The origin of Humboldt and Bonpland's holotype of Oncidium ornithorhynchum, clarified using +200‐year‐old DNA

Abstract

Oncidium ornithorhynchum, an epiphytic orchid characterized by erect, pyramidal inflorescences and small yellow flowers, is found in the northern Andes. However, according to the protologue, the type was collected in Mexico during Humboldt and Bonpland's American expedition (1800–1804). To clarify this problem, we extracted DNA from the ancient holotype. Short‐range PCRs for plastid (matK‐trnK, trnH‐psbA, ycf1) and nuclear (nrITS) markers were established and used to infer its phylogenetic placement with several related Central American and Andean orchid species. This provided well‐supported and close relationships of the holotype with other North Andean orchids, proving that the locus classicus was confounded. Also O. sotoanum from Mexico, with which O. ornithorhynchum has often been confused, was only distantly related.

Molecular data from the holotype of the enigmatic Bornean Black Shrew, Suncus ater Medway, 1965 (Soricidae, Crocidurinae), place it in the genus Palawanosorex

“…4 ; Hutterer et al 2018 ). Generating DNA sequence data from the holotype of P. ater was critical in resolving this taxonomic enigma, an approach increasingly used to resolve species limits for poorly known lineages ( Kirchman et al 2010 ; Kirwan et al 2015 ; McGuire et al 2018 ; Krabbe et al 2020 ; Esselstyn et al 2021 ) and groups with convoluted taxonomic histories ( Chomicki and Renner 2015 ; Hedin et al 2018 ; Contreras‐Ortiz et al 2019 ; Giarla and Voss 2020 ; Cong et al 2021 ; Vences et al 2022 ). We also verified the identity of the first modern specimens of P. ater following a sampling gap of 80 years since the collection of, and 55 years since the description of, the type of this species.…”

Untargeted Metabolomics Analysis of the Orchid Species Oncidium sotoanum Reveals the Presence of Rare Bioactive C-Diglycosylated Chrysin Derivatives

“…Oncidium sotoanum is an ornamental species that produces purple, slightly scented flowers and belongs to the Orchidiaceae family, which is one of the largest families among flowering plants [ 27 ]. Historically, the term sotoanum was used as a synonym of ornithorhynchum , but recent phylogenetic analysis of different Oncidium accessions demonstrated that sotoanum and ornithorhynchum are two different species probably originating in two different zones in the American continent [ 28 ]. Although Oncidium hybrids are the second most popular varieties of orchids [ 29 ], the secondary metabolome of these plants is still poor elucidated, especially for O. sotoanum .…”