By George Beccaloni, March 2018
[In preparation]
Alfred Russel Wallace (ARW) collected an estimated 5,000 new species (mostly animals) during his 8 year trip to the 'Malay Archipelago' (1854-62) and an unknown number during his earlier 4 year trip to Amazonia (1848-52) [many of his specimens were destroyed when his ship caught fire on the way back to Britain]. He personally named 307 new species (12 palms, 120 butterflies, 70 beetles and 105 birds) in 21 scientific articles and one book. At least 4,700 other new species collected by him and his assistants were described in about 350 publications by leading amateur and professional naturalists. About 250 of these species were named after Wallace, usually as wallacii or wallacei.
Below is a selection of a few of the most 'iconic' (well known/beautiful/unusual) new species that Wallace collected during his 12 years of collecting in the tropics.
1) PLANTS
Piassava Fiber Palm (Leopoldinia piassaba Wallace, 1853: ). A palm from the Rio Negro basin of Amazonia. It is famous for being a source of piassava fiber, used for brooms, ropes, hats and baskets. The waterproof, long, tough yet flexible, brown fibers are produced abundantly on the margins of the old frayed leafstalks which hang down covering the trunk to the very base in a dense, beard-like mass.
Catinga Palm (Euterpe catinga Wallace, 1853: ). The stems are used in house construction, the leaves are used for thatching temporary shelters, and mature fruits are occasionally used to make a drink.
2) INVERTEBRATES
Wallace's Two-clubbed Spider (Friula wallacei Pickard-Cambridge, 1897: 1009). This peculiar spider, a member of the subfamily Gasteracanthinae, is currently only known from the single specimen Wallace collected in Sarawak, which is preserved in the Oxford Museum of Natural History, UK.
Drawing of Friula wallacei from Pickard-Cambridge, 1897
Holotype of Friula wallacei in Oxford University Museum. Photograph by Joseph Koh.
Wallace's Cyriopalus Beetle (Cyriopalus wallacei): Collected by Wallace in Sarawak, Borneo and named after Wallace by Pascoe in 1866.
Wallace’s Longhorn Beetle (Batocera wallacei), a species discovered by Wallace on the Aru Islands and named after him by Thomson in 1858.. This species probably has the longest antennae of any beetle.
Wallace's Jewel Beetle (Calodema wallacei): Collected by Wallace in New Guinea named by Deyrolle in 1864.
Resplendent Jewel Beetle (Chrysochroa wallacei): Collected by Wallace in Malaysia and named by Deyrolle in 1864.
Kei Jewel Beetle (Cyphogastra calepyga): Collected by Wallace on Kei Island and named by Thomson in 1857. Wallace writes the following about his capture of this species in The Malay Archipelago: "Of one grand new beetle, glittering with ruby and emerald tints, I got a large quantity, having first detected one of its wing-cases ornamenting the outside of a native's tobacco pouch. It was quite a new species, and had not been found elsewhere than on this little island. It is one of the Buprestidae, and has been named Cyphogastra calepyga."
Wallace's Stag Beetle (Prosopocoilus wallacei): Collected by Wallace in xxx and named by Parry in 1862.
Wallace's Giant Bee (Chalicodoma pluto Smith, 1860: ). Collected by Wallace on Bacan Island, Indonesia in 1859. This species is the largest bee in the world. Females (like the specimen illustrated) have huge jaws which they use to collect resin to line their nests, which they excavate in arboreal termite nests. For more information see http://www.pollinators.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/giant-bee.pdf
Rajah Brooke's Birdwing Butterfly (Ornithoptera brookiana Wallace, 1855: 104 = Trogonoptera brookiana): Named in honour of Raja Brooke the ruler of Sarawak, Borneo. The species was described from a specimen from Sarawak which had been given to Wallace. He writes the following about his capture of this species in The Malay Archipelago: "My collection of butterflies was not large; but I obtained some rare and very handsome insects, the most remarkable being the Ornithoptera Brookeana, one of the most elegant species known......This species, which was then quite new and which I named after Sir James Brooke, was very rare. It was seen occasionally flying swiftly in the clearings, and now and then settling for an instant at puddles and muddy places, so that I only succeeded in capturing two or three specimens.." The species was chosen to be Malaysia's National Butterfly.
Lithograph of T. brookiana from Hewitson, 1855
Wallace's Golden Birdwing Butterfly (Ornithoptera croesus Wallace, 1859: 70). This famous species was first collected by Wallace in 1859 on Bacan Island, Indonesia and named by him after Crösus, a mythological king famed for his wealth. He writes the following about his capture of this species in his published letter of 1859: "You may perhaps imagine my excitement when, after seeing it only two or three times in three months, I at length took a male Ornithoptera. When I took it out of my net, and opened its gorgeous wings, I was nearer fainting with delight and excitement than I have ever been in my life; my heart beat violently, and the blood rushed to my head, leaving a headache for the rest of the day. The insect surpassed my expectations, being, though allied to Priamus, perfectly new, distinct, and of a most gorgeous and unique colour; it is a fiery golden orange, changing, when viewed obliquely, to opaline-yellow and green. It is, I think, the finest of the Ornithoptera, and consequently the finest butterfly in the world?”
Male O. croesus collected by Wallace in the collection of London's Natural History Museum. This specimen may
in fact be the first one he collected - the one mentioned above. © Natural History Museum, London.
Timor Birdwing Butterfly (Troides plato): Collected by Wallace in Timor and named by him in 1865.
Pericles' Swallowtail Butterfly (Papilio pericles): Collected by Wallace in Timor and named by him in 1865.
Wallace's Glorious Begum Butterfly (Agatasa calydonia): One specimen was collected on mainland Malaysia by Wallace and named by Hewitson in 1854. Wallace writes the following about his capture of this species in The Malay Archipelago: "I was one afternoon walking along a favourite road through the forest, with my gun, when I saw a butterfly on the ground. It was large, handsome, and quite new to me, and I got close to it before it flew away. I then observed that it had been settling on the dung of some carnivorous animal. Thinking it might return to the same spot, I next day after breakfast took my net, and as I approached the place was delighted to see the same butterfly sitting on the same piece of dung, and succeeded in capturing it. It was an entirely new species of great beauty, and has been named by Mr. Hewitson--Nymphalis calydona. I never saw another specimen of it, and it was only after twelve years had elapsed that a second individual reached this country from the northwestern part of Borneo."
Wallace's Map Butterfly (Cyrestis nais): Collected by Wallace in Timor and named by him in 1869.
3) AMPHIBIANS
Wallace's Flying Frog (Rhacophorus nigropalmatus) was discovered by Wallace in Sarawak, Borneo and named by Boulenger in 1895 (not based on a specimen Wallace collected, however). Wallace writes the following about his capture of this species in The Malay Archipelago: "One of the most curious and interesting reptiles which I met with in Borneo was a large tree-frog, which was brought me by one of the Chinese workmen. He assured me that he had seen it come down in a slanting direction from a high tree, as if it flew. On examining it, I found the toes very long and fully webbed to their very extremity, so that when expanded they offered a surface much larger than the body......This is, I believe, the first instance known of a "flying frog," and it is very interesting to Darwinians as showing that the variability of the toes which have been already modified for purposes of swimming and adhesive climbing, have been taken advantage of to enable an allied species to pass through the air like the flying lizard." This watercolour was painted by Wallace in Sarawak and was used as the basis of the woodcut illustration of this species in The Malay Archipelago.
4) BIRDS
Wallace's Hawk-Eagle (Spizaetus nanus Wallace, 1868 = Nisaetus nanus), - described by Wallace from a single specimen from Sarawak collected in 1856.
Wallace’s Scops Owl (Otus silvicola)
Moluccan Megapode (Megapodius wallacei = Eulipoa wallacei). This curious species was discovered by Wallace on Halmahera Island in Indonesia. In The Malay Archipelago Wallace wrote: "I was so fortunate as to discover a new species (Megapodius wallacei), which inhabits Gilolo, Ternate, and Bouru. It is the handsomest bird of the genus, being richly banded with reddish brown on the back and wings; and it differs from the other species in its habits. It frequents the forests of the interior, and comes down to the sea-beach to deposit its eggs, but instead of making a mound, or scratching a hole to receive them, it burrows into the sand to the depth of about three feet obliquely downwards, and deposits its eggs at the bottom. It then loosely covers up the mouth of the hole, and is said by the natives to obliterate and disguise its own footmarks leading to and from the hole, by making many other tracks and scratches in the neighbourhood. It lays its eggs only at night, and at Bouru a bird was caught early one morning as it was coming out of its hole, in which several eggs were found. All these birds seem to be semi-nocturnal, for their loud wailing cries may be constantly heard late into the night and long before daybreak in the morning. The eggs are all of a rusty red colour, and very large for the size of the bird, being generally three or three and a quarter inches long, by two or two and a quarter wide. They are very good eating, and are much sought after by the natives."
Sulawesi Myna (Basilornis celebensis Gray, 1861: 184). Collected by ARW in Sulawesi.
Wallace's Standard-Wing Bird of Paradise (Semioptera wallacei), ‘...an entirely new form of Bird of Paradise, discovered by myself in the island of Batchian, and especially distinguished by a pair of long narrow feathers of a white colour . . . [which] are capable of being erected at pleasure.’
Aru Giant Kingfisher (Dacelo tyro). John Gould wrote in 1860 that this species ‘…must be regarded as one of the finest of Mr. Wallace’s discoveries...’
White-Rumped Kingfisher (Caridonax fulgidus) was collected by Wallace on Lombok Island, Indonesia and named by Gould in 1857. Wallace writes the following about his capture of this species in The Malay Archipelago: "I obtained here eight species of Kingfishers; among which was a very beautiful new one, named by Mr. Gould, Halcyon fulgidus. It was found always in thickets, away from water, and seemed to feed on snails and insects picked up from the ground after the manner of the great Laughing Jackass of Australia."
Little Paradise-Kingfisher (Tanysiptera hydrocharis) was collected by Wallace on the Aru Islands and named by Gray in 1858. It is found on New Guinea and surrounding islands.
Yellow-and-green Lorikeet (Trichoglossus flavoviridis), a new species named by Wallace from specimens from the Sula Islands. It is also found on Sulawesi but the one specimen Wallace had from there '…was carried away by a rat, while drying, and was never recovered.'
Wallace's Hanging-Parrot (Loriculus flosculus): Collected by Wallace on Flores Island, Indonesia by Wallace and named by him in 1864. This parrot is endangered and is endemic to Flores.
New Guinea Bronzewing (Henicophaps albifrons) was collected by Wallace on Waigeo Island, Indonesia and named by Gray in 1862. Wallace writes the following about his capture of this species in The Malay Archipelago: "...a most curious ground-pigeon of an entirely new genus, and remarkable for its long and powerful bill."
Flores Green Pigeon (Treron floris): Collected by Wallace on Flores Island, Indonesia and named by him in 1864. It is known from several Indonesian islands. This species is vulnerable.
Wallace's Fruit-Dove (Ptilinopus wallacii): Collected by Wallace on the Aru Islands, Indonesia and named by Gray in 1858. Found in Indonesia.
Wallace's Fairywren (Sipodotus wallacii): Collected by Wallace on Misoöl Island, Indonesia and named by Gray in 1862.
Black-Tipped Monarch (Monarcha loricatus): Collected by Wallace on Buru Island, Indonesia and named by him in 1863.
Purple Dollarbird (Eurystomus azureus): Collected by Wallace on Bacan Island, Indonesia and named by Gray in 1861. It is found on the north Molucca islands in Indonesia. This species is vulnerable.
5) MAMMALS
Striped Faced Fruit Bat (Styloctenium wallacei): Collected by Wallace on xxx and named by Gray in 1866. See Gray, J.E. 1866 [May]. A revision of the genera of Pteropine bats (Pteropidæ), and the descriptions of some apparently undescribed species. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1866: 62-67. [Read 23 January 1866.]
Common Tube-Nosed Bat (Nyctimene albiventer): Collected by Wallace on Morotai Island, Indonesia and named by Gray in 1863. See Gray, J.E. 1863 [April]. Description of some new species of Mammalia. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1862: 261-263, Mammalia pl. XXXIII-XXXV. [Read 25 November 1862.]
Striped Possum (Dactylopsila trivirgata) was collected by Wallace on the Aru Islands, Indonesia and named by Gray in 1858.
Moluccan Cuscus (Phalanger ornatus Gray, 1860: ). A marsupial discovered by Wallace on Bacan Island, Indonesia. It is also found on Halmahera and Morotai islands, and possibly Ternate.
Little Celebes Cuscus (Strigocuscus celebensis) was collected by Wallace on Sulawesi Island, Indonesia and named by Gray in 1858.
Tufted Ground Squirrel Rheithrosciurus macrotis. Collected by Wallace in Sarawak, Borneo. It is classed as "Vulnerable" by the IUCN. They say of this species: "...only recorded from primary and selectively logged forest in hilly areas at elevations lower than 1,100 m, and forested coastal flats, however, it is not well surveyed in other habitat types. It could be dependent on good quality habitat. Specifically its association with certain tree species, such as Canarium, has been noted (Marshall and Meijaard unpubl. data). It has been observed on occasion in orchards and secondary forests. In primary forest, this species does not seem to be abundant, with only occasional camera trap or observational records (Wearn pers. comm.), although locally the species is commonly photographed on camera traps, especially around specific food trees. The species is diurnal and rare sightings suggest that this species forages primarily on the ground, with rare sightings in the lower and upper canopy. Their diet consists primarily of fruits, nuts and seeds, and with occasional other items like insects taken..."
Bay Cat (Felis badia Gray, 1874: 322 = Catopuma badia). Wallace obtained one skin and skull of this cat in Sarawak, Borneo, which became the holotype of this species. This specimen is in London's Natural History Museum and was received by the museum in 1856 in bad condition, which meant it could not me stuffed. This species is one of the World's most elusive cats, and the first living specimen was captured in 1992. It is classed as Endangered by the IUCN and is listed in CITES Appendix II.
Lithograph plate of Bay Cat from Gray, 1874.
REFERENCES
Gray, J. E. 1874. Description of a new species of cat (Felis badia) from Sarawak. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1874: 322-323.
Pickard-Cambridge, O. 1897. On some new and little-known spiders (Araneidae). Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 64(4, for 1896): 1006-1012.
Wallace, A. R. 1855. Description of a new Species of Ornithoptera: Ornithoptera brookiana. Wallace. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of London 1854-1855: 104-105.
Wallace, A. R. 1859. [Letter dated 28 January 1859, Batchian]. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of London 1858-1859: 70.