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SJO was collected near Funge, Cameroon in 2010, 2011 and 2013 during the "Stofmania" expeditions, and found another geographic locality where the blue form, first found in Loe, could be found.
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In 1989 Horst Gressens returned from a trip to Cameroon to the Netherlands and entered a pair of SJO into the KFN show only to be told "these are not SJO, the color is completely wrong" and explained they were what he found in Loe, Cameroon. Thus from that day on we knew there was at least one other morphotype for SJO, previously known.
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SJO types from Cameroon
The type specimens for SJO were taken by Y. Sjostedt on his 1890 expedition to Cameroon, deposited at the museum in Uppsala Sweden. Lonnberg examined them in 1895 and described them as SJO. A holotype was never assigned (perhaps due to the fact the male was from Ndian Falls while the female was from Mbonge) and these two were assigned as syntypes and given the ID: ZMUU 272 (2)
Clausen was employed at the zoological museum of Copenhagen 1n 1959 and in 1966 records in Uppsala show he borrowed the specimens from the Uppsala Museum Sweden to work on his own Museum in Stockholm Sweden. So during Scheel's time the SJO types were in fact in Stockholm.
In 1970 Col JJ Scheel, who only lived a couple of hours from there in Copenhagen Denmark, published Rivulins of the Old World (= "ROTOW" 1970 TFH Press) which includes photo of the "Holotype at the Stockholm Museum in 1970". There can little doubt that the photo was taken in Stockholm, but as to the term "holotype" (there is no holotype). Note that Uppsala is quite a bit further away from Scheels home and more difficult to get to than Stockholm is.
According to Uppsala museum, the specimen was borrowed by Clausen in 1966 and had not been seen since, until 1991 when it was found in the Stockholm museum with some other stuff and retuned to the Uppsala Museum.
The Museum of Evolution at Uppsala University reports they have them, and that the number is now "UPSZTY 2369" (to replace old type number "272a-b") and that they are in a “modern” jar from the 1950-60s and so not in their original jar.
"Two original labels (no other labels):
- 272a. "Fundulus sjöstedti Lönnb. Male. Typex. Kamerun. Y. Sjöstedt” (unknown handwriting)
- 272b. "Fundulus sjöstedti Lönnb. Female. Typex. Kamerun, Bonge. Y. Sjöstedt” (this one is in Lönnberg’s handwriting)"
[Pers. Comms (1)].
It's signed Sjostedt, verification is pending.
Why then does ROTOW say "holotype at Stockholm" when neither were true?
there are three possibilities listed in decreasing order of probability in my opinion: 1) the editor of Rivulins of the Old World - TFH - altered "Syntype" to "holotype" to save an explanation of what a syntype is or 2) perhaps the photo came with an inscription on the order of "Type specimen for SJO taken at Stockholm Museum" which would be correct, it is a type specimen (but a syntype not a holotype) and the photo was taken at the Stockholm Museum. It's not in the permanent collection there and never was, or 3) Scheel made a mistake. At any point it does not really matter, the specimens are where they should be and accessible.
Scheel died in 1989, Clausen died in 2002. Two years is about right to clear out the estate of a scientist after their death, and if Clausen had them they should have surfaced in 2004 not 1991, but 1991 fits the facts being two years after Scheels death. So it doesn't look like they were missing at all. Col Scheel had them and they're safe. It give me endless joy to reflect on this.
The photos were taken by Paco with his cell phone on March 13, 2026.
[1] Paco Cardenas, Associate Prof, Curator, Head of the Zoology Collections, Museum of Evolution, Uppsala University, Sweden. March 13, 2026
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