Frank D. Steinheimer

Phylogeny and biogeography of the core babblers (Aves: Timaliidae).

The avian family Timaliidae is a species rich and morphologically diverse component of African and Asian tropical forests. The morphological diversity within the family has attracted interest from ecologists and evolutionary biologists, but systematists have long suspected that this diversity might also mislead taxonomy, and recent molecular phylogenetic work has supported this hypothesis. We produced and analyzed a data set of 6 genes and almost 300 individuals to assess the evolutionary history of the family. Although phylogenetic analysis required extensive adjustment of program settings, we ultimately produced a well-resolved phylogeny for the family. The resulting phylogeny provided strong support for major subclades within the family but extensive paraphyly of genera. Only 3 genera represented by more than 3 species were monophyletic. Biogeographic reconstruction indicated a mainland Asian origin for the family and most major clades. Colonization of Africa, Sundaland, and the Philippines occurred relatively late in the familys history and was mostly unidirectional. Several putative babbler genera, such as Robsonius, Malia, Leonardina, and Micromacronus are only distantly related to the Timaliidae.

HALLE-WITTENBERG: The Zoological Collection of the Martin Luther University in Halle-Wittenberg

The Zoological Collection, founded in 1769 as a natural history collection with 2500 zoological and mineralogical objects, is now an integral part of the Zentralmagazin Naturwissenschaftlicher Sammlungen (ZNS) of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. The ZNS conducts research and teaching with these collections and uses them for the transfer of knowledge outside of a university context. The scientific value of the Zoological Collection is based on its large number of type specimens and exhibits of very rare specimens as well as the long series with animals from South America, Cuba, Mongolia and Central Europe. In 2012, two parts from the collection were included in Germany’s national list of valuable cultural assets. Today it is a centre for biodiversity research in Saxony-Anhalt. It is used within the framework of national and international cooperation to clarify systematic, phylogenetic, ecological and history of science-related questions as well as in the creation andup editing of red data books, checklists and species and habitat protection programmes, along with art and film projects, dissemination of knowledge, university public and press relations and building a sense of collective identity. The caption summarises the most important parts of the collection, provides a historical overview of collection’s development and describes its current, wide-ranging use.

Settling the name Diomedea exulans Linnaeus, 1758 for the Wandering Albatross by neotypification

On-going conflict in use of the name Diomedea exulans Linnaeus, 1758 for different taxa of the great albatrosses (Wandering Albatross complex) is resolved by neotypification, fixing the name to the large subantarctic form formerly often known as D. chionoptera Salvin, 1896. Application of all scientific names in the complex is reviewed, an annotated synonymy for the large subantarctic form is provided, available names for smaller, temperate-zone forms are listed, and unavailable and otherwise invalid names referable to the complex are identified. Syntypes of D. chionoptera and D. spadicea J.F. Gmelin, 1789 are lectotypified as well, fixing their names as synonyms of D. exulans to prevent possible disturbance to in-use names for the smaller, temperate-zone forms.