Taxa of Charles Johnson Maynard and Their Type Specimens

THE CERION (MOLLUSCA: GASTROPODA: PULMONATA: CERIONIDAE) TAXA OF CHARLES JOHNSON MAYNARD AND THEIR TYPE SPECIMENS M. G. HARASEWYCH,' ADAM J. BALDINGER: YOLANDA VILLACAMPA,' AND PAUL GREENHALL' ABSTRACT. Charles Johnson Maynard (1845-1929) INTRODUCTION was a self-educated naturalist, teacher, and dealer in natural histOlY specimens and materials who con The family Cerionidae comprises a ducted extensive field work throughout FIOlida, the group of terrestrial pulmonate gastropods Bahamas, and the Cayman Islands. He published that are endemic to the tropical western prolifically on the fauna, flora, and anthropology of these areas. His publications included descriptions of Atlantic, ranging from southern Florida 248 of the 587 validly proposed species-level taxa throughout the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, within Cerionidae, a family of terrestrial gastropods Cayman Islands, western Virgin Islands, endemic to the islands of the tropical western Atlan and the Dutch Antilles, but are absent in tic. After his death, his collection of Cerionidae was purchased jOintly by tlle Museum of Comparative Zoo Jamaica, the Lesser Antilles, and coastal ology (MCZ) and the United States National Muse· Central and South America. These snails um, with the presumed primmy types remaining at are halophilic, occurring on terrestrial veg the MCZ and the remainder of the collection divided etation' generally witllin 100 m of the between these two museums and a few other insti shore, but occasionally 1 km or more from tutions. In this work, we provide 1) a revised collation of Maynard's publications dealing with Cerionidae, 2) the sea, presumably in areas where salt a chronological listing of species-level taxa proposed spray can reach them from one or more in these works, 3) a determination of the number and directions (Clench, 1957: 121). Cerionid status of name-bearing type specimens for each taxon snails generally occur in dense but patchy within the context of the most recent edition of the populations, often with 10,000 or more in International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, and 4) when necessary, the selection of a lectotype (for dividuals. They can be conspicuously 185 taxa) or the designation of a neotype (for eight abundant when living on open vegetation taxa) from among specimens in these museums to and less so when living in leaf litter. Al resaict the name-healing type for each taxon to a though individual populations tend to be single specimen, which is illustrated. Type material fairly uniform in the size and morphology could not be located for three ofthe 248 species-level taxa proposed by Maynard. In these instances, neo of their shells, size, shape, color, and in types are proposed to make these three taxa objective ternal as well as external sculpture of the junior synonyms of otller taxa. Saict application of shell vary enormously among populations. the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature Such variation is evident not only through contradicts the authorship, publication date, and type status of nalne-bearing types for a signiBcant number out the range of Cerionidae, but even of Maynard's taxa that had been previously reported among neighboring populations separated in the literature. by less than 100 m. This lavish yet geo graphically circumscribed diversity has led to an extensive body of literature dealing 1 Department of Invertebrate Zoology, MRC 163, with cerionids. Much ofthe early work was National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian primarily taxonomic and focused on pars Institution, Washington, DC 20560. ing the various phenotypes among roughly 2 Curatorial Associate, Malacology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford 600 nominal species and nearly two dozen Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138-2902. genus-level taxa. More recent research, Bull. Mus. Camp. Zool., 158(7): 367-528, September, 2007 367 368 Bulletin Museum of Comparative Zoology, Vol. 158, No.7 particularly the work of Mayr, Gould, ies." Maynard's writings on the Cerionidae Woodruff, and Goodfriend, as well as their were confined to eight publications, sev students and collaborators (see Woodruff, eral of which appeared in multiple parts 1978, for an overview), addressed more (Table 1). Six of these publications contain basic biological questions: among them, descriptions of new taxa, and a seventh the origins as well as the geographic and contains a nomen nudum. One is an ad temporal stability of morphological and ge vertisement. netic diversity and the dynamics of hybrid Although Maynard's publications are zones and biogeographic patterns, both rare, specimens of the majority of his taxa Holocene and Recent. Yet, as noted by are not. In his undated sales catalog, May Woodruff (1978: 224), "the evolutionary nard (1924b?) mentioned having 200,000 importance of these remarkable animals specimens of Cerion, whereas the supple has been buried under an all but impen ment to this catalog noted that an addi etrable taxonomic thicket." tional 44,000 specimens, representing 30 Much of the breadth and a substantial species, were collected in 1924. Nearly all amount of the impenetrability of this "tax of Maynard's species descriptions mention onomic thicket" can be attributed to the the number of specimens examined. In his work of Charles Johnson Maynard (1845 description of Strophia extensa, as an ex 1929), who published 248 of the 587 val treme example, Maynard (1924c: 2-3) idly proposed species-level taxa (excluding commented that 23,000 specimens were obvious typographical errors), and seven of collected, of which only about 3,000 were the 23 genus-level taxa within Cerionidae. liVing. Maynard was a self-educated naturalist Shortly after Maynard's death (October and teacher who conducted extensive field 15, 1929), his daughter offered his large work throughout Florida, the Bahamas, collection of Cerion for sale to the Muse and the Cayman Islands (Abele, 2002; um of Collective Zoology (MCZ). Turner French, 1930; Johnson, 1930; Townsend, (1957: 151) reported that, "As the collec 1930; Turner, 1957). His bibliography con tion was so large, and the specimens so sists of 277 publications (Batchelder, numerous, it was decided to buy it jointly 1951), the overwhelming majority on with the United States National Museum birds, but includes works on butterflies, [USNM, now the National Museum of sponges, land snails, and many other areas Natural History, Smithsonian Institution] of natural history and anthropology. Batch for $500. The collection was divided elder (1951: 227) pOinted out that many of equally between the two institutions, with Maynard's publications, including all of his the holotypes being retained at the MCZ. work on Cerionidae, were "not only the A few duplicate sets of the larger series of work of his active mind but of his own Maynard's types were sold to various insti hands. He took pride in setting the type, tutions, so that much of Maynard's type making wood-cuts, drawing lithographs, material is now well distributed." Records and doing the press work." at the MCZ (Mollusk Department Acces Maynard's publications were printed in sion file 766) indicate that 475 lots of limited numbers and most are very rare. "mostly cerions from the Maynard collec For example, the prospectus on the inside tion, including all of his species" were pur front covers of each of the 12 parts of his chased by Dr. T. Barbour for the Museum Contributions to the History of the Cer and were received in the Mollusk Depart ionidae with Descriptions of Many New ment in October 1931. These were as Species and Notes on Evolution in Birds Signed catalog numbers ranging from and Plants (1919-26; hereafter Contribu MCZ 76001 to 76475. Specimens with tions to the History of the Cerionidae) these catalog numbers were in Maynard's states, "The edition will consist of 150 cop- collection at the time of his death. Com- THE CERlON TAXA OF CHARLES JOHNSON MAYNAHD· Harasewych et al. 369 menting on the condition ofthe collection, contradicted. By way of example, the mig Turner (1957: 151) wrote "the collection, inal description of Strophia scripta May at the time it was sold, was in rather sad nard, 1896 (p. 4), provided a detailed de shape, for the cabinet drawers had warped scription that lists "size of type, 1.30 by and once pulled open could not be closed. 047" and identifies the illustration of a sin The top drawers of the cabinets became a gle specimen as "fig. 3, front, fig. 4, side parade ground for pigeons, and their drop view of type." According to Article 73.1.1 pings cemented the shells together in a (ICZN, 1999: 79), this specimen would be solid mass! After transferring the collec the holotype. However, earlier in the same tion in its original drawers to the MCZ, publication, Maynard (1896: 1) states, each lot was sorted, cleaned and properly "The first portion of the present install labeled-a truly gigantic task." ment of this monograph is based upon Because Maynard was a dealer and col specimens belonging to the MCZ which I lector who for decades sold or exchanged have been permitted to examine.... I specimens to support his research and ex have returned the types figured to the Mu peditions, an unquantified amount of type seum, but have retained a set of co-types material was also distributed during his in my own collection." This indicates that lifetime. A series of cerions was donated the figured specimen returned to the MCZ by Maynard to the MCZ in 1895 and was and the specimen retained by Maynard for catalogued with the numbers MCZ 10242 his own collection are syntypes because to 10360. Correspondence and invoices in they can be considered expressly designat the Smithsonian Archives indicate that Dr. ed as such in the original publication (Ar Paul Bartsch purchased for the National ticle 73.2.1, ICZN, 1999: 81).

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