Zimmerius petersi (von Berlepsch, 1907) (1 Viewer)

[Taphrospilus]

Zimmerius petersi (von Berlepsch, 1907) OD here

The single specimen of this species, was collected near Carácas by Mr. Carl Peters, and which I have named after him is evidently quite distinct from the other species of Tyranniscus which are known to us.

The Eponym Dictionary of Birds claims:

Venezuelan Tyrannulet ssp. Zimmerius improbus petersi Berlepsch, 1907
Ernst Peters (DNF) was a theology student from Hamburg who made a collection during a short visit to Curaçao (1890).

The Key to Scientific Names

Ernst Peters (fl. 1890) German student, collector in Venezuela 1890 (Zimmerius).

If Carl (not Ernst) was a sudent is unknown to me (but see here also). Of couse his life dates as well. Why Berlepsch named him Ernst in the tile Die Vögel der Insel Curaçao nach einer von Herrn cand. theol. Ernst Peters daselbst angelegten Sammlung bearbeitet is very inconsistent.

I have the feeling this was already discussed in the past but couldn't find it. Don't be confused with him Carl Peters.

 

[PScofield]

Very odd.

I can find the Berliner Ernst Peters (b. 1864) in Brazil in 1880 and Argentina in 1892 but the OD of the bird is very clear its Carl we are looking for perhaps he's Carl-Ernst?.

 

[mb1848]

https://www.birdforum.net/threads/s...-zimmerius-petersi-von-berlepsch-1907.388914/ .

 

[Taphrospilus]

That was the thread I was looking for but failed to find. Thank's.

 

[l_raty]

As a way of recapitulation, and trying to incorporate what was in the other thread -

• He appears to have been called both "Ernst" and "Carl"; both names appear in the same paper published by Berlepsch in 1892; his own notes published in 1892 along Berlepsch's paper were signed "Ernst"; Berlepsch used "Carl" again in 1905.
• He was presented by Berlepsch as being from Hamburg (i.e., not from Berlin).
• He was presented by Berlepsch, and presented himself, as a Theologiae Candidatus / Candidat der Theologie.
• He was onboard the steamer Teutonia from Hamburg, in March 1889, near Guadeloupe.
• He worked as a private tutor in San Esteban, which is now part of Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, in 1889-1890, and provided Berlepsch with specimens while there.
• He also was on Curaçao, from 20 Aug to 5 Sep 1890, and collected there, before returning to Puerto Cabello.
• He suffered from a poor health while in the Neotropics, which limited his collecting activities and probably prevented him from also visiting Aruba and Bonnaire (which Berlepsch complained about).

Re. the two given names: things may be compatible with "Carl Ernst" (he may have used "Ernst", but have been called "Carl" by people who didn't known) but I'm not sure this is the only possible explanation. In Berlepsch's 1892 text, "Carl" might have been corrected to "Ernst" (except for one instance, which was overlooked and remained as it was), as a result of Peters' own texts signed "Ernst Peters" appearing just after Berlepsch's, which created an obvious discrepancy. How plausible is it, that Peters' own notes would appear in 1892, signed by a wrong name ? It seems at least conceivable to me that Berlepsch used a wrong name consistently for Peters, and that this was simply not corrected where no text signed by Peters was present to make the problem apparent...
He was probably rather young in 1889, but I'd not expect him to have been a teenager.