Editorial 



This special volume of the Bonn zoological Bulletin (BzB) 

 constitutes the second part of the ZFMK type catalogues. 

 It contains records of vertebrate type specimens housed 

 in the museum's scientific collections, subdivided into the 

 sections Theriology (mammals). Ornithology (birds), Her- 

 petology (amphibians and reptiles), and Ichthyology (fish). 

 Together with the catalogues of the arthropod type spec- 

 imens published in volume 58 of the BzB, this work pro- 

 vides an overview of the most valuable assets of the mu- 

 seum's scientific collections. Summarizing core data on 

 virtually all animal taxa that are represented by type spec- 

 imens in Bonn, these catalogues will serve taxonomists 

 as a valuable tool and guide when working in or referring 

 to the institute's extensive collections. 



The last comprehensive publication on vertebrate type ma- 

 terial in the ZFMK dates back to 1984, and was published 

 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Museum 

 Koenig as a public zoological museum. Since then, the 

 number of vertebrate types in the ZFMK increased con- 

 siderably (birds) or even doubled (mammals, amphibians, 

 reptiles and fishes). This increase underlines the impor- 

 tance of natural history museums as institutions that guar- 

 antee the maintenance of and access to scientific materi- 

 al, and highlights the need for continuous, substantial work 

 on basic taxonomy. 



I thank all authors who contributed to the two volumes of 

 the type catalogues for their continuous efforts. Compil- 

 ing such catalogues and verifying the accuracy of the da- 

 ta therein are extremely time-consuming tasks that are of- 

 ten largely underestimated. I am especially happy for hav- 

 ing been able to cover virtually all groups of organisms 

 represented by type specimens in the ZFMK, thereby con- 

 tributing to an inventory of the fascinating animal collec- 

 tions available in Bonn. 



With best wishes to all readers, authors and "BzB-Team" 

 members, 



Fabian Herder (Editor-in-Chief, Fish Curator at ZFMK) 

 Bonn, December 2010 



