An illustrated catalogue of the type specimens of Lepidoptera housed in the Zoological Museum Hamburg (ZMH): Part II. superfamily Papilionoidea

We provide an updated catalogue of the type material of the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea deposited in the Zoological Museum of Hamburg (ZMH). We report 414 specimens labelled as “types” belonging to nine species (all of valid names), 74 subspecies (44 valid names and 30 synonyms), 59 invalid infrasubspecific names under the ICZN code, and 23 specimens of 16 “in litteris” (= unavailable) names. Out of the 414 specimens labelled as “types”, 171 specimens are primary types (8 holotypes/lectotypes and 163 syntypes) and 80 are secondary types; 120 specimens are infrasubspecific and hence invalid and are considered as “original specimens”; and 43 specimens are treated here as “Non-type” specimens (topotype). We present a full bibliography of the original descriptions and illustrations for all of these taxa, aiming to provide a comprehensive taxonomic guide to this collection.

The Review of the Autotomy of Agamid Lizards with Considerations about the Types of Autotomy and Regeneration

We present a review of the data on the intervertebral autotomy and regeneration of agamid lizards based on an analysis of information obtained over a 35-year period after the publication of thorough reviews (Arnold, 1984, 1988 and Bellairs, Bryant, 1985). It is supplemented by our own studies of 869 specimens of agamid lizards (Sauria, Agamidae) stored in the herpetological collections of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (St. Petersburg, Russia) and the Zoological Museum of the Moscow State University (Moscow, Russia), represented by 31 species of 16 genera. The manifestations of the ability for autotomy and regeneration in phylogenetic lineages within the family—Leiolepidinae, Amphibolurinae, Agaminae, Draconinae—are considered. A comparative morphological analysis of the structure of the caudal vertebrae was carried out using the Computer Microtomography Methods (micro-CT) in the following ecomorphological types of agama: (1) with developed abilities to caudal autotomy and regeneration, (2) with the ability to caudal autotomy but without regeneration and (3) without the ability to autotomy. The phenomenon of intervertebral autotomy (urotomy) in snakes is considered too. Possible ways of evolution of the ability to caudal autotomy as a defense strategy against predators are discussed in the phylogenetic context.

The neotype designation for Podismopsis gynaemorpha Ikonnikov, 1911 (Orthoptera: Acrididae)

The grasshopper genus Podismopsis Zubowsky, 1900 consists of 39 species distributed in Europe (Switzerland, Austria, Montenegro, and Romania), Russia (European part, Siberia, Far East), Mongolia, China, Korea, and Japan (Zubowsky, 1900; Lu et al., 2011; Storozhenko, 2021; Cigliano et al., 2021). One of them, Podismopsis gynaemorpha Ikonnikov, 1911, was described from Evseevka village (Russia, Primirskii krai) based on two males (Ikonnikov, 1911). Majority of types of the species described by Ikonnikov are deposited in the collection of the Zoological Museum of the Moscow State University (Storozhenko, 1990) while a part of type specimens are stored in the collections of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg. I carefully examined both these collections and found that the syntypes of Podismopsis gynaemorpha are lost. Here the neotype of this species is designated, described and illustrated for stability of nomenclature and according to Article 75 of the Code (ICZN, 1999).

Scientists from Zoological Museum and Zoological Institute of RAS — researchers of biological diversity and biological resources of the Caspian Sea

The origins of the study of the Caspian Sea date back to the 18th century, when the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences was founded. The first explorers of the Caspian were academicians P.S. Pallas and S.G. Gmelin. In the 19th century, the study of Caspian fish was continued by K.E. von Baer and O.A. Grimm. Karl von Baer from 1853 to 1857 made four scientific trips to the shores of the Caspian Sea. He pioneered the fundamentals of sustainable fisheries. The main result of the expedition of K.E. von Baer — N.Ya. Danilevsky was the Charter of the Caspian fish and seal fisheries, approved by the government in 1865. According to the results of O.A. Grimm expedition 1874–1876 many new species of worms and crustaceans were discovered and it was found that from 278 species of fish, 150 are found nowhere else. The study of the biodiversity of fish and their parasite fauna in the first half of the last century was continued by scientists of the Zoological Institute N.M. Knipovich, A.N. Svetovidov, A.L. Behning, V.A. Dogel and B.E. Bykhovsky. In 2004, sciemtists of ZIN RAS published the “Catalogue of Agnathans and Fishes of Fresh and Brackish Waters of Russia with comments on nomenclature and taxonomy”, which includes valid names of taxa of agnathans and fish ranging from type to subspecies inhabiting fresh and brackish waters (up to 13 g/l) of the Azov and Caspian Seas and the freshened estuaries of the rivers of the northern and Far Eastern seas (18 orders, 43 families, 175 genera and 486 species). At present, scientists of ZIN RAS continue to study the fish resources of the Caspian Sea.

An annotated type catalogue of the centipedes (Myriapoda: Chilopoda) held in the Zoological Museum Hamburg

Centipedes (Myriapoda: Chilopoda) are carnivorous arthropods that live in leaf litter and soil habitats on all continents except Antarctica. Roughly 3,300 species have been described to date but the taxonomy is still progressing and requires a thorough documentation of type material and type deposits. In this paper we provide an annotated catalogue of the centipede type collection at the Zoological Museum (ZMH) in Hamburg. This collection comprises 490 type specimens belonging to 141 taxa originally described as species, subspecies and varieties. More than half of these taxa were described by the pioneering myriapodologists Carl Graf Attems (Vienna) and Karl Kraepelin (Hamburg). The collection includes material representing 93 valid species or subspecies and contains specimens predominantly from Australia (33%), Asia (22%), Africa (20%) and South America (20%). Taxonomically, the focus is on the centipede orders Scolopendromorpha (56 valid species) and Geophilomorpha (28 valid species) with fewer types for the Lithobiomorpha (8 species). A total of 48 taxa (34% of type species) have been synonymized since they were originally described and the type material for 12 additional species at the ZMH is lost. We provide a brief historical overview of this collection from its origin at the Museum Godeffroy and the Johanneum in Hamburg, including the most relevant taxonomists and collectors, followed by an annotated taxonomic catalogue with details on all species that are or were represented by type material.

On Loneura crenata Navás and Loneura ocotensis García Aldrete (Psocodea, ‘Psocoptera’, Ptiloneuridae)

Here it is shown that Loneura crenata Navás, 1927 and Loneura ocotensis García Aldrete are distinct species, so the previously proposed synonymy of the latter with the first is not valid. Illustrations of the L. crenata holotype, deposited in the Hamburg University Zoological Museum, are here presented for the first time.

A checklist of Acari type specimens deposited in the Jalal Afshar Zoological Museum, Karaj, Iran

A checklist of the Acari type specimens deposited in the Jalal Afshar Zoological Museum (JAZM), Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran is given. From a total of 451 type specimens (which comprises 166 valid species names) cited in the list, 164 are available and two are lost. Based on the comparison of these type specimens, the following taxonomic change is proposed in this paper: Erythraeus (Zaracarus) ueckermanni is considered as a valid species and is not a junior synonym of Erythraeus (Zaracarus) budapestensis.

On the circumstances of the transfer of the Lepidoptera collection of Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich to the Zoological Museum in St. Petersburg

The work examines the circumstances of the transfer of the largest collection of butterflies, collected by Grand Duke Nikolai Romanov for 26 years, to the Zoological Museum of the Imperial Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg in 1899–1900. The gift was made on the condition that the collection would retain the name of the donor; that, because of its considerable size, there will be a special custodian; that it would remain untouchable and without resupply, except for the species that may come from the Russian Empire; that it will be available for the work of scientists and professionals interested in the field. Two requirements were added a little bit later. The collection should have been kept in the same cabinets as it was at the Grand Duke’s palace. Otto Hertz was to be left the custodian with the position of senior zoologist. The main sources of the article are the minutes of the meetings of the Physics and Mathematics Department of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, museum reports, books of receipts from the Scientific Archives of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, materials of the St. Petersburg branch of the Archive of RAS and the Russian State Historical Archives.