Dasyprocta azarae Lichtenstein 1823

Dasyprocta azarae Lichtenstein, 1823 (ZMB_MAM 1044, 1045) The two syntypes are from S��o Paulo. ZMB _MAM 1044 is an adult, mounted skin, with the skull inside (Fig 6). ZMB_MAM 1045���a flat skin, with skull���is a subadult, with the basioccipital���basisphenoid suture open and M3 partially erupted. For nomenclatural purposes, and acknowledging that pelage color is an important character for the taxonomy of dasyproctids (see Patton & Emmons 2015), we here designate specimen ZMB_MAM 1044, the most well preserved skin, as the lectotype. Lichtenstein described this agouti in his catalogue of the museum���s duplicates (Lichtenstein 1823:3). In the original publication, Lichtenstein stated that he based the name on Azara���s (1801) l���acouti, and gives a brief description, comparing it with Cavia Aguti (= Dasyprocta leporina). He also mentioned that the specimens came from S��o Paulo. Because the Generalkatalog, specimen labels, and Lichtenstein���s (1823) description all indicate that the specimens came from S��o Paulo, the type locality can be reliably assigned to this state. If a further restriction is warranted, we suggest restricting the type locality to between 49��20���W and 44��11���W, which encompasses the route traveled by Sellow in the state of S��o Paulo. The western portion of S��o Paulo remained relatively unexplored until the last decades of the 19th century.
Published as part of Garbino, Guilherme S. T. & Nogueira, Marcelo R., 2017, On the mammals collected by Friedrich Sellow in Brazil and Uruguay (1814 ��� 1831), with special reference to the types and their provenance, pp. 172-190 in Zootaxa 4221 (2) on pages 180-181, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.248623
{"references":["Lichtenstein, H. (1823) Verzeichniss der Doubletten des Zoologischen Museums der Konigl. Universitat zu Berlin nebst Beschreibung vieler bisber unbekannter Arten von Saugethieren, Vogeln, Amhibien und Fischen. Commission bie T. Trautwein, Berlin, x + 118 pp.","Patton, J. L. & Emmons, L. H. (2015) Family Dasyproctidae Bonaparte, 1838. In: Patton, J. L., Pardinas U. F. J. & D'Elia, G. (Eds.), Mammals of South America, vol. 2, rodents. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp. 2279 - 2366."]}