Of the 447 species outlined in the Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria, 16 were originally described by Frederick McCoy, however only 14 of these had their original descriptions in the Prodromus.
Not all species in the Prodromus were new discoveries, although a number of species first described by McCoy were included within its pages.
These were: the Giant Gippsland Earthworm, Gould's Squid, two species of stick insect, the Australian Painted-Lady Butterfly, four species of fish (the Tasselled Anglerfish, the Australian Bonito, Rainbow Cale and the Southern Hulafish), five species of snake (Little Whip Snake, Common Brown Snake, Inland Taipan, Western Brown Snake and the Two-hooded Furina-Snake-the last later identified as a juvenile Common Brown Snake), one species of lizard (Victorian Rhodona), one subspecies of lizard (Gippsland Water Dragon) and one mammal species (Leadbeater's Possum).
McCoy also described two of these species, Leadbeater's Possum (in 1867) and the Painted-Lady Butterfly (in 1868), prior to the Prodromus' publication1.
1Closely based on AL Yen, et al, 'McCoy's Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria - an Unfinished Task', The Victorian Naturalist: McCoy Special Edition, Volume Two, Volume 118 (6), 2001, pp. 242-255.
