An annotated catalogue of the types of bush-crickets and crickets (Orthoptera, Ensifera) housed in the Zoological Museum Hamburg (ZMH)

Abstract

Types represent the ultimate taxonomic information of a species and hence represent the most important specimens in museums. The entomological collections of the Zoological Museum Hamburg (now part of the Centrum für Naturkunde) hold several thousand primary types of insects. However, despite their importance currently no type database exists and catalogues have not been updated since almost 50 years and are only available in German. Following the publication of our catalogue of Caelifera types, we here present an updated catalogue for the Ensifera types held in the collection in English language. 74 species are represented as types with 105 specimens; of these 44 are name-bearing types: 36 holotypes, 3 lectotypes, 4 syntypes and 1 neotype. The remaining specimens are para- (55), paralecto- (4), allo- (1) and neoallotypes (1). Most of the species were described by Max Beier (18), Tevfik Karabak (13), Josef Redtenbacher (13) and the former curator of the collection Herbert Weidner (10). In his catalogues in 1966 and 1977 Weidner recorded types of 73 species present in the collection and an additional 65 as potentially lost in the war; 71 of the types recorded by Weidner were still present, whereas two could not be found (Xiphidiumgeniculare Redtenbacher, 1891; Xiphidiumlongipes Redtenbacher, 1891); one species recorded as lost by Weidner was found (Lezinaacuminata Ander, 1938) and one species (neoallotype of Paradecolyainexspectata Chopard, 1957) and one additional type individual (paratype of Choeroparnopsforcipatus Beier, 1949) are newly reported for the collection.