Platystira affinis Wahlberg 1855

• Main Authors: Dean, W. Richard J., Åhlander, Erik, Johansson, Ulf S.
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Taxonomy; Animalia; Chordata; Aves; Passeriformes; Platysteiridae; Platystira; Platystira affinis; La Grande Rivière
• Online Access: https://zenodo.org/record/6544807; https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6544807

Platystira affinis Wahlberg, 1855: 214. VERBATIM TYPE LOCALITY: “ In Mimosis terrae Damararum. ” CURRENT STATUS: Batis pririt affinis Wahlberg, 1855; Platysteiridae (Dickinson & Christidis 2014: 209), but see comment below. STATUS REFERENCE: Sclater 1930: 422 (monotypic), White 1963: 27 (monotypic), Clancey et al. 1980: 227, Traylor 1986a: 382, Urban et al. 1997: 589. TYPE MATERIAL: Wahlberg, in his description, gave data for both male and female. According to Sundevall’s acquisition catalogue, four syntypes of this species were received in Stockholm after Wahlberg’s death. Gyldenstolpe (1926: 65) referred to two “types”, so we cannot regard them as lectotype designations. The original type series consists of four syntypes: NRM 568749 [11689], an adult male collected 7 August 1854 at Swakop River; NRM 568750 [11691], an adult female collected 29 April 1854 at Walvis Bay (both of these referred to as types by Gyldenstolpe 1926: 65); NRM 90168195 [11692], a juvenile male collected 18 September 1854 at Swakop River; and NRM 90168197 [11690], an adult male collected 27 April 1854 at Walvis Bay. VERIFIED TYPE LOCALITY: Swakop River and Walvis Bay, Namibia. COMMENTS: Dates and places agree with journal entries. Gyldenstolpe, both in his type catalogue (1926: 65) and on labels in the NRM, consistently and erroneously spelled the species name as “ pirit ”. The nominate form, Muscicapa pririt, was described by Vieillot (1818, 21: 486) based on Levaillant (1799 –1808, 4 [1805]: 38–43, plate 161). Levaillant gave a vast distribution: “ Cette espèce est commune aux deux côtes est et ouest d’Afrique; d’un côté sur les bords de la grande rivière des Poissons et dans tout le pays des Caffres, et de l’autre, dans celui des Grands Namaquois, et notamment dans les bois de mimosas qui bordent la Grande-Rivière, de chaque côté de son cours: elle est cependant plus abondante à l’est. ” This translates to: “This species is common to both east and west coasts; on one side on the banks of the Fish River as well as in all the land ...