Sao Tome Wood Snake

Philothamnus thomensis Bocage 1882

Philothamnus thomensis Bocage, 1882 * Specimens. S. Tomé and Príncipe: “ Isle de S. Thomé ”: BMNH 1946.1.21.60 [syntype, originally BMNH 1882.6.9.4; Fig. 26], BMNH 1893.12.27.17 . Comments. Bocage (1882 a, 1882 b) described Philothamnus thomensis based on five specimens from S. Tomé Island. One specimen was presented to the British Museum in the same year (NHMA /DF/ZOO/200/21/42), and another in 1893. Boulenger (1894 b) cited the two specimens sent by Bocage, noting one to be “ one of the types ”. Hughes (1985) argued that BMNH 1946.1.21.60 corresponded to one of the adults mentioned by Bocage (1882 a, 1882 b) and “ it would be wise ” to designate it as lectotype. Although Wallach et al. (2014) regarded this statement as a lectotype designation, Hughes (1985) did not take explicit action complying with Article 74.5 of the Code, and therefore BMNH 1946.1.21.60 should retain the status of syntype rather than lectotype. This may be the only surviving type, although it remains unclear if additional specimens exist in other collections.

Echoes of a lost museum: Revision of the herpetological collections sent by Barbosa du Bocage from the Lisbon Museum to the British Museum of Natural History