Type specimens in the herpetological collection of the museo nacional de ciencias naturales (csic) of madrid: revision, catalogation and taxonomic update

Abstract

The Amphibian and Reptile type collection of the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales of Madrid has been revised during 2009 and 2010. This collection currently houses 613 specimens, 301 of which are amphibian and 312 are reptiles, representing 86 taxa. Special attention is deserved among Amphibia by the material collected by the Comisión Científica al Pacífico (Pacific Scientific Commission) (1862-1865), and new material from the Iberian Peninsula and South America. A revision of the historic material has been made and, as a result of it, some specimens that remained lost have been found. The reptile type specimens belong mainly to the Spanish fauna and represent species described in the last decades of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. It is worth mentioning among them the type series of some subspecies of the Balearic endemism Podarcis lilfordi, which constitute the 36,93% of the collection. The associated information to these specimens and their type series has been compiled and completed, and the nomenclature has been updated when necessary.