The taxonomic literature is like the web without Google :(
— Roderic Page (@rdmpage) May 31, 2012
While exploring ways to visually compare classifications I came across the Australian snake name Demansia atra, and ended up reading a series of papers in the Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature discussing the status of the name (more fun than it sounds, trust me). For example, Smith and Wallach Case 2920. Diemenia atra Macleay, 1884 (currently Demansia atra; Reptilia, Serpentes): proposed conservation of the specific name asked the ICZN to conserve the name, whereas Shea On the proposed conservation of the specific name of Diemenia atra Macleay, 1884 (currently Demansia atra; Reptilia, Serpentes) argued that Hoplocephalus vestigiatus was the correct name for the snake (OK, perhaps not that much fun.)
The reason I bring this up is that the original description of Hoplocephalus vestigiatus was published in an Australian newspaper, the The Brisbane Courier, 13 September 1884 (!). This newspaper has been digitised and is available in Trove, a digital archive hosted by the National Library of Australia. The description of Hoplocephalus vestigiatus appears in an account of a meeting of the Royal Society of Queensland: http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/3434083.
The Trove newspaper archive has both scanned images and OCR text, rather like BHL, but also enables users to correct OCR errors. The original text looked like this:
Mr De Vis then read a communication en
titled " Desciiptioua of >icw Snakes' -
This papei fe ive the descriptions of four
udditions to our Austi alian snake fauna,
and was prefaced by a synopsis and ditfii ential
characters of the genoa Huplo fjihaliui, to
which two of the anakca were referred-a genus
which Mr De Via stated w as out of all propor
tion larger than any other of anakea in Aus
traha, and, though consisting for the most
deadly reptile of Queensland-the brown
banded or "tiger snake " The new sn ikes were
Hoplocephalus snlcans-the furrow snake, so
called from the faculty the reptile has of con
verting ita ventral surface into a continuous
furrow, forwaidcd by Mr. C W de Burgh
Birch from the Mitchell district Hnplore
phalus lestigialiis, the foot punt snake, a name
of the white mai kings upon its back to tracks
of feet, Cacoplm, Wari o from Warroo station,
in the Port CurtÃa district, where it was
collected by Mi Llackman, one of the mern
bcis of the soeietj , and IJrarln/ioma Snther
lundi, a snakefrom Carl Creek, Norman River,
dcdicatcel to Mi J Sutherland, of normanton,
A few quick edits in Trove and it looks like this:
Mr. De Vis then read a communication en-Searching Trove for Hoplocephalus I discovered a number of articles on snakes, some of which have also had their OCR text corrected, a measure of the success the project has had in engaging users. Trove has come up several times in discussions abut OCR correction and BHL, but this is the first time I've taken a closer look — I didn't expect to find species descriptions in an Australian newspaper.
titled "Descriptions of New Snakes."—
This paper gave the descriptions of four
additions to our Australian snake fauna,
and was prefaced by a synopsis and differential
characters of the genus Hoplocephalus to
which two of the snakes were referred—a genus
which Mr. De Vis stated was out of all propor-
tion larger than any other of snakes in Aus-
tralia, and, though consisting for the most
deadly reptile of Queensland—the brown
banded or "tiger snake." The new snakes were
Hoplocephalus sulcans—the furrow snake, so
called from the faculty the reptile has of con-
verting its ventral surface into a continuous
furrow, forwarded by Mr. C. W. de Burgh
Birch from the Mitchell district . Hoploce-
phalus vestigitatus, the foot-print snake, a name
said to be suggested by the fancied resemblance
of the white markings upon its back to tracks
of feet; Cacophis Warro, from Warroo station,
in the Port Curtis district, where it was
collected by Mr. Blackman, one of the mem-
bers of the society; and Brachysoma Suther-
landi, a snake from Carl Creek, Norman River,
dedicated to Mr. J. Sutherland, of Normanton.
