name were to state that he or she was naming the species after Linnaeus, yet the name was published as ninnaei, it would be an incorrect original spelling to be corrected to linnaei. [...]

The key words here are "inadvertent error"... If the OS is not clearly the result of an inadvertent error (i.e., if it cannot be excluded that Smith acted intentionally -- say, in an attempt to create a word that would have a Latin pronunciation close to that of "Verreaux" in French), then the name must not be changed.
I actually have a hard time believing that anyone might "inadvertently" write Verreaux "Verox". And here, Smith didn't just do it once; he did it twice, as he also called an undescribed bustard "Otis veroxii Smith mms. Blue bellied Koran" in a footnote on p. 15 of the same paper.

 

[Paul Clapham]

And here, Smith didn't just do it once; he did it twice, as he also called an undescribed bustard "Otis veroxii Smith mms. Blue bellied Koran" in a footnote on p. 15 of the same paper.

But notice that he also wrote "Koran" for "Korhaan", also more than once in that same footnote. Was this also "inadvertent"? I submit that it was, and that Smith was prone to inadvertent spelling errors when writing foreign words.

Of course that isn't conclusive but a survey of Smith's work might confirm that hypothesis.

 

[l_raty]

But notice that he also wrote "Koran" for "Korhaan",

He wasn't exactly the only one to write it this way.
E.g.: https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q="black+koran"

If he had thought of "Verox" as being the correct spelling of the name, he wouldn't have written it correctly in his English text.

 

[MJB]

I actually have a hard time believing that anyone might "inadvertently" write Verreaux "Verox". And here, Smith didn't just do it once; he did it twice, as he also called an undescribed bustard "Otis veroxii Smith mms. Blue bellied Koran" in a footnote on p. 15 of the same paper.

Laurent, I have met many English people who either cannot grasp the pronunciation of 'foreign' words or retain in their minds any other pronunciation of a 'foreign' word than reading and pronouncing it as an English word. Hence, 'verox' is how they would pronounce 'verreaux'. Perhaps Smith, when forced to transcribe a 'foreign' name, did so letter by letter and not by writing down the sound of a word in his mind.

There is a long, and perhaps slightly dishonorable, tradition of changing the pronunciation of 'foreign' words that have been absorbed into the English language...!
MJB

 

[Björn Bergenholtz]

The same veroxii Sunbird is now cooking in different kettles, in two separate threads, simultaneously. Thus, a bit hard to keep up.

However, I find it pretty hard to believe that any (however undescribed) Bustard, by the name "Otis veroxii", would have appeared somewhat 'verox'/'verax', as in viridian (or green), not in any way, not even in the most minute detail.

Either way: Good luck understanding/solving it.

Björn
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