The signage says Pteromys nitidus, which appears to correspond to the Brilliant flying squirrel but I can find no reference of the species anywhere other than a few websites scattered here and there?
The signage says Pteromys nitidus, which appears to correspond to the 'Brilliant flying squirrel' but I can find no reference of the species anywhere other than a few websites scattered here and there? Anyone know what the Brilliant flying squirrel is a synonym for/what it was renamed to?
It's a Red Giant Flying Squirrel Petaurista petaurista. The genus Pteromys is an old synonym. There are several species synonyms also, including nitidus which has been given distribution ranges all over the show, including India, Thailand, and Java. The taxonomy of the genus, and this species in particular, is a mess.
@Chlidonias Thanks a lot for the explanation - it seems like a mix between the taxonomy of the genus and that of the museum both being a mess and in the latter’s case almost entirely outdated. Any idea what a Patagonian marsh-starling (Trupialis militaris) might be? Bears a resemblance to the meadowlarks of Southern Chile and Argentina but couldn’t find a matching species for that one.
The specimens appear to be from the late 1800s with the original (or copies of original) labels. I'd say "historical" rather than "outdated". It would be nice if they kept those old labels but added in modern taxonomic explanations, although that would be a lot of work and they probably can't afford the time or money.
The "Patagonian Marsh-Starling Trupialis militaris" is the Long-tailed Meadowlark Leistes loyca. The genus Leistes is another one with multiple changes over time. Originally the species were described in the genus Sturnus (starlings), but were then moved to a new genus Trupialis (derived from Troupial), which then got broken into several genera (Sturnella, Pezites, Leistes, etc) with species being moved back and forth over the decades.
Today Leistes militaris is restricted to the Red-breasted Blackbird / Meadowlark of north-eastern South America, but formerly also included what is now called the Long-tailed Meadowlark L. loyca of southern South America.
@Chlidonias Thanks a lot for the ID, much appreciated.
The reason I said outdated was because the labels appear to be modern and the gallery was redone in 2015, so part of me questions why the labels were not rethought and the species were not correctly identified. Then again, the NHM in London also has some taxonomic mistakes within its mammal and bird galleries in particular, so it appears to be somewhat of a running theme in this country...
