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| Sylvia subalpina Temminck, 1820 in Zuccon, Pons, Boano, ... et Brambilla, 2020. |
Abstract
We revise the taxonomy of the Sylvia cantillans complex, a group of phenotypically distinct warblers with mainly parapatric distributions around a large part of the Mediterranean basin. We redefine the species limits using a combination of mitochondrial and nuclear markers and we objectively link available names to the genetically defined lineages by genotyping the surviving type specimens. In addition, the study of archival documents clarifies the exact composition of type series and provides further evidence for the identification of lost types. These results support the recognition of three species-level taxa: Moltoni’s warbler, Sylvia subalpina (north-central Italy, Corsica, Sardinia and the Balearics); the western subalpine warbler, S. iberiae (North Africa, Iberia, southern France and extreme north-west Italy); and the eastern subalpine warbler, S. cantillans, with subspecies S. cantillans cantillans (southern Italy, Sicily) and S. cantillans albistriata (Balkans, Greece, western Turkey).
Keywords: species limits, Sylvia cantillans, taxonomy, types
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| Neotype of Sylvia subalpina Temminck, 1820, MSNM Av37427, ventral (A), lateral (B) and dorsal (C) views. The images were calibrated with the Xrite ColorChecker. |
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In conclusion, we recommend the recognition of
three species in this complex:
Sylvia subalpina Temminck, 1820 (Moltoni’s warbler),
monotypic
north-central Italy, Corsica, Sardinia,
Balearics
Synonyms: Sylvia subalpina Temminck, 1820
Sylvia subalpina inornata Tschusi, 1906
Sylvia cantillans moltonii Orlando, 1937
Sylvia iberiae Svensson, 2013 (western subalpine
warbler),
monotypic
North Africa, from Tunisia to Morocco, Iberia,
southern France, extreme north-west Italy
Synonyms: Sylvia inornata iberiae Svensson, 2013
Sylvia cantillans (Pallas, 1764) (eastern subalpine
warbler),
polytypic
Sylvia cantillans cantillans (Pallas, 1764)
southern Italy, Sicily
Synonyms: Motacilla cantillans Pallas, 1764
Sylvia leucopogon ‘Heckeli’ Schinz, 1821
Sylvia leucopogon ‘Heckeli’ Meyer B, 1822
Sylvia cantillans albistriata (Brehm CL, 1855)
extreme north-east Italy, Balkans, Greece, western
Turkey
Synonyms: Curruca albistriata Brehm CL, 1855
Dario Zuccon, Jean-Marc Pons, Giovanni Boano, Giorgio Chiozzi, Anita Gamauf, Chiara Mengoni, Davide Nespoli, Georges Olioso, Marco Pavia, Irene Pellegrino, Marko Raković, Ettore Randi, Hamid Rguibi Idrissi, Moez Touihri, Markus Unsöld, Severino Vitulano and Mattia Brambilla. 2020. Type Specimens Matter: New Insights on the Systematics, Taxonomy and Nomenclature of the Subalpine Warbler (Sylvia cantillans) complex. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 190(1); 314–341. DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlz169