Subterranean Fishes of the World

6207

2023

Special Publications Museum of Texas Tech University Number 77

398 pages

This publication is available free of charge in PDF format from the website of the Natural Sciences Research Laboratory, Museum of Texas Tech University (www.depts.ttu.edu/nsrl)

This volume presents pertinent information (original scientific names, presently used names, common names, synonymies, type specimens, type localities, topotypes and near topotypes, date of most recently collected topotype and near topotype specimen(s), tissue availability, and remarks) in the form of three catalogs (one each for mammals and birds, and one for amphibians and reptiles combined) for species and subspecies of terrestrial vertebrates known to have been named based on specimens obtained or collected from localities within the State of Texas as now politically bounded. There are 431 entries in the three catalogs: 33.2% are mammals; 27.1% are birds; 29.2% are reptiles; and 10.4% are amphibians. Collectively, 151 (35%) of the name combinations applied to terrestrial vertebrates described from Texas are now in synonymy and presently unavailable for taxonomic designation. The peak period of discovery and description of these taxa occurred in the latter half of the 19th century, with 47.1% described between 1851 and 1900. Type materials have been recorded from about one-third (87/254) of Texas counties; 46% of these types were described from counties that border Mexico, with the remainder scattered across the state. Of the taxa described from Texas, 78.2% are represented by holotype specimens. A total of 207 naturalists were involved in collecting type specimens for these taxa, and 143 naturalists (68 herpetologists, 37 mammalogists, and 38 ornithologists) were senior authors of publications describing them. Biographical information is included about the most prolific describers and collectors of Texas taxa. Type specimens for these taxa are held by 77 museums and collections, including 19 in Texas, 50 institutions in 23 other US states and the District of Columbia, and 8 international institutions. We discuss the special importance of type localities and topotype specimens, including the importance of nucleic acid sequences (DNA, RNA) as a data source, relative to resolving taxonomic problems, and we propose a Type Locality Project designed to collect voucher specimens and genomic-grade samples from terrestrial vertebrate type localities in Texas, USA. The implications of the proposed project on the taxonomic correction process and conservation efforts in Texas are discussed.

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