Marumba timora Rothschild & Jordan, 1903

LECTOTYPE ♂ [Indonesia:] Dutch Timor [Timor], Oinanisa [Oinanaisa], xi xii.1891 (W. Doherty)] [NHMUK]; implicitly designated by d'Abrera, 1987, Sphingidae Mundi: 80. Rothschild & Jordan (1903: 278) (STI 19807) described Marumba timora from two males in the Tring Museum collected by W. Doherty in November-December 1891 from “Oinanisa [Oinainisa], Dutch Timor. D’Abrera (1987: 80) (STI 17832) illustrated one of the syntypes referring to it as “♂ (Holotype) as illustrated”. Kitching & Cadiou (2000) (STI 18788) considered that this was an implicit lectotype designation of the illustrated specimen. However, Eitschberger (2021: 1) (STI 22725) considered this claim to be “incomprehensible” because the lectotypification had already been done by Rothschild (1919: 212) (STI 19802). However, Rothschild’s statement (“Type: ♂, Oinanisa, Dutch Timor, November—December 1891. W. Doherty coll.”) does not constitute a valid lectotype designation under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature because it does not uniquely identify which of the two syntypes was intended. Thus, the first valid lectotypification was indeed that of d’Abrera and it is Eitschberger who is in error in his assertion. Eitschberger (2021: 1) (STI 22725) then went on to state that “In this context, Kitching & Cadiou (2000: 147, Notes 408) misspelled the Oinainisa locality as Oinanisa in both the lectotype and paratype [sic; paralectotype], which is now in coll. Clark, in the CMNH.” and that “Despite an intensive search by Vanessa Verdecia, this PT [sic; PLT] of M. timora laotensis [sic; M. timora timora] R. & J. could not be found in the coll. CMNH”. The reason for the “misspelling” of the type locality was simply because Kitching & Cadiou (2000) cited specimen label data verbatim, a convention evidently overlooked by Eitschberger, and the locality was misspelled on the labels (as well as in the original description and by Rothschild (1919)). As for why the paralectotype could not be found in the CMNH, the reason is simple; it was on loan to I.J. Kitching at the NHMUK at the time, but this information was seemingly misplaced following the untimely passing of Dr John Rawlins of the CMNH in December 2021. The paralectotype, together with the rest of the loan of which it was a part, was finally returned in August 2022.