Title The type specimens and type localities of the orangutans, genus Pongo Lacépède, 1799 (Primates: Hominidae) Authors Brandon-Jones, D; Groves, CP; Jenkins, Paulina Description peerreview_statement: The publishing and review policy for this title is described in its Aims & Scope. aims_and_scope_url: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation? show=aimsScope&journalCode=tnah20 Date Submitted 2016-09-09 The type specimens and type localities of the orangutans, genus Pongo Lacépède, 1799 (Primates: Hominidae) Douglas Brandon-Jonesa*, Colin P. Grovesb and Paulina D. Jenkinsc a22 Karenia Street, Bray Park, QLD 4500, Australia. E-mail:
[email protected] bSchool of Archaeology & Anthropology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia. E-mail:
[email protected]. cMammal Group, Department of ZoologyLife Sciences, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, U.K. E-mail:
[email protected] *Corresponding author. Running title: Orangutan types and type localities Abstract Uncertain type localities undermine orangutan nomenclature. Bequeathed to the British Museum, the holotype of Pongo pygmaeus, according to Hans Sloane’s catalogue, came from Borneo and died in China. The historical evidence makes Banjarmasin its most probable type locality. William Montgomerie, Assistant Surgeon at Singapore from 1819-1827, and Senior Surgeon from 1832, supplied the holotype of Simia morio. In 1836 an adult female orangutan reached Singapore alive from Pontianak, Borneo. The holotypes of S. morio, S. hendrikzii, S. straussii and P[ithecus] owenii probably had the same origin, as pirate attacks endangered visits to other Bornean coasts. Absent from Brunei and north Sarawak, Malaysia, throughout the Holocene, orangutans occur there only as Pleistocene subfossils at Niah.