Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Science/2020 May 19

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May 19

Trevelyan's char

Why is Salvelinus colii called Trevelyan's char? DuncanHill (talk) 22:33, 19 May 2020 (UTC)

Possibly named after/by Francis Trevelyan Buckland. 107.15.157.44 (talk) 23:56, 19 May 2020 (UTC)

It was at one time classified as Salvelinus trevelyani --Khajidha (talk) 06:43, 20 May 2020 (UTC)

The latter name is reported as Regan, 1908; the name Salvelinus colii is from Günther, 1863.^[1]  --Lambiam 09:02, 20 May 2020 (UTC)

Probably a case of multiple named species being redefined as one species. One of the sources in that article talks about the confusion. Are there 15 species or 1? Or any other number between 1 and 15-- — Preceding unsigned comment added by Khajidha (talk • contribs) 11:49, 20 May 2020 (UTC)

So why was it called Salvelinus trevelyani? Who was the Trevelyan? DuncanHill (talk) 14:35, 20 May 2020 (UTC)

"Trevelyan's char was described from a single specimen, 8-inches in length. This was sent to me in 1906 from Lough Finn in Donegal, by Major H. Trevelyan". Charles Tate Regan (1911), The freshwater fishes of the British Isles. London, Methuen & Co. Ltd. p. 106. Alansplodge (talk) 15:40, 20 May 2020 (UTC)

A Google search for the major reveals that he contributed to a number of natural history journals on subjects as diverse as the ringing of ducks and freshwater molluscs. In the The Irish naturalist: Volume XXI (1912) p. 93, the journal of the Royal Zoological Society of Ireland I found that "It is therefore a matter of deep regret to us, as it must be to all Irish naturalists, that Major H. Trevelyan passed away suddenly on January 28th. last [presumably 1912]. He was a true sportsman-naturalist and his death leaves a void which will be hard to fill". The heading of that article gives him the initials "FZS" which is a Fellow of the Zoological Society of London. Alansplodge (talk) 15:32, 20 May 2020 (UTC)

@Alansplodge: Thank you - from this is seems he was the son of Walter Trevelyan. DuncanHill (talk) 19:19, 21 May 2020 (UTC)

Herbert! I was guessing Henry, Horatio, Horace and Harold, but didn't try Herbert. Alansplodge (talk) 19:38, 21 May 2020 (UTC)