A critical review of the types and putative types of southern Asian marine and freshwater fish species in the Australian Museum named by Francis Day
Abstract
Specimens representing 160 nominal species of fishes that were named by Francis Day were among the nearly 2000 specimens sent to the Australian Museum by Day in 1884. The type status of each of these specimens was evaluated in light of new evidence obtained from the archival papers of Edward Ramsay, the curator responsible for the acquisition of the Day collection. Of the 160 species, 141 are represented by at least one specimen that must be considered as a possible type. Approximately 126 of those species are represented by syntypes or possible syntypes, 1 by a lectotype, 2 by possible holotypes, 1 by a questionable type, and the remaining 11 by paralectotypes or possible paralectotypes. These numbers greatly exceed previous estimates of the number of types of Day's species housed in the Australian Museum and include species for which types are otherwise unknown. Among the types of Day's fishes are species from coastal marine environments from throughout southern Asia, as well as fresh and brackish water species from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Myanmar.
