A survey of the Linnaean type material of Coluber berus, Coluber chersea and Coluber prester (Serpentes, Viperidae)

Author: Krecsak Laszlo  

Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

ISSN: 1464-5262

Source: Journal of Natural History, Vol.42, Iss.35-36, 2008-01, pp. : 2343-2377

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Abstract

Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) described three taxa that are currently in the synonymy of Vipera berus: Coluber Berus, Coluber Chersea and Coluber Prester. We survey the existing preserved specimens of Vipera berus in the collections at Uppsala University Museum of Evolution and the Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm. We give a short account of the Linnaean collections of snakes, describe the manuscript and printed catalogues on the holdings of the two museums and present the current disposition of the Linnaean collections. We review the type status of five specimens that we located and draw conclusions based on the catalogues and literary works that Linnaeus referred to. We designate a neotype for Coluber berus and restrict the type locality to Berthåga, Uppsala, and designate lectotypes for Coluber chersea and Coluber prester and restrict the type localities to Angelstad, Småland and Småland, southern Sweden respectively.