DOI: 10.18195/issn.0313-122x.74.2008.001-069 Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement No. 74: 1-69 (2008). Catalogue of type specimens of fishes in the Western Australian Museum (Second Edition) Glenn I. Moore1,2, J. Barry Hutchins, Kevin N. Smith and Susan M. Morrison3 Fish Section, Department of Aquatic Zoology, Western Australian Museum, 49 Kew St, Welshpool Western Australia, 6106, Australia lcurrent address: Department of Biology, Murdoch University, Centre for Fish and Fisheries Research, Murdoch Unversity, South St, Murdoch, Western Australia, 6150, Australia 2E-mail: [email protected] 3E-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT - The fish collection at the Western Austalian Museum contains type specimens of 704 species, of which 347 are primary types. A complete checklist is presented, including remarks on the current status of this material, synonyms, and a full bibliography. This revised catalogue supersedes the previous catalogue. INTRODUCTION The responsibility for the fish collection now rests Prior to this catalogue, lists of fish types in the with the Fish Section within the Department of Western Australian Museum have been published Aquatic Zoology. on three occasions (McKay 1965, 1966a; Hutchins Current nomenclatural status and synonymy and Smith 1991). The first two treatments include follows Eschmeyer et al. (2007). The order of only primary types, covering 53 species. The last presentation is based on Yearsley et a1. (1997). For was comprehensive, including 400 species of both simplicity, measurements are given to nearest primary and secondary types and consideration of millimetre. Readers should refer to original supposed types considered to be invalid. The last description for more precision. The following catalogue provides much of the basis for the present abbreviations are used in the text: inventory, which lists 704 species with both Specimens: cls - cleared and stained; skel. - primary and secondary types and invalid types. skeletal material; SL - standard length; TL - total This revised catalogue presents an updated list and length. includes additions, omissions and corrections to Locations: NSW - New South Wales; NT - Hutchins and Smith (1991), and should be Northern Territory; PNG - Papua New Guinea; considered as superseding the previous catalogue. Qld. - Queensland; SA - South Australia; Tas. - The Western Australian Museum's fish collection Tasmania; Vic. - Victoria; WA - Western Australia; was commenced in 1896 as part of a larger N- north; E- east; S- south; W- west (and multidisciplinary collection. Although the accession combinations of these). of specimens was at first slow, the fish collection Institutions: are abbreviated as recommended by has grown into an extensive assemblage of some Leviton et a1. (1985). 170,000 registered specimens. This is reflected in the number of type specimens now representing a total of 704 species, of which 347 are primary types. HISTORY OF THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN Many more manuscript names for specimens MUSEUM'S FISH COLLECTION housed at the Western Australian Museum are The collections of the Western Australian currently awaiting publication. Museum were initiated by the first curator B.H. Although the first descriptions of new fish species Woodward in 1896. Over the next decade and a in the collections of the Western Australian half, a growing number of natural history Museum were published more than a hundred specimens was accessioned into the collection years ago, the- period of greatest activity has been employing various catalogues. These included the the past 30 years when the then Department of Western Australian Museum Register (1896-1900), Fishes was created. Prior to this, the responsibility the Taxidermists Book (1900-1907), the Zoological for fishes had been with various curators whose Register (1907-1912), and the Catalogue of the main interests were with other vertebrate and Museum (1896-1912) (a register of specimens on invertebrate groups (see historical section, below). display, and not official registration numbers). The 2 G.!. Moore, J.B. Hutchins, K.N. Smith, S.M. Morrison fishes registered in these catalogues were each Australian fauna, both marine and freshwater, but given a single number, some of which were large numbers of freshwater species from Australia, prefixed by the letter 'V'. A separate Fish Catalogue Indonesia and Papua New Guinea are also present. was eventually commenced in 1912 by the assistant Coral reef species from the Indo-West Pacific region in natural history, W.B. Alexander. All numbers in are well represented, as is the inshore trawl-caught this catalogue were prefixed by the letter 'P' fauna of the state. A growing number of deep-water (abbreviation for Pisces), a system that is still in use fishes from beyond the continental shelf have been today. In addition, between 1966 and 1971, a Fish added to the collection in recent years. Osteological Catalogue was used to register skeletal The size of the type collection of the Western material using the prefix 'PO' (abbreviation for Australian Museum has increased considerably in r----pisce-s-esteologieal}.-'I'his-s-ystemJ.s..nolonger in use. the years since the last type catalogue (Hutchins and Much of the fish material that was registered prior Smith 1991) was pubhshed"""{70~versus-4(')(J-spedes).,--.-- to 1912, and those registered under the 'PO' system, Much of this is due to increases in the number of has since been re-registered using the 'P' numbering types of the following families: system, and none of the earlier systems are now Pomacentridae, 81 spp. (50 in 1991); Gobiidae, 71 recognised. spp. (25); Pseudomugilidae (including In 1974, the first curator to be wholly responsible Melanotaenidae - these two families are now for fishes, G.R AlIen, introduced a refinement to recogised as separate), 51 spp. (34); Apogonidae, 43 Alexander's system. This incorporated a method of spp. (13); Labridae, 40 spp. (17); Eleotridae, 36 spp. registration jointly developed by the fish (17); Blenniidae, 17 spp. (12); Tripterygiidae, 17 spp. departments at the Australian Museum and the (4); Pseudochromidae, 14 spp. (3); Gobiesocidae, 10 Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. spp. (3); Plotosidae, 10 spp. (3); Soleidae, 10 spp. (1). Instead of allocating a separate number for each Despite exhaustive searches and requests to other specimen, as was previously the case, all taxa with institutions, some type material could not be found. identical collection data are given the same 'P' Where this occurred, it is noted in the relevant number. Each separate species is then distinguished species accounts. If there is sufficient evidence to by the addition of a different three-digit suffix in suggest the specimens are lost, this opinion is the form of '-001', '-002', etc. Thus the 'P' number indicated by the statement 'missing, presumed lost'. component is a station number, which is further If the specimens could not be traced, but there is no qualified by the addition of suffixes. Additional direct evidence suggesting they are lost, they are suffixes can be added when, for example, future labelled as 'missing'. Many specimens within the studies show that specimens of two species were Terapontidae were irretrievably damaged while on incorrectly lumped under the one species number. loan (see Hutchins and Smith 1991) and this is Specimens catalogued prior to 1974 have been indicated in the species accounts. incorporated into this system by, in most cases, the addition of '-001' (e.g. P.3442 is now P.3442-001). Therefore, in the list of type specimens presented E.R. WAITE TYPES below, each registration number includes a suffix, The first fish types deposited at the Western even though it may have originally been cited Australian Museum were ten specimens without this addition. representing nine species described by Waite (1905) The collecting and subsequent accession of fish from Western Australian Museum material, specimens for the Western Australian Museum including Catulus labiosus, Dipulus caecus, collections can be divided into several periods. Synodus sageneus, Bramichthys woodwardi, These are listed below, including the staff Neatypus obliquus, Chaetodon assarius, responsible and the dates for each period. Cynoglossus broadhursti, Chaetodermis 1. B.H. Woodward -1896 to 1912. maccullochi, and Pseudomonacanthus galii, but 2. W.B. Alexander -1912 to 1920. confusion still exists concerning the location of 3. L. Glauert - 1916 to 1957. some of these specimens. In 1904, the director of the 4. G.F. Mees -1958 to 1963. Western Australian Museum, B.H. Woodward, sent 5. RI. McKay -1964 to 1972. two lots of specimens to the Australian Museum for 6. J.B. Hutchins -1972 to 2007. identification. E.R Waite (Curator of Fishes at the 7. G.R AlIen - 1974 to 1999. Australian Museum) identified most of the 8. S.M. Morrison - 2007 to present. material, noting that some species appeared to be Most fish specimens are stored in glass jars in 70% new (Waite, in litt.). These new species were ethanol, although larger specimens are kept in subsequently described in 1905 and supposedly either plastic polydrums or vats. Some skeletal and returned that same year. A partial list of the cleared and stained material is also held, in addition returned specimens, including the types of four to several mounted skins. species, is on file at the Western Australian The majority of the collection comprises Western Museum. At least two syntypes were retained by Catalogue of type specimens of fishes 3 the Australian Museum. The fate of the remaining P.60-001, Insidiator harrisii McCulloch, 1914a, i30 types on their return to· the Western Australian mmSL, E.3240. Museum, however, is open to question. Most of the P.65-00l, Polypnus tridentifer McCulloch, 1914a, specimens had originally been registered in the 3 specimens, 53-63 mm SL, E.3543. Taxidermists Book before the loans were sent to the P.68-001, Insidiator jugosus McCulloch, 1914a, 3 Australian Museum (numbers 6808-6827 for the specimens, 126-172 mm SL, E.2597.