| Publication Type: | Journal Article |
| Year of Publication: | 2005 |
| Authors: | P. D. Jenkins, Carleton M. D. |
| Journal: | J. nat. Hist. |
| Volume: | 39 |
| Pagination: | 1779-1818 |
| Date Published: | 2005 |
| Keywords: | [Neoromicia] Eptesicus matroka, Africa, Afrosoricida, Artiodactyla, Carnivora, Chiroptera, Eidolon dupreanum, Lipotyphla, Madagascar, Mammalia, Miniopteridae, Miniopterus fraterculus, Miniopterus majori, Miniopterus manavi, Molossidae, Mormopterus acetabulosus, Mormopterus jugularis, Myotis goudoti, Primates, Pteropodidae, Pteropus rufus rufus, Rodentia, Scotophilus borbonicus, Vespertilionidae |
| Abstract: | Charles Immanuel Forsyth Major (1843-1923) made the first synoptic systematic collection of mammals from Madagascar in the last decade of the 19th century. To reconstruct Major’s obscurely known itinerary, we located 994 specimens that originated from his 1894-1896 expedition and determined their identification, dates and locality of collection, and current institutional repository. Fifty species were recovered from 26 localities centred in the Central Highlands and Eastern Humid Forest of east-central Madagascar. The geographic position of several type localities is refined and their coordinates estimated, and the type locality of one taxon (Microgale pusilla Major, 1896) is accordingly amended. Biographical details of the man, the biodiversity significance of his collections and the historical context of his discoveries are discussed. |