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Rediscovery of type material deposited in the Orces Gustavo V. Natural History Museum collection of the Institute of Biological Sciences, National Polytechnic School, Quito, Ecuador

Abstract:

A Starting in the XVIII century European naturalists arrived in Ecuador on scientific expeditions; during their trips they collected samples of plants, animals, rocks and fossils. Humboldt and Darwin stand out among other dignitaries. At the beginning of the XX century, Franz Spillmann traveled throughout the country and assembled a collection of fossils that made up the "Gabinete de Ciencias Naturales" of the Universidad Central. Later, in 1946, Robert Hoffstetter arrived and along with Gustavo Orcés founded the Department of Biology at the Escuela Politécnica Nacional. During his stay in the country, Hoffstteter carried out several paleontological expeditions, mainly in the Santa Elena Peninsula. He put together and catalogued all the fossil material housed at the "Gabinete de Ciencias Naturales" of the Universidad Central and the material he collected on his expeditions. After his departure, in 1952, and until the arrival of the Italian Scientific Mission in the 90's, the collection was abandoned and part of the material was sent to European collections. With the opening of the Museo de Historia Natural "Gustavo Orcés", in 2005, the field of vertebrate paleontology has a new impetus. Among the activities carried out was the location of the type material, the evaluation of the conservation of the fossil material, and the update of the catalogue. During the revision, type material, that was thought to be lost, was located, and it is the objective of this paper to announce the bkp_rediscovery of: Eremotherium elenense, E. carolinense, Glossotherium tropicorum, G. wegneri, Scelidotherium reyesi, Chlamytherium occidentale, Neochoerus sirasakae, Dusicyon sechurae elenensis, Protocyon orcesi, Panthera onca andina, Haplomastodon (Aleamastodon) guayasensis, Equus (Amerihippus) santaelenae, E. (Amerhippus) martinei, Palaeolama aequatorialis, P. crassa.