[Taxacom] Scolopendra sagraea

[Carlos Alberto Martínez Muñoz]

Dear Taxacomers,
Not too often the original reference of a name remains elusive. However,
for years a bibliographical frontier has been impassable. The name in
question is *Scolopendra sagraea*. It was published by Paul Gervais in 1837
but without the "N. sp." or "Nov. sp." he typically used in that paper.
Gervais cited among the references "*Sc. Sagraea* Guer. Voyage à Cuba de M.
de la Sagra, Entomol. msc.". It is clear that he attributed the name
to Félix Édouard Guérin-Méneville. What it is not clear to me is if Gervais
referred a publication or a manuscript. I think that Gervais just got bored
of writing "Guerin Iconogr. Règn. anim. insectes, ined.". His citations
were not necessarily consistent, like "Leach, British Cyclopedia suppl. 1"
and "Leach, Encycl. brit. suppl. 1". Nevertheless, the reference to
"Voyage..." is suspicious.
The page in question is at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2254820
I search for answers online every two years since 2014, without luck. Maybe
you will know or see what has escaped to me. Any thoughts?

Kind regards,
Carlos

Carlos A. Martínez Muñoz
Zoological Museum, Biodiversity Unit
FI-20014 University of Turku
Finland
ResearchGate profile
<https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Carlos_Martinez-Munoz>
Myriapod Morphology and Evolution
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