joekroex
Joek Roex
In trying to find the OD for Cygnus bewickii, I stumbled upon a nest of vipers, it seems.
The general consensus seems to be that the author is Yarrell, the year 1830. So far so good. But which publication?
First the story. A swan was shot on 7 Feb. 1829 near Haydon Bridge, Northumberland, UK. It came in the possesion of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle upon Tyne. R.R. Wingate was asked to prepare the swan for the Museum. He believed it to be a new species, but did not name it (narrative published in Transactions of the Natural History Society of Northumberland, Durham, and Newcastle upon Tyne 1 (1830?), 1–2 [here], read before the NHS on 20 Oct. 1829, but publication likely in 1831). He did sent it on to 'abler ornithologists'.
Yarrell acquired a swan shot in England (the mentioned specimen?) and presented its breastbone and trachea to the Linnean Society of London on 24 November 1829, convinced it to be a new species, though not naming it as he was still engaged in correspondence to obtain more information.
On 19 Jan. 1830, Yarrell presents his findings to the Linnean Society in a paper entitled "On a New Species of Wild Swan (Cygnus bewickii), Taken in England and Hitherto Confounded with the Hooper", and names the new species Cygnus Bewickii.
Publication of the new name takes place in various periodicals. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London 16 ("1833") (1830), 453 [here] is the well-known reference, although according to Raphael in Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 2 (1970), 66 [here] the date should be 1830 (27 May).
The description, "[Cygnus] rostro semicylindrico atro, basi aurantiacâ, corpore albo, caudâ rectricibus 18, pedibus nigris," found its way into other publications preceding the Transactions piece. Coues's "American Ornithological Bibliography" (3rd Instalment) in Bulletin of the Unites States Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories 5, no. 4 (1879), 937 [here], lists most them. Alan Peterson copies the list on zoonomen [here]. I've used only the earliest publications here.
February 1830, right after the meeting at which Yarrell presents the name, the following journals publish the description:
The general consensus seems to be that the author is Yarrell, the year 1830. So far so good. But which publication?
First the story. A swan was shot on 7 Feb. 1829 near Haydon Bridge, Northumberland, UK. It came in the possesion of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle upon Tyne. R.R. Wingate was asked to prepare the swan for the Museum. He believed it to be a new species, but did not name it (narrative published in Transactions of the Natural History Society of Northumberland, Durham, and Newcastle upon Tyne 1 (1830?), 1–2 [here], read before the NHS on 20 Oct. 1829, but publication likely in 1831). He did sent it on to 'abler ornithologists'.
Yarrell acquired a swan shot in England (the mentioned specimen?) and presented its breastbone and trachea to the Linnean Society of London on 24 November 1829, convinced it to be a new species, though not naming it as he was still engaged in correspondence to obtain more information.
On 19 Jan. 1830, Yarrell presents his findings to the Linnean Society in a paper entitled "On a New Species of Wild Swan (Cygnus bewickii), Taken in England and Hitherto Confounded with the Hooper", and names the new species Cygnus Bewickii.
Publication of the new name takes place in various periodicals. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London 16 ("1833") (1830), 453 [here] is the well-known reference, although according to Raphael in Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 2 (1970), 66 [here] the date should be 1830 (27 May).
The description, "[Cygnus] rostro semicylindrico atro, basi aurantiacâ, corpore albo, caudâ rectricibus 18, pedibus nigris," found its way into other publications preceding the Transactions piece. Coues's "American Ornithological Bibliography" (3rd Instalment) in Bulletin of the Unites States Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories 5, no. 4 (1879), 937 [here], lists most them. Alan Peterson copies the list on zoonomen [here]. I've used only the earliest publications here.
February 1830, right after the meeting at which Yarrell presents the name, the following journals publish the description:
- Zoological Journal 5, no. 17 (1830), 133 [here]. Part of a summary of the meetings of various societies, this being the 'Zoological Club of the Linnean Society', according to Coues (and thus Peterson) authored by Blackwall, though no author is given, hence my assumption it is written by the editor, Vigors. Detailed is the Nov. 1829 meeting, with a footnote updating the identification issue to the Jan. 1830 meeting, including the description – according to Everhuis [here] published Feb. 1830;
- Philosophical Magazine, n.s., 7, no. 38 (1830) 146 [here]. Another summary of the 19 Jan. meeting, this time the description 'basi aurantiacâ' is replaced by 'cerâ flavâ' – wrapper says 'Published the First Day of every Month', thus 1 Feb. 1830;
- Edinburgh Journal of Natural and Geographical Science 1, no. 6 (1830), 477 – this is the publication listed as the OD by Peterson and HBWAlive [here], but this has a Mar. 1830, although HBWAlive mentions a note in no. 5, 381, which has a Feb. 1830 date.
) alt. 
