Singapore's herpetofauna: updated and annotated checklist, history, conservation, and distribution.

Given Singapore's location at the confluence of important maritime trading routes, and that it was established as a British East India Company trading post in 1819, it is unsurprising that Singapore has become one of the centres of natural history collecting and research in Southeast Asia. Despite its small size, Singapore is home to a diverse herpetofauna assemblage and boasts a rich herpetological history. The first systematic studies of Singapore's herpetofauna (within the Linnaean binomial framework) date back to Stamford Raffles and the naturalists hired by him who first came to the island in 1819. Specimens that were collected during and after this time were deposited in museums worldwide. Over time, 39 species from Singapore were described as new to science. Due to the entrepôt nature of Singapore with its associated purchasing and trading of specimens (both alive and dead), poor record-keeping, and human introductions, numerous extraneous species from outside of Singapore were reported to occur on the island. Such issues have left a complicated legacy of ambiguous records and taxonomic complications concerning the identity of Singapore's species-rich herpetofauna, many of which were only resolved in the past 30-40 years. By compiling a comprehensive collection of records and publications relating to the herpetofauna of Singapore, we construct an updated and more accurate listing of the herpetofauna of Singapore. Our investigation culminated in the evaluation of 309 species, in which we compiled a final species checklist recognising 166 species (149 native and 17 non-native established species). Among the 149 native species are two caecilians, 24 frogs, one crocodilian, 13 turtles (three visitors), 34 lizards, and 75 snakes. Of the 17 non-native species are five frogs, four turtles, six lizards, and two snakes. The remaining 143 species represent species to be excluded from Singapore's herpetofauna species checklist. For each of the 309 species examined, we provide species accounts and explanatory annotations. Furthermore, we discuss Singapore's herpetofauna from a historical and conservation perspective. Immediate deforestation and nationwide urbanisation following colonisation completely eliminated many species from throughout much of the country and restricted them to small, degraded forest patches. We hope this publication highlights the importance of publishing observations and serves as a valuable resource to future researchers, naturalists, biological consultants, and policy makers in initiating studies on species ecology, distribution, status, and promoting conservation efforts to safeguard Singapore's herpetofauna.

The original description and date of publication of emCylindrophis/em emlineatus/em and remarks on its type locality (Reptilia: Squamata: Cylindrophiidae).

The snake genus Cylindrophis Wagler, 1828 belongs to the  monogeneric family Cylindrophiidae comprising 15 species distributed predominately throughout SE Asia, with one extralimital species occurring in Sri Lanka (Bernstein et al. 2020: 535). Cylindrophis lineatus is a rare species known from only eight museum specimens (discussed herein), and a photograph of one live individual from Kuching, Sarawak, East Malaysia (Stuebing et al. 2014: 63). Despite being originally described with Singapore as the type-locality (Blanford 1881: 217, 218), it is currently understood that C. lineatus is endemic to western Sarawak, East Malaysia (Stuebing et al. 2014: 63). Wallach et al. (2014: 204) stated that C. lineatus is also found in Kalimantan, but did not provide any references. This appears to have been followed by Bernstein et al. (2020: 537), who provide a map indicating C. lineatus occurrences in Kalimantan. The original description of Cylindrophis lineatus is conventionally cited as Blanford (1881: 217, 218, pl. 20). Herein, we demonstrate that the authorship and date of publication of this taxon should correctly be Cylindrophis lineatus Dennys, 1880b, and discuss that the type locality should be changed to "Borneo".

Additional notes on the publication of the Narrative, Zoology and Notes from a Journal of Research into the Natural History of the Voyage of H.M.S. Samarang and its consequences for the nomenclature of decapod crustaceans and other taxa.

Captain Edward Belcher was instructed by the Lords of the Admiralty to conduct a Surveying Expedition of the various coasts and islands in the Eastern Seas using H.M.S. Samarang. During this voyage from 1843-1846, Assistant-Surgeon Arthur Adams, made a significant contribution to the collection of natural history specimens, and together with fellow officers J. Richards and W. Browne, he prepared numerous drawings used by Belcher to illustrate the Narrative of the voyage. Later, Adams collaborated with Adam White (an Assistant in the Zoological Branch of the British Museum) to describe the Samarang Crustacea, published jointly with Lovell Reeve on the Samarang Mollusca, edited the Zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Samarang and was the author of Notes from a Journal of the Natural History which was published in the Narrative of the voyage by Belcher. In his Natural History, Adams provided detailed accounts on some of the crustaceans collected with formal descriptions of species new to science thereby making these names available. The history, nomenclature and validity of the crustacean species cited in this work is discussed and a list of the available names is tabulated.

Hyastenus verreauxii A. Milne-Edwards, 1872, a synonym of Hyastenus elatus Griffin Tranter, 1986: lectotype designation and reversal of precedence (Crustacea: Brachyura: Majoidea: Epialtidae).

The majoid spider crab, Hyastenus verreauxii A. Milne-Edwards, 1872 (family Epialtidae), was described based on the material from "Nouvelle-Hollande" (= Australia) in the "Collection du Muséum", that is, the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris (MNHN). It was noted by A. Milne-Edwards (1872: 250) that the species is morphologically similar to H. diacanthus (De Haan, 1839) but differs in having a less developed hepatic region, as well as longer and straighter pseudorostral spines. Miers (1879: 26) synonymised H. verreauxii under H. diacanthus with no detailed explanation, and Miers (1886: 56) noted that this species "is probably a variety of Hyastenus diacanthus". Haswell (1880: 442; 1882: 20) identified Australian specimens as H. diacanthus and listed H. verreauxii as its junior synonym. Ortmann (1893: 55) followed the consensus but regarded H. verreauxii as a subspecific taxon ("var.") of H. diacanthus. Serène Lohavanijaya (1973: 53) treated H. verreauxii as a synonym of H. diacanthus. However, none of these authors provided a detailed explanation for the decision to synonymise this species nor was the type examined. This species has not been treated by subsequent workers.

The Brachyura (Crustacea: Decapoda) of the Deutschen Tiefsee-Expedition auf dem Dampfer 'Valdivia' 1898-1899: dates of publications and authorship.

The consequences for the nomenclature of the Brachyura as a result of the inadvertent publication of new names in the two editions of the narrative of the Deutschen Tiefsee-Expedition auf dem Dampfer 'Valdivia' 1898-1899 that were published before their formal descriptions by Doflein in the scientific reports to the expedition are discussed. Both editions of the narrative are shown to have been issued in parts (Lieferungen). Accurate dates of publication for the parts of the narrative and for Doflein's work are presented. A list of new taxon names in other groups of animals that may also have been inadvertently made available in the narrative is included.

The order Zoantharia Rafinesque, 1815 (Cnidaria, Anthozoa: Hexacorallia): supraspecific classification and nomenclature.

Many supraspecific zoantharian names have long and complicated histories. The present list is provided to advise researchers on the current state of supraspecific nomenclature of the zoantharians, particularly given the recent attention paid to the taxonomy, phylogeny, and biodiversity of this order. At the same time, several taxonomic issues brought to light by recent research are resolved. Details on the taxonomic and nomenclatural history of most groups are provided, along with appendices of invalid supraspecific names.

Pagurus Asper H. Milne Edwards, 1848, a subjective synonym of Clibanarius longitarsus (De Haan, 1849) and reversal of precedence (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura: Diogenidae).

The species-group name Pagurus longitarsus was proposed by De Haan (1849: 211, pl. 50, fig. 3) for a species of hermit crab collected from Japan (see Yamaguchi & Baba 1993: 272, 273). Dana (1852b: 464) transferred Pagurus longitarsus to the genus Clibanarius Dana, 1852 (first established in Dana 1852a). Dana (1852b: 464) also suggested that Pagurus longitarsus De Haan, 1849, and Pagurus asper H. Milne Edwards, 1848, were possibly synonymous by listing "Pagurus asper ? Edwards, Ann. des Sci. Nat., 1848(3), v. [sic] 62" in the synonymy of Pagurus longitarsus De Haan, 1849. Fize & Serène (1955: 72) repeated Dana's (1852b: 464) opinion regarding the synonymy Pagurus longitarsus and Pagurus asper. McLaughlin (2002: 399) and McLaughlin et al. (2010: 20) also considered Pagurus longitarsus De Haan, 1849, and Pagurus asper H. Milne Edwards, 1848, to be possibly conspecific, but considered Clibanarius longitarsus (De Haan, 1849), to be the valid name.

On two reports associated with James Wood-Mason and Alfred William Alcock published by the Indian Museum and the Indian Marine Survey between 1890 and 1891: implications for malacostracan nomenclature.

Two rare documents associated with the Indian Museum and the Indian Marine Survey for the administrative year April 1890 to March 1891 have been examined and found to have nomenclatural consequences for malacostracan crustaceans. Even though they constitute available published works according to the International Code for Zoological Nomenclature, these reports have rarely been cited. Dating these two publications is of importance as they make decapod scientific names available and, in a few instances, describe the same taxa. After searching the collections deposited in the Asian and African Room, British Library, the Administration Report of the Indian Marine for the year April 1890 to March 1891 could be dated with some degree of certainty as 25 August 1891. In contrast, dating the Indian Museum Annual Report proved more difficult because after examination of copies held by the General Library in the Natural History Museum, London, it was evident that not all of these reports were consistently published on time to meet an end of year deadline. However, the publication of volume XXII of the Indian Museum Annual Report for the year April 1890 to March 1891 appeared to be contemporary with the year printed at the bottom of the title page. As no exact date could be established with confidence, the publication date for this volume was fixed as 31 December 1891 in accordance with ICZN Art. 21.3.2. Therefore the Administration Report of the Indian Marine (published 25 August 1891) is considered to take precedence over the Indian Museum Annual Report (published 31 December 1891) and as such the names made available in the former take priority. As original copies of the Administration Report of the Indian Marine are not readily available in most libraries and few scientists have actually had access to these publications, the relevant Appendix No. XIII, in which the names of several malacostracan taxa are made available, is reproduced here. Since the appendix is not conclusively attributable to a specific author, it is considered to be written anonymously and should therefore be cited as Anonymous (1891). A number of names in Appendix No. XIII are available since they are accompanied by a brief description of the taxa they denote, and are either attributable to James Wood-Mason or remain with anonymous authorship; others are nomina nuda without a diagnosis or indication, or have been diagnosed previously in the "Natural History Notes from H.M. Indian Marine Survey Steamer Investigator". The nomenclatural implications for eight names made available in Anonymous (1891) are discussed: Glyphocrangon caeca, Glyphocrangon sculptus var. coecescens, Psalidopodidae, Psalidopus, Psalidopus mirabilis, Psathyrocaris, Psathyrocaris fragilis and Psopheticus crepitans. The nomenclatural history of various other taxa, initially denoted by unavailable names in Anonymous (1891), is also documented. The authorships of the various crustacean taxa collected by the Indian Marine Survey Steamer Investigator during the seasons 1889-1890 and 1890-1891, and published in two series of connected parts in the Annals and Magazine of Natural History, are also re-assessed and summarised. A rare document containing the list of R.I.M.S. Investigator stations for the period 1884-1913 is reproduced for the future benefit of the scientific community. 

Additional dates of Sir Andrew Smith's Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa.

We update the collation of the dates of publication of Smith's Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa provided by Waterhouse (1880) and Barnard (1950, 1952). In the case of nine parts, we are able to provide more accurate dates of publication (including day-dates for seven of these parts). For workers of invertebrate taxonomy, we provide an accurate date of publication for W. S. Macleay's volume on Annulosa. 

On the identities of the molluscan names described in A Short Zoology of Tahiti in the Society Islands by Anthony Curtiss in 1938 (Mollusca: Cephalopoda, Gastropoda).

Anthony Curtiss described two species of cephalopod and nine species of gastropod molluscs from Tahiti. Herein, we discuss and determine the identities of these eleven names. Ten of these names are considered to be junior subjective synonyms of well-known taxa, and one an unavailable name.

Dates of publication of the Zoology parts of the Report of the Scientific Results of the Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger During the Years 1873-76.

The dates of publication and exact titles of the 83 parts of the Zoology of the Report of the Scientific Results of the Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger During the Years 1873-76 are presented. Exact dates of publication for 71 of these parts have been determined using notices of their publication in contemporary publications. The dates of publication of the two Narrative volumes of the voyage of the H.M.S. Challenger (which contain available indications of new names) are also determined.

Names and publication dates of the Brachyura in F.É. Guérin (Guérin-Méneville) (Crustacea: Decapoda).

The names and dates of the publications of Brachyura of Guérin (Guérin-Méneville from 1836) are reviewed, and previously unidentified or overlooked names are identified. Several identical new names used in multiple publications by Guérin (also under the name Guérin-Méneville), and others that appeared in the same year necessitated the accurate determination of publication dates to establish priority. The authorships of three names should be credited to Guérin (1832): Gecarcinus lateralis (Gecarcinidae), Halimus aries (Majidae), and Libinia spinosa (Epialtidae), the first previously attributed to Fréminville (1835), the last two to H. Milne Edwards (1834). The overlooked genus- and species-group names Cyclocarcinus pinnotheroides Guérin-Méneville, 1838, are determined to be senior subjective synonyms of the genus- and species-group names Hapalonotus reticulatus (De Man, 1879) (Pilumnidae). Applying Article 23.9.1 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, precedence is reversed between the genus-group names and the correct name is Hapalonotus pinnotheroides (Guérin-Méneville, 1838). Current and widespread use of the genus-group name Thalamita Latreille, 1829 (31 March) (Portunidae) is threatened by the overlooked Thalamites Guérin, 1829 (21 March), and the precedence of the names is also reversed to maintain usage of the former. The genus-group name Eurypodius Guérin (Inachidae) is shown to have been established in 1828, not 1825. Included is a complete bibliography of the publications in which Guérin (also under Guérin-Méneville) established new names for Brachyura, with their accurate publication dates.