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VOL. 2, NO. 1, 2000
International Society for theHistory and Bibliography
of Herpetology
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The ISHBH is a not-for-profit organization esta-blished to bring together individuals for whomthe history and bibliography of herpetology isappealing and to promote the knowledge of relatedtopics among members and the general public.Membership is open to anyone who shares theaims of the society.
Membership. The biennial fee is US $30 (studentsUS $10, life membership US $300). This feeincludes a subscription to the society's biannualNewsletter and Bulletin. Members are encouragedto contribute with articles, news of meetings,hints on antiquarian trade, book reviews orparticipate in a literature exchange forum.
The society organizes seminars, visits to libraries,museums, research stations, etc. in connectionwith herpetological meetings with internationalparticipation. The society works to facilitate in-formal contacts among members so that the mem-bers can informally meet, offer support in know-ledge and transact exchanges of literature andephemera.
Formal application for membership shall bedirected to the chairperson and should be ad-dressed:
International Society for the History andBibliography of Herpetology, ISHBHBox 2123SE-220 02 Lund, SWEDEN
Officers for 2000-2001:Chairperson
Richard Wahlgren (Sweden)[email protected]
Vice-chairpersonRonald Javitch (Canada)[email protected]
Secretary-TreasurerKraig Adler (USA)[email protected]
Meeting OrganizerAaron Bauer (USA)[email protected]
EditorRalph Tramontano (Sweden)[email protected]
www.teorekol.lu.se/~rana/ISHBH
About the coverInternational Society for the
History and Bibliographyof Herpetology The frontispiece of this issue is a reproduction
of a plate originally from EncyclopædiaLondinensis, or Universal Dictionary, &c., &c.Compiled, digested and arranged by JohnWilkes, of Midland House, in the County ofSussex, Esquire; assisted by eminent scholarsof the English, Scotch and Irish Universities.The plate, dated July 30, 1803, depicts a flyingdragon (Draco sp.) from southeast Asia with aleaf and flowers from a North American skunkcabbage in the background, and is furtherembellished with diagrams of a sea cucumberor sea lemon as it’s referred to on the plate. Thisplate, the Encyclopædia Londinensis... and earlydescriptions of Draco species are discussed inmore detail in Richard Wahlgren’s article onpage 20.
Instructions for AuthorsAuthors submitting a manuscript do so on theunderstanding that the work has not been pub-lished before and is not being considered forpublication elsewhere. All manuscripts are peerreviewed. Each issue of the Newsletter andBulletin of the ISHBH is submitted to BIOSIS(U.K.) so that articles can be indexed forinclusion in the Zoological Record.
All manuscripts should be submitted inelectronic form and preferably in Rich TextFormat (*.rtf). If the manuscript is sent as a textfile it should be accompanied by a hard copy toclarify formatting. We prefer to receive manu-scripts as an e-mail attachment but manuscriptsmay also be sent by post on a 3 1/2 inch diskette.Include exact details on name(s) of the author(s)and file(s) submitted (diskettes should be labeledwith this information), as well as contact infor-mation. The language of the Newsletter andBulletin is English. British English or Ameri-can English spelling and terminology may beused, but either one should be used consistentlythrough-out the article. Continued on page 5...
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Society NewsMessage from the ChairpersonThe society is now in the third year from itsinception in July 1998 in Guelph, Canada.Rightly a very International association as thereare members from Africa, Asia, Australia, Eu-rope and North America, altogether 90 at thetime when this issue went to print. I predicted inthe first issue of the Newsletter (May 1999) thatthe society probably would stay rather small butwith a cosmopolitan scope. The presentmembership widely exceeds my expectationsof that time. The desire for a forum to thehistorical development of the herpetologicaldiscipline was obviously around. We can noticethe growing awareness of the historical aspectselsewhere as well. A working group of DGHTin Germany on the history and literature ofherpetology was set up earlier this year andHerpetological Review, the newsletter of theSSAR initiated a new permanent section“Herpetological History” with the first issue2000.
Our society’s inauguration and annual meetingshave so far been on the North American continentalbeit in three different countries. To reflect theInternational spread of the members it is time tofind a meeting place elsewhere in the world. Wetherefore look forward to meeting in Europenext year to pursue the activities of our sphereof interest in conjunction with the 11th OrdinaryGeneral Meeting of the Societas EuropaeaHerpetologica that will be held in Slovenia inJuly 2001. Nevertheless, a social event andperhaps a paper session are also planned for the2001 meeting of the SSAR and HL in Indiana-polis, USA later in July.
The annual business meeting of the Society for2000 was held at La Paz, Baja California, Mexicoon 19th June with a dozen members plus guestsattending the session and participating in thelunch gathering that followed. The Treasurer’sreport for 1999 shows that the financial positionis healthy and it was approved (shown on p. 5).
The Executive Committee members werereelected for another two-year term (2000 and2001).
Our logo has given reason to both praise andcuriosity among many members. Thomas Mad-sen, a researcher in evolutionary ecology basedin Australia and Sweden but a herpetologist andhistorian at heart contributed with his skills indrawing it. It is a composition of three originalmotifs. The lizard like animal with two hindlegs and no forelegs appears in Jacob TheodoreKlein’s Tentamen herpetologiae (1755). Kleinactually refers the origin of the animal toThesaurus animalium vivis coloribus egregiepictorum but he does not state any obviousauthor to this book. The identity of the speciesremains a mystery even in the world ofmythological animals. It is nevertheless a fittingsource as it was Klein who minted the termherpetology and used it even in the title of hisbook that deals with snake and “worm” systema-tics. The size of the lizard on the plate in Klein’swork (nose to tip of tail) is about 40 cm. Dr.Madsen has cautiously transposed the imagegetting it to resemble what would have been thecase had anybody performed the exercise inthose days. The process to reproduce figuresbefore modern copying techniques wereinvented was first to engrave an identicaldrawing on a copper plate before the transposedcopies eventually were printed on paper.
The snake with crown and the tongue formedlike an arrow was replicated from CharlesOwen’s An Essay towards a Natural History ofSerpents (1742). “The basilisk or Cockatrice, isa serpent of the Draconick Line” and “It is grossin Body, or fiery Eyes, and sharp Head, onwhich it wears a Crest, like a Cock’s Comb”.Owen says that it had the reputation of being theking of snakes however not because it wears acrown but “because of its majestic Pace, which
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seems to be attended with an Air of Grandeurand Authority.” If it is another good choice toreflect the society’s image one can contemplate.
The book that lies open is Carolus Linnaeus’(1762) Amoenitates Academicae volume 2,showing the title page to the thesis Lignumcolubrinum that was defended by J. A. Dareliuson snake and snakebites and especially on themedical properties of the Indian plant againstpoisoning. The sharp-eyed person can see asinuous animal depicted on the leaf to the left.This belongs to the preceding article on Tænia,i.e. earthworms! Richard Wahlgren
ISHBH papers will most accurately reflect topotential new members the broad scope of theinterests of the society. Aaron M. Bauer
SEH Meeting announcement: 11th OrdinaryGeneral Meeting of Societas Europaea Herpe-tologica will be held 13 - 17 July 2001, in Zalec,Slovenia.
Organisers: Society for Bird Research andNature Protection, Raèe, and the EnvironmentalSociety Radociv, Zalec, in co-operation withthe Declining Amphibian Population Task Force- Working Group Slovenia and the Faculty ofEducation, University of Maribor.
Venue: The 11th Ordinary General Meetingwill take place in Zalec, the centre of the Savinjavalley some 7 km west of the town of Celje.Zalec is the administrative, economic andcultural centre of the Lower Savinja valley. It islocated about 70 km from the internationalairport of Ljubljana. Zalec is accessible fromLjubljana, Celje and Maribor by train or bus.The meeting will be held at the Hall of Culturein Zalec.
Provisional Programme: The conference willinclude a four-day scientific programme (oralpresentations, workshops, poster sessions) anda 1 day mid-conference excursion. Participantsare invited to offer to help organise one of thespecial workshops. The official language willbe English.
Contributions and Publication: Both oral andposter presentations are welcome. A book ofabstracts will be published before the conference.It is expected that the proceedings will be pub-lished in a journal.
Conference fee: The conference fee (presum-ably about 95 EURO) will cover registration,opening party, information booklet, conferenceprogramme, book of abstracts and proceedings,and coffee breaks. Conference fees may be paidby Mastercard/Eurocard, Visa, by check or by
ISHBH meeting in July 2000The next meeting of the ISHBH will be held inconjunction with the 11th Ordinary GeneralMeeting of Societas Europaea Herpetologica(SEH) in Zalec, Slovenia from 13 to 17 July,2001. The ISHBH will be included in the pro-gram as an affiliated society and its business,social, and presentation sessions will beincorporated directly into the program so thatall attendees can easily identify our activities.ISHBH members wishing more informationmay contact the meeting organizer, Mrs. NusaVogrin at [email protected]. Addi-tional information along with a preliminaryregistration form is available on the web athttp://www.zalec. si/radoziv/ogmseh.
Members wishing to present a paper relative tothe history or bibliography of herpetology shouldregister for the SEH meeting and submit theirabstracts using the format requested (see website or contact Mrs. Vogrin). You should alsoprovide a hard copy or e-mail attachment ofyour abstract to Aaron Bauer ([email protected]), who will coordinate the ISHBHpresentation session at the meeting. As we hopeto use this opportunity to attract more Europeanmembers to the society, all existing memberswho have original material to present are kindlyrequested to do so. A diverse assortment of
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bank transfer. Details regarding accommodationand meals will be available in the second (final)announcement. Different types of accom-modation will be available (from hotels to cam-ping sites).
Registration and Call for papers: The pre-liminary registration form, as well as moredetailed and up-to-date information, can befound on the web page http://www.zalec.si/radoziv/ogmseh/aplicat.htm. The final an-nouncement will be sent around mid winter. Foreven more information contact the meetingorganiser, Mrs. Nusa Vogrin at [email protected] or join the HerpNet - the herpeto-logical network ([email protected]).
Financial statements forthe year ended 1999 (USD)International Society for the History
and Bibliography of Herpetology
Statement of Activities 1999
Expenses Notes
Newsletter & Bulletin 745.12 1
Postage 220.10 1
Administration 207.52Exchange rate adj. -1.58 2
Total costs 1,171.16
Incomes Notes
Membership dues 1,210.56 3
Total incomes 1,210.56
Result 39.40
Statement of Financial Position 1999-12-31
AssetsBank holdings 1,502.54Dues paid 2000 683.81Total assets 2,186.35
Liabilities and net assets Notes
Accrued expenses andother liabilities 936.39
Membership dues for 2000 1,210.56 3
Result 39.40Total liabilities & net assets 2,186.35
Ithaca 2000-05-26Kraig AdlerTreasurer and Secretary
Notes1. Included are expenses attributable to production and
distribution of two issues.2. Income and expenses in Swedish krona are represented
in in USD at average of exchange. Receivables andliabilitis have been valued at the rate prevailing 31 dec.
3. Membership dues have been proprtioned between 1999& 2000.
Instructions for Authors...continued from page 2.
Consult the latest issue of the Newsletter andBulletin for article format. The Editor reservesthe right to adjust style to maintain uniformity.
Illustrations should also be submitted inelectronic form. Considering the often delicatenature of illustrations in antiquarian books wefeel that it is best that the owner of the workmakes arrangements for scanning. However,you should contact the Editor first for advice.Color illustrations can be included but incurextra costs which will be at the author’s expense.Illustration files can be sent on a CD-ROM, 100Mb Zip cartridge, a 3 1/2 inch diskette or trans-ferred over the Internet (contact the Editorfirst). Hard copies may in certain cases be sub-mitted to the Editor for scanning but the Editormust be contacted first. (Note: The ISHBH cannottake responsibility for material sent by post.)
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Other NewsThe Silent Auction of Joe Bailey’sHerpetological Library onFebraury 1, 2000In the Newsletter and Bulletin 1 (2) we advisedabout the then forthcoming postal auction of theherpetological library of late Professor JosephR. Bailey. The widow, Mrs. Mike Bailey haddonated the library to the Society for the Studyof Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR) on thecondition that the proceeds from the sale shouldbe used to continue Joe’s interests in societyactivities. The total amount realized from theauction was nearly US$16,000. This sum willbe placed in The Joseph R. Bailey Endowment,with income on this investment to be used tosupport student activities, book-lengthpublication projects, and other activities inkeeping with Joe Bailey’s interests.
The silent auction consisted of 374 lots with amixture of true fine and rare books, valuabletextbooks and reprints of old classics. Theauction was open to all. An Internationalaudience consisting of 84 persons participated(72 North America, nine Europe, one SouthAmerica and two Australia) with a total of morethan 1,600 bids, i.e. average of about 19 bids perindividual or 4.2 bids per lot. Successful for atleast one title were 79 out of the 84 bidding.
The bidder with the highest tender for each lotbecame the winner. On a floor auction youknow the bids of the other bidders and just haveto raise your bid with one usually fixedincrement. In this auction the bidders were leftto themselves to establish the value of the titles.To be almost sure to secure a title a bidder hadto pick up the tab for a high tender even if the“market value” turns out to be less. But it wasafter all for a good cause.
Kraig Adler compiled the list with the realizedprices and a little commentary to all bidders andit was for a while available on the Internet. Weprovide here a few annotations on the results ofthe auction.
There were quite a few bids in the $300 bracket,the highest being #10 Evaristo Garcia (1896)Los Ofidios Venenosos del Cauca. Cali,Colombia, published by author with 14 platesof snakes and plants illustrated in color. Itfetched $360 with the second high bidder beingvery close. Some of the other titles in this rangewere #165 Louis Agassiz (1857) Contributionsto the Natural History of the U. S. of America,volume I and II, with exquisite plates (see thefront cover of the last issue of the ISHBHNewsletter and Bulletin) sold for $350. Lot#149 John Edward Holbrook (1842) North Ame-rican Herpetology... in the SSAR Patron’s edi-tion facsimile reprint (1976) realized $330. Itwas printed in 110 copies and it appears veryseldom on the market.
Just below, $326, landed lot #343 comprising50 large monographs and other papers (1924-1952) by L. M. Klauber including an almostcomplete set of the author’s papers in the SanDiego Natural History Museum and ZoologicalSociety series, altogether about 2025 pages andnumerous plates. Lot #160 T. Barbour and A.Loveridge (1928) A Comparative Study of theHerpetological Faunae of the Uluguru andUsambara Mountains, Tanganyika Territory...,published as a Memoir of the Museum ofComparative Zoölogy at Harvard College raised$306 and #74 Eric Francis (1934) The Anatomyof the Salamander with the dust jacket intact isbecoming a classic and attracted a bid for $302.A reprint is auspiciously underway.
Some of the facsimile reprints published bySSAR appear to be getting scarce judging fromthe prices in this auction: #19 L. H. Bojanus(1819-1821) Anatome Testudinis Europaeae(SSAR 1970) fetched $151 and #91 J. J. Tschudi(1838) Classification der Batrachier (SSAR1967) $50. They were published at $25 and $10respectively.
Bargains were realized for some of the lots,which is good to remember should a similar
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auction come up again. SSAR indeed encouragesholders of herpetological libraries to donatethem for this good cause when they are nolonger needed. Lot #24 Mary C. Dickerson(1931) The Frog Book is a reprint of the 1906edition that fetched $10 only and $21 was thehigh bid for #85 Tracey Storer (1925) Synopsisof the Amphibia of California. I would say that$75 would be a fair market price for the latter.Bargains were also a good copy of the classicwork by A. R. Wallace (1876) GeographicDistribution of Animals: volume I-II that raisedonly $250 (lot #105) and #27 G. Jan (Milano1863) Elenco Sistematico Degli Ofidi Descrittie Designati per l’Iconografia Generale at $153.It is an important checklist of the snakes of theworld that also accompanies his and F. Sordelli’simmense Iconographie (1860-1881).
Some titles were popular: Six lots had 14 to 16bids each, e.g. #154 A. do Amaral (1977) Ser-pentes do Brasil that had a highest bid of $156.55and #155 J. Campbell and W. Lamar (1989)Venomous Reptiles of Latin America that reached$51.99.
The last lot I wish to mention is #172 H. A.Surface (1906-1913) consisting of four separatemonographs on the herpetology of Pennsylva-nia bound in one volume. The bid wasconsiderable, $206 but it would certainly bedifficult to obtain all four separately on theantiquarian market and probably not cheaper.Fourteen individuals were tendering on it.Richard Wahlgren
Working Group of the DGHT(German Society for Herpetologyand Herpetoculture) for the Historyof Herpetology and HerpetologicalPublications has been established.On April 1, 2000 the working group for thehistory of herpetology and herpetological pub-lications within the DGHT was established inGersfeld, Germany. The official name is “AGLiteratur und Geschichte der Herpetologie undTerrarienkunde (LGHT)”. Some 34 personswere present of which 28 became members ofthe new working group. Beside the proceduresnecessary for the founding of the working groupa programme with lectures took place.
The members of the managing committee wereelected as follows: Chairman: Prof. Dr.Wolfgang Böhme, and Secretary: Dipl.-Biol.Thomas Wilms, both of the ZoologischesForschungsinstitut und Museum A. Koenig inBonn, and Treasurer: Andreas Brahm from thebook company Chimaira in Frankfurt.
Membership in the working group is open tomembers of the DGHT. The next meeting willtake place at the Forellenhof hotel, Altenfeld,36129 Gersfeld/Röhn, Germany, from March30 to April 1, 2001. For more information aboutthe working group and the DGHT contactThomas Wilms, Zoologisches Forschungs-institut und Museum A. Koenig, Adenauerallee160, DE-53113 Bonn, Germany ([email protected]).Thomas Wilms
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The Symbolae Physicae and the Herpetology ofHemprich and Ehrenberg’s Expedition
to Egypt and the Middle EastAARON M. BAUER
Department of Biology, Villanova University800 Lancaster Avenue, Villanova, PA 19085-1699, USA
careful examination of all specimens, theidentification of J.G. Schneider’s types (basedchiefly on material from the M.E. Bloch collec-tion), the segregation of duplicate specimens,and, of course, the correct labeling of all mate-rial. Hemprich’s work appears to be the basisfor the earliest of the extant ZMB herpetologicalcatalogues, the Katalog Inventarium derAmphibien (ca. 1822-23). At the same time hewas teaching natural history to the Royal CadetteCorps. In association with the latter work heauthored Grundriß der Naturgeschichte (1820),a general text that included a herpetologicalsection. A second edition of this work (1829a)was published posthumously. The work forLichtenstein also resulted in a manuscript,Synopsis Serpentium, which, although neverpublished, was known to Fitzinger (1826), whocited Hemprich’s classification. Hemprich alsopublished two shorter posthumous papers(1829b, c), which appeared in the first volumeof the Verhandlungen der GesellschaftNaturforschender Freunde zu Berlin.
Ehrenberg, a friend of Hemprich’s, was par-ticularly interested in the “infusoria” and afterhis return from the expedition had a long andsuccessful career as a microbiologist. IndeedEhrenberg was a leading figure in the scientificlife of Berlin throughout the third quarter of the19th Century. Unlike Hemprich, he had littleprofessional interest in herpetology and asidefrom the posthumously published plates of theSymbolae Physicae (see below) he appears tohave published only a few short notes relatingto salamanders (e.g., Ehrenberg 1836, 1859,1870).
Historical Background
One of the most significant early naturalhistory expeditions sent out fromGermany was that of Friedrich Wil-
helm Hemprich (1796-1825) and ChristianGottfried Ehrenberg (1795-1876) to Egypt andthe Middle East during the period 1820-1825.Both men had been students in Berlin and hadstudied under Martin Hinrich Lichtenstein, thedirector of the Zoological Museum of the Wil-helm-Friedrichs University. The Museum hadbeen founded less than a decade before theexpedition and Lichtenstein was anxious toincrease its holdings, which to that pointconsisted chiefly of several large natural his-tory collections that had been donated orpurchased and smaller lots of specimensobtained from travelers and amateur naturalists.One approach employed by Lichtenstein was toencourage former students at the university topursue work overseas or to undertake expedi-tions on behalf of the museum and the Prussiangovernment. Hemprich and Ehrenberg’s jour-ney, along with that of Wilhelm Peters to Mo-zambique some 20 years later, were perhaps themost successful of such expeditions as far as theZoological Museum was concerned.
Hemprich completed his formal studies in Ber-lin in 1818, although prior to this he hadexpressed an interest in the Museum andespecially in herpetology, with a focus on snakesand other limbless squamates. In 1819 he wasemployed by Lichtenstein to work up theherpetological collections of the ZoologicalMuseum (Stresemann 1954). This involved the
© International Society for the History and Bibliography of Herpetology, ISHBHNewsletter and Bulletin of the ISHBH, Vol. 2(1): 8-16, 2000
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Publications on Hemprich andEhrenberg’s Collections
Lichtenstein (1823), in his first major duplicatecatalogue, listed numerous herpetological spe-cimens from Egypt and Nubia, nearly all ofwhich were derived from Hemprich andEhrenberg’s collections that had arrived in Ber-lin by early 1823 (Stresemann 1954). Amongthese were (using Lichtenstein’s names): Testudograeca, Crocodylus niltoicus eggs, Monitorniloticus, Mon[itor] scincus, L[acerta]Boskiana, U[romastyx] spinipes, Stelliovulgaris, G[ecko] fascicularis, G. lobatus,Chamaeleo africanus, Sc[incus] variegatus var.occellatus, Sc. brachypus, Bufo viridis, B. fuscus,and B. cinereus.
Also listed were several new species based onthe expedition’s material: L[acerta] Pardalis,L. grammica, L. rubropunctata, L. guttulata,A[gama] deserti, A[scalabotes] sthenodactylus,Sc[incus] quinquetaeniatus, and Uromastyxocellatus, all of which had type localities nomore specific than “Aegyptus” or “Nubia.” Atleast six of these new taxa were based onspecimens collected 1820-21 and sent in thethird shipment of specimens from Egypt(Stresemann 1954). Most of the new namescoined by Lichtenstein were taken directly fromHemprich’s notes and, despite the vague pub-lished type localities, nearly all of the speci-mens had reached Berlin with fairly precisecollection data. Lichtenstein’s Ascalabotessthenodactylus was based on Hemprich’smanuscript name Gecko sthenodactylus andwas collected “sub lapidibus ad Tscheile [elAchterieh] et Abusiris.” Agama deserti wasfrom “prope Gasr es Taebi,” and Lacertapardalis was found at “Tscheile” and “propreAlexandriam vulgaris, Decembri lecta.” Lacertarubropunctata occurred “in deserto aridissimointer Sivam et Gasr es Taebi,” whereas the typesof Lacerta guttulata were collected at “Tcheileet Siva,” and Scincus quinquaetaeniatus wasnoted as being “propre Tscheile in junceti noninfrequen.”
Hemprich and Ehrenberg’s expedition wassupported by both the Prussian government andthe Prussian Academy of Sciences, to the sumof approximately 23,000 Thaler. The two leftGermany in July 1820 for Trieste and thence toEgypt. Although the bulk of their time wasspent in Egypt, they also collected in the mo-dern Sudan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Eretria(the Dahlak Archipelago). Napoleon’s expedi-tion to Egypt (1798-1801), although primarilymilitary, had also collected a great deal ofscientific information, some of which had beenpublished within a decade of the French with-drawal from the region. This helped to stimulateinterest in Egypt itself, and in the areas of NorthAfrica and the Middle East for which Egypt wasa gateway. Indeed, Hemprich and Ehrenbergwere in Egypt at the same time as EduardRüppel (1794-1884), whose own North African/Middle Eastern expedition spanned the years1822 to 1825, and the two expeditions crossedpaths in Alexandria.
The expedition had a tragic conclusion, asHemprich died in Cairo in 1825. However, interms of specimen collection, the mission was asuccess. In total, the expedition sent back toGermany over 46,000 plant specimens and34,000 animals. The animals represented al-most 4000 different species. Of these 436 spe-cimens were amphibians and reptiles,representing 120 species (Stresemann 1954).These collections were catalogued in theZoological Museum (ZMB, now Museum fürNaturkunde) by Lichtenstein. Unfortunately,although Hemprich and Ehrenberg’s letters andpacking invoices noted in some detail the timeand place where specimens were seen orcollected (Stresemann 1954), Lichtensteincharacteristically recorded only very roughlocalities (e.g., Ägyptien, Nubien) for the spe-cimens (Bauer et al. 1995). He also includedmaterial from the expedition in several of thesale catalogues of duplicate specimens he pub-lished in order to raise money for the museum.
THE SYMBOLAE PHYSICAE AND THE HERPETOLOGY OF HEMPRICH AND EHRENBERG
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The ninth and tenth shipments (collected 1823-1825) from the expedition, arrived too late forinclusion in Lichtenstein’s catalogue, but yieldedthe type material for new taxa from NorthAfrica and the Middle East described by othersover a period of almost 60 years: AmystesEhrenbergii Wiegmann 1835, Acanthodactylusdorsalis Peters 1869, Euprepes libanoticusPeters 1864, Scincus meccensis Wiegmann1837, Euprepes pyrrhocephalus Wiegmann1837, Rana ehrenbergi Peters 1863, Scincushemprichii Wiegmann 1837, Euprepesbrevicollis, Pristurus longipes Peters 1871, andRana abyssinica Peters 1881.
Although Lichtenstein described no more of thematerial after 1823, many of the specimens thathad arrived in Berlin in the 1820’s were stillbeing listed in his last duplicate catalogue, theNomenclator Reptilium et Amphibiorum(Lichtenstein and von Martens 1856) thirtyyears later. Specimens of the following taxa, aslisted in the Nomenclator, had come from thecountries visited by Hemprich and Ehrenberg,and most of the duplicates being offered probablyderived from the expedition: Trionyxaegyptiacus, Testudo marginata, Chamaeleonvulgaris, Platydactylus mauritanicus, P.aegyptiacus, Hemidactylus verruculatus,Ptyodactylus Hasselquistii, Gymnodactylusflavopunctatus, G. scaber, Stenodactylusguttatus, Psammosaurus arenarius, Varanusniloticus, Agama agilis, A. sanguinolenta, A.straminea, A. mutabilis, A. sinaita, Stelliovulgaris, Uromastyx ocellatus, U. spinipes, U.acanthinurus, Lacerta ocellata, Ophiops ele-gans, Acanthodactylus vulgaris, A. scutellatus,A. Savignyi, A. Boskianus, Eremias rubro-punctata, E. guttulata, E. pardalis, Scincusofficianlis, Sphenops capistratus, Gongylusocellatus, Euprepes Cocteaui, E. vittatus, E.quinquetaeniatus, E. septentaeniatus, Plesti-odon auratum var. pavimentatus, Ablepharuspannonicus, Eryx thebaicus, Tropidonotusnatrix, T. tessellatus, T. hydrus, Rhachiodonabyssinicus, Periops parallelus, Zamenisflorulentus, Psammophis sibilans, Lycognathuscucullatus, Coelopeltis acertina, Naja haje,
Echis arenicola, Cerastes aegyp-tiacus, Hylaarborea, Rana cutipora, Rana oxyrhyncha, Bufocalamita, B. pantheriuns, Salamandramaculosa, Chelonia virgata, C. maculosa, andC. Dussumieri.
The Symbolae Physicae
The death of Hemprich left Ehrenberg alone todeal with the preparation of the writtensummaries of the expedition and theirpublication. His intention was to use themonetary support of the state to publish both thenarrative portion of the results and the naturalhistory contributions in short order after hisreturn. Ehrenberg’s initial plan (Stresemann1954) was to publish the natural history in aseries of four parts consisting of the descriptivezoology of the expedition, including anatomyand physiology, illustrations of new animalspecies collected on the trip, along withassociated short text, descriptive botany, andillustrations of plant discoveries of the expedi-tion, with short accompanying text. Unfor-tunately, Hemprich’s death, the publication ofother expedition results from the samegeographical regions, a lack of expertise forsome of the groups collected, and other eventsin the scientific community of Prussia, and theUniversity in particular, stymied Ehrenberg’soriginal plans. The narrative, or historical partof the work was published in a timely fashion(Ehrenberg 1828), but of the natural historysection, the illustrations and accompanying shorttexts were all that were ever issued, under thegeneral title of Symbolae Physicae.
The Symbolae Physicae is confusing for severalreasons. Its various parts were published over aperiod of 72 years from 1828 (or possibly 1827)to 1900. The parts were originally issued indecas (decades) of ten plates each, and eachdecade was issued unbound in portfolios (boardswith ribbon ties). Many institutional copies ofthe work have been bound and informationfrom the boards in some cases differs from thatof the associated text title page. The boards aregenerally dated, but these dates do not
AARON M. BAUER
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necessarily correspond to the actual publicationdates of all or, in some cases, any of the associatedtext or plates.
Four zoological parts (divided into Zoologica I- vertebrates and Zoologica II - invertebrates) ofthe Symbolae Physicae were published duringEhrenberg’s lifetime: I. Mammalia, II Aves, III.Insecta, and IV. Animalia evertebrata. Ehren-berg himself wrote the text accompanying partsI, II, and IV, but the entomological sectionswere compiled by Johann Christoph FriedrichKlug (1775-1856) and edited by Ehrenberg.
The part of the work concerning mammals (I.Mammalia. Decas prima-secunda) includes 81pages of text and 20 colored plates. The completetitle and details of the work are given on both thetitle page and boards as:
Symbolae physicae, seu Icones et descriptionescorporum naturalium novorum aut minuscognitorum, quae ex itineribus per Libyam,Aegyptum, Nubiam, Dongalam, Syriam,Arabiam et Habessiniam publico institutissumptu Friderici Guilelmi Hemprich etChristiano Godofredi Ehrenberg medicinae etchirurgiae doctorum, studio annis MDCCCXX-MDCCCXXV redierunt. Regis iussu et impensisDr. C. G. Ehrenberg. Berolini, ex Officinaacademica, venditur a Mittlero.
Based on information published in the Catalogueof the Books, Manuscripts, Maps and Drawingsin the Collection of the British Museum (Natu-ral History) (1904) and on examination ofseveral copies of the work, the mammalian partof the Symbolae Physicae was published ininstallments beginning in 1828 (the date of thecovers of the first of the two decas) andcontinuing to October 1832 (the date of thecovers of the second decas is 1830). The birdsection (II. Aves. Decas prima) consists of 32pages of text and 10 colored plates. Theindividual text signatures of this part are dated1832 and 1833, but the boards are dated 1828.The five parts making up the insect section (III.Insecta. Decas prima-quinta) were publishedover the period 1829-1845. The text was issuedwith the title:
Symbolae physicae, seu Icones et descriptionesinsectorum, quae ex itinere per Africam borealemet Asiam occidentalem Friderici GuilelmiHemprich et Christiani Godofredi Ehrenbergstudio novae aut illustratae redierunt. PercensuitDr. Fr. Klug. Regis iussu et impensis C.G.Ehrenberg.
The plates were issued in boards bearing thesomewhat different form:
Symbolae physicae, seu Icones et descriptionesInsectorum, quae ex itineribus per Libyam,Aegyptum, Nubiam, Dongalam, SyriamArabiam et Habessiniam publico institutissumptu Friderici Guilelmi Hemprich etChristiano Godofredi Ehrenberg medicinae etchirurgiae doctorum, studio annis MDCCCXX-MDCCCXXV redierunt. Percensuit Fr. Klug.Regis iussu et impensis editit Dr. C. G. Ehrenberg.
In all, there are 93 pages of text and five decadesof plates. In this section of the work individualsignatures were not dated, and presumed datesof publication correspond to the dates on theboards of the plate portfolios: dec. I. 1829. 17pp. text, 10 pls.; dec. II. 1830. 12 pp. text, 10pls.; dec. III. 1832. 22 pp. text, 10 pls.; dec. IV.1834. 21 pp. text, 10 pls.; dec. V. 1845. 21 pp.text, 10 pls.
Likewise the invertebrate portion of the workbears two different titles. That of the text titlepage is:
Hemprich et Ehrenberg Symbolae Physicae.Animalia evertebrata, exclusis Insectis,percensuit D. C.G. Ehrenberg. Series prima;continent Animalia africana et asiatica.
The plates, on the other hand, were issued inboards with the title:
Symbolae physicae, seu Icones et descriptionesanimalium evertebratorum, sepositis insectis,quae ex itineribus per Libyam, Aegyptum,Nubiam, Dongalam, Syriam Arabiam etHabessiniam publico institutis sumptu FridericiGuilelmi Hemprich et Christiano GodofrediEhrenberg medicinae et chirurgiae doctorum,
THE SYMBOLAE PHYSICAE AND THE HERPETOLOGY OF HEMPRICH AND EHRENBERG
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studio annis MDCCCXX-MDCCCXXVredierunt. Regis iussu et impensis editit Dr. C.G. Ehrenberg.
This section (IV. Animalia evertebrata. Decasprima) includes 64 pages of text and 10 plates.The signatures are not dated, but the covers aredated 1828. The plates were published in 1828and the text in 1831.
Thus, between 1828 and 1845, four parts in-cluding among them nine decades of plates, hadbeen issued. However, numerous additionalplates had been prepared but never issued, chie-fly because no text had ever been prepared forthem. As time went on the impetus to publishthe plates must have decreased even further, asmany species that would have been new toscience if described in the late 1820’s or early1830’s, had subsequently been given names byother authors. As a consequence, most “newnames” proposed in the unpublished parts of theSymbolae Physicae would have been juniorsynonyms immediately upon publication. None-theless, in 1899, long after Ehrenberg’s death,and fully 74 years after the completion of theexpedition, the remaining zoological plates,along with text written by experts on eachtaxonomic group, were published. The full titleand publishing details of this later work are:
Symbolae physicae, seu Icones adhuc ineditaecorporum naturalium novorum aut minuscognitorum, quae ex itineribus per Libyam,Aegyptum, Nubiam, Dongalam, Syriam,Arabiam et Habessiniam publico institutissumptu Friderici Guilelmi Hemprich etChristiano Godofredi Ehrenberg medicinae etchirurgiae doctorum, studio annis MDCCCXX-MDCCCXXV redierunt. Publico usui obtuleruntO. Carlgren. F. Hilgendorf. E. v. Martens. P.Matschie. G. Tornier. W. Weltner. Zoologica.Sumptibus Georgii Reimeri, Berolini. 17 pp.text, 32 plates.
This title appears on the title page of the text andalso on the boards accompanying at least somecopies of the plates (see below).
The publishing history of the botanical sectionof the Symbolae Physicae is also confusing.Harvard University’s catalogue lists thefollowing work:
Ehrenberg, C.G. 1828. Symbolae physicae; seuIcones et descriptiones plantarum cotyledo-nearum quae ex itinere per Africam borealem etAsiam occidentalem F.G. Hemprich et C.G.Ehrenberg novae aut illustratae redierunt.
This consists of 24 botanical plates (23 colored)with no accompanying text. These same 24plates, along with 65 pages of text by C. Schu-mann were published together in 1900 as:
Symbolae physicae, seu Icones adhuc ineditaecorporum naturalium novorum aut minuscognitorum, quae ex itineribus per Libyam,Aegyptum, Nubiam, Dongalam, Syriam,Arabiam et Habessiniam publico institutissumptu Friderici Guilelmi Hemprich etChristiano Godofredi Ehrenberg medicinae etchirurgiae doctorum, studio annis MDCCCXX-MDCCCXXV redierunt. Publico usui obtulit C.Schumann. Botanica. Sumptibus GeorgiiReimeri, Berolini.65 pp., 24 pls.
This botanical part of the work completed thepublication of the plates originally prepared onthe basis of Hemprich and Ehrenberg’s expedi-tion.
A recent description of a partial set of the insectpart offered for sale reflects the state of con-fusion regarding the Symbolae Physicae. It sta-tes “part of a seven part series, published between1828 and 1834, treating the fauna of thoseregions. The first two volumes are dedicated tobirds, the next discusses mammals, and the lastfour cover insects. A fifth volume on insectswas added in 1845.” In fact, of the nine (notseven) parts (decas) published duringEhrenberg’s lifetime, the first two parts were onmammals, a third was on birds, five dealt withinsects and one with other invertebrates. Atleast three additional parts were issued post-humously in 1899 (see below), completing thezoology of Hemprich and Ehrenberg’s voyage,and a botanical section was published in 1900.
AARON M. BAUER
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The Symbolae Physicae of 1899
The foreword to the 1899 Symbolae Physicae,dated October 1899, explains that the 32 platesof this part had been completed underEhrenberg’s direction but had never been pub-lished. These include 9 plates of mammalianosteology, one plate of avian osteology, 4 reptileplates, 10 fish plates, 3 fish anatomical plates,one mollusk plate, one anatomy of madreporeplate and three plates on the systematics andanatomy of actinarians and zoantherians.
My copy of the 1899 Symbolae Physicae wasobtained in two portfolios, each with four blueribbon ties. One cover bears the title:
Symbolae physicae, seu icones et descriptionespiscium qui ex itinerer per Africam Borealem etAsiam Occidentalem, Friderici GuilelmiHemprich et Christiano Godofredi Ehrenbergmedicinae et chirurgiae doctorum, studio noviaut illustrati redierunt. Percensuit et Regis iussuet impensis edidit Dr. C. G. Ehrenberg. DecasPrima. Berolini ex Officina Adademica. Venditura Mittlero. MDCCCXXVII.
This contains the 10 colored fish plates. Onlythe first of these has a date indicated (1827). Allplates, however, are consistent in style, quality,and coloring with those plates known to havebeen published during the late 1820s and early1830s. Clearly the covers for the ichthyologicaldecade of plates had been prepared at the sametime as the first plates.
The remaining parts of my own copy of theSymbolae Physicae are associated with boardswith the title:
Symbolae physicae, seu icones et descriptioneszootomicorum qui ex itinerer per AfricamBorealem et Asiam Occidentalem, FridericiGuilelmi Hemprich et Christiano GodofrediEhrenberg medicinae et chirurgiae doctorum,studio novi aut illustrati redierunt. Percensuit etRegis iussu et impensis edidit Dr. C. G.Ehrenberg. Decas Prima. Berolini ex OfficinaAdademica. Venditur a Mittlero.MDCCCXXVII.
The rear board of this portfolio indicates that itwas initially associated only with the first 10anatomical plates (eight of mammal skeletonsand two of fish viscera). When purchased,however, this portfolio contained these plus theadditional 12 non-fish plates the much later(1899) text. I have not seen a portfoliospecifically associated with the remaining 12plates, nor is it likely that one was ever prepared,as these constituted a miscellaneous collectionof subjects, rather than the ten plates, all on asingle subject, typical of each of the publisheddecades of plates released in the 1820’s and1830’s. The text itself consists of the title page(title indicated above), foreword (two unnum-bered pages), and explanatory text. The text for“Mammalia und Aves,” on pages 1-2 wasauthored by P. Matschie; that on “Reptilia” (pp.3-5) by G. Tornier; “Pisces” (pp. 7-10) by F.Hilgendorf; “Mollusca” (pp. 11-12) by E. vonMartens; “Actiniaria und Zoantharia” (pp. 13-16) by O. Carlgren; and “Madreporaria” (p. 17)by W. Weltner.
A number of larger libraries possess copies ofthe 1899 zoological portion of the SymbolaePhysicae. These include the Academy of Natu-ral Sciences, Philadelphia, the University of Kan-sas, McGill University, Museum für Naturkunde,Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and The Natu-ral History Museum, London. Wood (1931)lists the pagination of the McGill copy of theSymbolae Physicae as [4] + 65 + 24 pl., but thisis clearly in error for the botanical volume.
The reptile plates all bear the indication“Zoologica I. Amphibia.” None are dated andthree of the four plates (I, IV, V) are colored.The invertebrate plates are all labeled “ZoologicaII.” “Mollusca pl. III” is uncolored, as are thesingle madrepore plate “Phytozoa, pl. XI” andone of the coral plates, “Phytozoa pl. IX.” Theremaining two coral plates (VII and VIII) arecolored. The anatomical plates all are simplymarked “Zoologica,” plates I-VII are mammalosteology, VIII-X are fish anatomy, XI is birdosteology, and XIII-XIV are again mammalosteology and all are uncolored. The
THE SYMBOLAE PHYSICAE AND THE HERPETOLOGY OF HEMPRICH AND EHRENBERG
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accompanying text verifies that these platesconstitute the complete work and that only thefish plates, three of the four reptile plates andtwo of the three coral plates should be colored.None of these plates has a date associated withit. All plates measure approximately 34 x 50 cmand, in my copy, are untrimmed.
The dating of the reptile section (and otherspublished in 1899 and 1900) is somewhatproblematic. It is clear that the plates and associ-ated covers (at least for the fish, zootomicorum,and botanical sections) were prepared in the late1820’s. Harvard University’s bibliographic no-tation suggests that the plant plates were indeedpublished in 1828 without the text. However,the animal sections may not have been. Esch-meyer (1998) has credited the fish names thereinto Hilgendorf in Hemprich & Ehrenberg 1899(Salarias ornatus) or as Hemprich & Ehrenberg1899 (Lamna ecarinata, Labrus radiatus,Gymnorhinus pharaonis, Carcharias taeniatus,Carcharias aaronis). Most of the names areunavailable as Hilgendorf’s text presents thenames in synonymy only (a consequence inmost cases of the long period between the firstpreparation of the plates and choice of namesand the actual publication of the work). Onlyone of the fish, C. taeniatus, has been interpretedas available as published in the work, althoughit is regarded as a junior subjective synonym ofCarcharias sorrah (Müller and Henle 1839).Eschmeyer (1998) refers to the SymbolaePhysicae as “a posthumous series of plates” andindicates a total of 31 plates (instead of theactual 32 found in complete sets). It is unclear,however, if the plates themselves were publis-hed posthumously, as the dated boards indicatean 1827 date. At present it is unclear whetherthis decade of plates was in fact released in1827, without text, or (as is implied byEschmeyer’s statement) if the finished platesand portfolios, although printed, were notactually published until the associated text wascompleted 72 years later. The issue has relevancefor fish nomenclature as a number of namesused on the plates would have temporal priorityover the currently used names.
The issue of date of publication of the reptileplates is somewhat clearer, as there is noindication that the four plates were released inany of the decas portfolios prior to 1899. Theplates of the reptile section were certainly printedand colored within a few years of Ehrenberg’sreturn from the field. As noted by Tornier (1899),Wiegmann (1837) and Peters (1864) bothspecifically cited material from reptile platesIV and V of the Symbolae Physicae. As theywere associated with the Zoological Museum inBerlin, however, it is likely that they wouldhave had access to the unpublished plates. Noother 19th Century herpetologists appear to havereferenced the work prior to its “formal”publication in 1899. Indeed the work has rarelybeen cited since, and remains virtually unknownamong herpetologists today. No separate boardsfor the reptile plates were apparently prepared(or at least I have seen none). However, port-folio boards bearing the same title (includingthe new authors) as the 1899 text were printed.The copy in the ZMB library in Berlin is in sucha portfolio, but only “Zoologica” is printed onit, rather than any specific group names. Thiswas published, as was the new text, by GeorgReimer, whereas the earlier covers, plates andtext were published by Mittler.
The text of the reptile section, written by GustavTornier, consists entirely of figure legends tothe accompanying plates. Tornier provided thencurrent names corresponding to each of thenames on the plates. These correspondences,along with modern equivalents are presented inTable 1. Tornier also indicated the number ofthe original specimens then present in the ZMBcollection and briefly commented on specificreferences to the plates by Wiegmann and Pet-ers. No new names were proposed by Tornier, asall of the species figured had been formallypublished by earlier authors.
Unfortunately, the excellent reptile plates of theSymbolae Physicae are virtually unknown tomodern herpetologists. This appears to be theresult of 1) the fact that no new valid namesappear in the work, 2) the bibliographic con-
AARON M. BAUER
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Table 1. Correspondence between lizard plate names in the Symbolae Physicae, Tornier’s (1899) names,and current names. The form of the plate names and Tornier’s citations follow the originals exactly.
Plate, Fig. Plate Name Tornier (1899) Current NamePl. 1 Psammosaurus arabicus Varanus griseus Varanus griseus
(Daudin 1803)Pl. 2, Fig. 1 Lacerta guttulata Eremias gutullata Mesalina guttulata
(Lichtenstein 1823)Pl. 2, Fig. 2 Lacerta pardalis Acanthodactylus pardalis Acanthodactylus pardalis
(Lichtenstein 1823)Pl. 2, Fig. 3 Lacerta platyura Acanthodactylus tristrami Acanthodactylus tristrami
(Günther 1864)Pl. 2, Fig. 4 Lacerta scutellata Acanthodactylus scutellatus Acanthodactylus scutellatus
(Audouin 1809)Pl. 2, Fig. 5 Lacerta longicauda Acanthodactylus boskianus Acanthodactylus boskianus
(Daudin 1802)Pl. 4, Fig. 1 Scincus Hemprichii Scincus hemprichii Wiegmann Scincus hemprichii
Wiegmann 1837Pl. 4, Fig. 2 Scincus officianalis Scincus officianalis Laurenti Scincus scincus
(Linnaeus 1758)Pl. 4, Fig. 3 Scincus meccensis Scincus meccensis Wiegmann Scincus scincus meccensis
Wiegmann 1837Pl. 4, Fig. 4 Scincus pavimentatus Eumeces schneideri Daudin Eumeces schneiderii
(Daudin 1802)Pl. 5, Fig. 1 Euprepes pyrrhocephalus Mabuia brevicollis Mabuya brevicollis
(Wiegmann 1837)Pl. 5, Fig. 2 Euprepes brevicollis Mabuia brevicollis Mabuya brevicollis
(Wiegmann 1837)Pl. 5, Fig. 3 Euprepes massauensis Mabuia septemtaeniata Mabuya aurata
septemtaeniata (Reuss 1834)Pl. 5, Fig. 4 Euprepes Tomardi Mabuia vittata (Peters) 1 Mabuya vittata
(Olivier 1804)Pl. 5, Fig. 5 Sphenops capistratae Chalcides sepoides Aud. Sphenops sepoides
(Audouin 1829)
1Tornier attributed this name to Peters. In fact, Peters named Euprepes vittatus var. australis, now recognized as thesouthern African Mabuya occidentalis.
THE SYMBOLAE PHYSICAE AND THE HERPETOLOGY OF HEMPRICH AND EHRENBERG
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fusion over the Symbolae Physicae, and 3) thegeneral rarity of the work in libraries. HadHemprich survived the expedition, it is likelythat he would have overseen the herpetologicalsection of the work, and that taxa subsequentlydescribed by Wiegmann and others would haveinstead been published first in Hemprich andEhrenberg’s expedition results. It is also possiblethat a much larger proportion of the specimenswould have been reported on, thereby drawingattention to the scope of the collections. Hadthis occurred the expedition would haveundoubtedly received recognition as one of themost important herpetological journeys of theearly 19th Century.
References
Bauer, A.M., Günther, R., and Klipfel, M. 1995.The herpetological contributions of WilhelmPeters (1815-1883). Pp. 1-82 in TheHerpetological Contributions of WilhelmPeters (1815-1883). Society for the Study ofAmphibians and Reptiles, Ithaca, NY.
Catalogue of the Books, Manuscripts, Maps andDrawings in the Collection of the BritishMuseum (Natural History), Vol. II. E-K.(1904). British Museum (Natural History),London.
Ehrenberg, C.G. 1828. Naturgeschichtliche Reisendurch Nord-Afrika und West-Asien in denjahren 1820 bis 1825 von Dr. W.F. Hemprichund Dr. C.G. Ehrenberg. Historischer Theil.Berlin: Ernst Siegfried Mittler.
Ehrenberg, C.G. 1836. Über das Häuten derSalamander (Triton taeniatus) auf doppelteWeise. Mitt. Verh. Ges. Naturf. FreundeBerlin 1836(1):16. (Only an abstracted formwas published.)
Ehrenberg, C.G. 1859. Über die mit dem Proteusanguinus (Hypochthon Laurenti)zusammenlebenden mikroskopischenThierformen in den BassinsMagdalenengrotte in Krain. Monatsb. K.Akad. Wissensch. Berlin. 1859.758-775.
Ehrenberg, C.G. 1870. Lebende Proteus anguinuswelcher seit 1859 vorgezeigt war. Sitzungsb.Gesellsch. Naturf. Freunde 1870. 9-10.
Eschmeyer, W.N. (ed.). 1998. Catalog of Fishes, 3vols. San Francisco, California Academy ofSciences.
Fitzinger, L.J. 1826. Neue Classification derReptilien nach ihren Natürlichen Verwandt-schaften, nebst einer Verwandtschafts-Tafelund einem Verzeichnisse der Reptilien-Sammlung des K.K. Zoologischen Museum’szu Wien. Wien, J.G. Heubner.
Hemprich, F.W. 1820. Grundriß der Natur-geschichte für höhere Lehranstalten. Berlin,August Rücker.
Hemprich, F.W. 1829a. Grundriß der Natur-geschichte für höhere Lehranstalten. ZweiteAuflage, umgearbeitet von Dr. H. G. Ludw.Reichenbach. Berlin, August Rücker.
Hemprich, F.W. 1829b. Amphisbaenarum generisnovas species duas descripsit. Verh. Ges.Naturforsch. Freunde Berlin 1:129-130.
Hemprich, F.W. 1829c. Cöcilia, ophidiorum genus,recensuit et illustravit. Verh. Ges.Naturforsch. Freunde Berlin 1:284-296.
Lichtenstein, M.C.H. 1823. Verzeichniss derDoubletten des zoologischen Museums derKänigl. Universität zu Berlin nebstBeschreibung vieler bisher unbekannter Artenvon Säugethieren, Vögelm, Amphibien undfischen. Berlin, T. Trautwein.
Lichtenstein, M.C.H., and von Martens, E. 1856.Nomenclator Reptilium et AmphibiorumMusei Zoologici Berolinensis.Namenverzeichniss der in der zoologischenSammlung der Königlichen UniversitäT zuBerlin aufgestellten Arten von Reptilien undAmphibien nach ihren Ordnungen, Familienund Gattungen. Berlin, Akademie derWissenschaften. (The authorship of this workand the names therein is contentious.)
Peters, W.C.H. 1864. Über die Eidechsenfamilieder Scincoiden, insbesondere über dieSchneider’schen, Wiegmann’schen und neueArten des zoologischen Museums. Mber.Königl.Akad. Wiss. Berlin 1864:44-58.
Stresemann, E. 1954. Hemprich und Ehrenberg.Reisen zweier naturforschender Freunde imOrient geschildert in ihren Briefen aus denJahren 1819-1826. Abh. Deutsch. Akad. Wiss.Berlin, Kl. Math. allg. Naturwiss. 1954(1):1-177.
Wiegmann, A.F.A. 1837. Herpetologische Notizen.Archiv für Naturgeschichte 3(1): 123-136.
Wood, C.A. 1931. An introduction to the literatureof vertebrate zoology based chiefly on thetitles in the Blacker Library of Zoology, theEmma Shearer Wood Library of Ornithology,the Bibliotheca Osleriana and other Librariesof McGill University, Montreal. OxfordUniversity Press, London.
AARON M. BAUER
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Herpetological contributionsof Edward Bartlett (ca. 1836-1908),pioneering herpetologist in Borneo
INDRANEIL DASInstitute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation,
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak,94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, MALAYSIA
Edward Bartlett (ca. 1836-1908) was thesecond Curator of the Sarawak Museum,Kuching between 1895-97, succeeding
George Darby Haviland (1857-1901), andpreceding Robert Walter Campbell Shelford(1872-1912). Nothing is known of his early life,except that he was presumably from England,and by May 1887, had taken up position ofSuperintendent of the London Zoo. Somecorrespondence between George AlbertBoulenger (1858-1937), of the British Museum,Natural History, London, on the herpetology ofBorneo did take place (see Wahlgren, 1999).Besides adding to the zoological collections ofthe museum, Bartlett also published in localjournals during his all too brief tenure. An all-round naturalist, he published articles onmammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish andbutterflies. His most important herpetologicalcontribution was a 24-page account of thecrocodiles and lizards of Borneo that wererepresented in the Sarawak Museum, includingthe description of seven new species of lizards(Bartlett 1895e; see Appendix 1).
Less well known is the fact that Bartlett alsowrote a rather long series of papers in the“Sarawak Gazette”, the monthly official gazettefor the staff of the Sarawak Civil Service (manyof whom generously donated specimens to theMuseum), on turtles and tortoises (Bartlett1894a, 1895a, 1895b, 1896b), amphibians (Bart-lett 1894b) and snakes (Bartlett 1895c, 1895d,1896a, 1896c). These were in the checklistformat, annotated with locality records,sometimes with brief descriptions and natural
history trivia, and are important in being thefirst for Borneo that were primarily based onvoucher specimens (Table 1). The geographicalcoverage was all of the island of Borneo,including the then Dutch-portion which is nowKalimantan of Indonesia, although Bartlettpresumably examined specimens only fromSarawak.
While Bartlett published nearly all of hisherpetological writings in the Gazette, thesewere reprinted in a self-edited book (Bartlett1896d). Subsequent workers have cited boththe primary literature (e.g., De Rooij 1915: 289,292, 326) and the reprint (e.g., Brown & Alcala1994, Das 1998: 6, Inger 1966: 386, Wallach &Bauer 1997).
Three turtle species were described in hischecklists in the Gazette. Hardella baileyi Bart-lett (1895b) was promptly synonymised underOrlitia borneensis Gray, 1873 by Boulenger(1895) (current names listed in Appendix 1).Nonetheless, Bartlett continued to maintain thevalidity of his new species and even establisheda new genus, Brookeia Bartlett, 1896d, for it.Subsequent workers (including De Rooij 1915:292) continued to treat Hardella baileyi Bart-lett, 1895b as synonymous with Orlitiaborneensis Gray, 1873. The second species,Kachuga brookei Bartlett (1895a) wassynonymised under Callagur borneoensis(Schlegel & Müller 1844) by De Rooij(1915:289), and the third, Trionyx pecki Bartlett(1895a) under Dogania subplana (GeoffroySaint-Hillaire 1809) by De Rooij (1915:326).
© International Society for the History and Bibliography of Herpetology, ISHBHNewsletter and Bulletin of the ISHBH, Vol. 2(1): 17-19, 2000
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Table 1. Numbers of herpetological species listed in the checklists of Edward Bartlett and the number ofspecies known at present to exist on the island of Borneo and on smaller associated islands.
Taxon No. in papers Source No. recognised Sourceby Bartlett at present
Amphibians 44 Bartlett 1894b 148 Inger & Stuebing 1997,Taylor 1968
Turtles 19 Bartlett 1894a; 1894a, b 14 Lim & Das 1999Crocodiles 2 Bartlett 1896e 3 Cox et al. 1993Lizards 61 Bartlett 1896e 105 Das, in prepSnakes 118 Bartlett 1895c, d, 1896a 153 Stuebing & Inger 1999
Most of Bartlett’s herpetological types are inthe Sarawak Museum, Kuching; others are inthe Natural History Museum, London.
Acknowledgments
Supported by Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. Ithank the Director, Sarawak Museum and theLibrary personnel for permission and facilitiesat their institution and Kraig Adler, RobertInger, Richard Wahlgren, Van Wallach and GuinWogan for literature and information.
References
Bartlett, E. 1894a. Notes on the chelonians;tortoises and turtles, found in Borneo and theadjacent islands. Sarawak Gazette 24: 187-188. (Reprinted in Bartlett, 1896d: 1-6.)
Bartlett, E. 1894b. Notes on the batrachians, orfrogs and toads of Borneo and the adjacentislands. Sarawak Gazette 24: 202-204.(Reprinted in Bartlett, 1896d: 7-14.)
Bartlett, E. 1895a. Notes on tortoises. No. 2.Sarawak Gazette 25: 29-30. (Reprinted inBartlett, 1896d: 40-44.)
Bartlett, E. 1895b. Notes on tortoises. No. 3.Sarawak Gazette 25: 83-84. (Reprinted inBartlett, 1896d: 59-62.)
Bartlett, E. 1895c. Notes on the snakes of Borneoand the adjacent islands. Sarawak Gazette 25:160-162. (Reprinted in Bartlett, 1896d: 68-76.)
Bartlett, E. 1895d. Notes on the snakes of Borneoand the adjacent islands. Part II. SarawakGazette 25: 182-184. (Reprinted in Bartlett,1896d: 78-85.)
Bartlett, E. 1895e. The crocodiles and lizards ofBorneo in the Sarawak Museum, withdescriptions of supposed new species, and thevariation of colours in the several speciesduring life. J. Str. Br. Royal Asiatic Soc.1895(28): 73-96.
Bartlett, E. 1896a. Notes on the snakes of Borneoand the adjacent islands. Part III. SarawakGazette 26: 153-157. (Reprinted in Bartlett,1896d: 100-116.)
Bartlett, E. 1896b. Notes on tortoises. No. 4.Sarawak Gazette 26: 113. (Reprinted inBartlett, 1896d: 81-82.)
Bartlett, E. 1896c. Notes on the snakes. Part IV.Sarawak Gazette 26: 241. (Reprinted inBartlett, 1896d: 178.)
Bartlett, E. 1896d. The ethnological, zoological,and botanical note book of Sarawak. Do-mingo J. J. Rodrigues, Government Printer,Kuching. 238 pp.
Boulenger, G.A. 1895. Correspondence to theEditor of the Sarawak Gazette. SarawakGazette 25: 163.
Brown, W.C. & A.C. Alcala 1994. Philippine frogsof the family Rhacophoridae. Proc. CaliforniaAcad. Sci. 48(10): 185-220.
Cox, J, H., R. S. Frazier & R. A. Maturbongs1993. Freshwater crocodiles of Kalimantan(Indonesian Borneo). Copeia 1993(2): 564-566.
Das, I. 1998. Herpetological bibliography ofIndonesia. Krieger Publishing Company,Malabar, Florida. (2) + 92 pp.
Das, I. In prep. Lizards of Borneo. Systematicsand natural history. Natural HistoryPublications (Borneo) Sdn Bhd, KotaKinabalu.
INDRANEIL DAS
19
De Rooij, N (also P.J. De Rooij) 1915. The reptilesof the Indo-Australian Archipelago. I.Lacertilia, Chelonia, Emydosauria. E. J. Brill,Leiden. xiv + 384 pp.
Inger, R.F. 1966. The systematics andzoogeography of the Amphibia of Borneo.Fieldiana Zool. 52: 1-402. Reprinted 1990,Lun Hing Trading Company, Kota Kinabalu.
Inger, R.F. & R.B. Stuebing 1997. A field guide tothe frogs of Borneo. Natural HistoryPublications (Borneo), Sdn. Bhd., KotaKinabalu. x + 205 pp.
Lim, B-L. & I. Das 1999. Turtles of Borneo andPeninsular Malaysia. Natural HistoryPublications (Borneo), Sdn. Bhd., KotaKinabalu. xii + 151 pp.
Stuebing, R.B. & R.F. Inger 1999. A field guide tothe snakes of Borneo. Natural HistoryPublications (Borneo) Sdn Bhd, KotaKinabalu. viii + 254 pp.
Taylor, E.H. 1968. The caecilians of the world: ataxonomic review. University of KansasPress, Lawrence. xiv + 848 pp.
Wahlgren, R. 1999. Fine antiquarian books onherpetology in recent catalogues. Int. Soc.Hist. & Bibliogr. Herpetol. 1(1): 5-14.
Wallach, V. & A.M. Bauer 1997. On the identityand status of Simotes semicarinatus Peters,1862 (Serpentes: Colubridae). Hamadryad 21:13-18.
SauriaDraco affinis Bartlett, 1895. J. Str. Br. Royal
Asiatic Soc. 1895(28): 80 (type locality:“Borneo”, without a specific locality). Currentname: Draco affinis Bartlett, 1895.
Draco grandis Bartlett, 1895. J. Str. Br. RoyalAsiatic Soc. 1895(28): 83 (type locality:“Sarawak, Matang, 800 feet”). Current name:Draco fimbriatus Kuhl, 1820.
Draco nigriappendiculatus Bartlett, 1895. J. Str.Br. Royal Asiatic Soc. 1895(28): 82 (typelocality: “Kuching, Sarawak”). Current name:Draco melanopogon Boulenger, 1887.
Lygosoma Bampfyldei Bartlett, 1895. J. Str. Br.Asiatic Soc. 1895(28): 96 (type locality:“Rejang River, Sarawak”). Current name:Lygosoma bampfyldei Bartlett, 1895.
Lygosoma kinabaluensis Bartlett, 1895. J. Str. Br.Royal Asiatic Soc. 1895(28): 94 (typelocality: “Kina Balu, N. Borneo”). Currentname: Sphenomorphus kinabaluensis(Bartlett, 1895).
Mabuia saravacensis Bartlett, 1895. J. Str. Br.Roy. Asiatic Soc. 1895(28): 94 (typelocalities: “Santubong and Kuching”). Currentname: Dasia grisea (Gray, 1845).
Appendix 1. Status of new names proposed by Edward Bartlett.
Mabuia rubricollis Bartlett, 1895. J. Str. Br. Roy.Asiat. Soc. 1895(28): 89 (type locality:“Kuching”). Current name: Mabuya rugifera(Stoliczka, 1870).
CheloniiHardella baileyi Bartlett, 1895b. Sarawak Gazette
25: 83 (type locality: “Ulu of the BatangLupar”). Current name: Orlitia borneensisGray, 1873.
Kachuga brookei Bartlett, 1895a. Sarawak Gazette25: 29 (type locality: unspecified andpresumably from Sarawak). Current name:Callagur borneoensis (Schlegel & M¸ller,1844).
Trionyx pecki Bartlett, 1895a. Sarawak Gazette 25:30 (type locality: unspecified and presumablyfrom Sarawak). Current name: Doganiasubplana (Geoffroy Saint-Hillaire, 1809).
HERPETOLOGICAL CONTRIBUTIONS OF EDWARD BARTLETT
20
ABOUT THE COVER
Encyclopædia Londinensis (1796-1829) andA genuine and universal System of Natural History,
vol. 12 (1809 or 1810) - two little knowncontributions in the history of herpetology.
The lizard depicted on this issue’s frontcover was described by Linnaeus (1707-1778) in the 10th edition of Systema
Naturæ (1758:199-200) giving it the nameDraco volans, literally “the flying dragon”. Itshabitat, terra typica, he said is in “India, Africa”and emphasized in a footnote that all the otherdragons listed by authors are anecdotal. Thecapability for a lizard to fly, or at least glidefrom one tree to another, must have fascinatedthe Europeans when they came to South EastAsia and it had been described at least a centurybefore Linnaeus did it here.
Linnaeus (1758) refer to Jacobus Bontius (1658)who featured “Lacertus volans” in Historiaenaturalis & medicae Indiae Orientalis, p. 59(not 57 as given by Linnaeus). Bontius was aDutch medical doctor who resided in Batavia(now Jakarta) in Java for many years.
Half a century earlier, however, Edward Topsell(1608), p. 161 said that Europeans have justheard of the dragons but had never seen themalive. But the kinds of dragon he mentioned anddepicted are fictitious and indeed differentanimals from the flying dragon illustrated onthe cover. The origin to the mythical animalscould nevertheless be the true lizard. It may benot just incidental that one of the beasts Topsellillustrates has six ribs that support themembranes that make the wings.
Draco as we know the creature is also depictedby Oligeri Jacobæi (1650-1701) in De ranis etlacertis observationes (1686), a tiny book of
144 pages with four plates, the last showing atrue flying dragon. I can not find any citation inthe text to the lizard.
John Ray (1627-1705) was a forerunner and aninspirer to Linnaeus in setting up a system foranimal classification. Ray (1693) described aflying dragon in his Synopsis MethodicaAnimalium Quadrupedum et Serpentini Gene-ris, p. 275 employing the name Lacerta volansIndica and also The Flying Indian Lizzard.
Linnaeus described Lacerta volans initially inthe first edition of Systema naturae (1735). Buthe was well aware of the existence of fabricatedspecimens. In the Order “Paradoxa” Linnaeussays that “Draco [dragon] with an eel-like body,two feet and two wings like a bat is Lacertaalata or a Ray artificially shaped and dried as amonster”. In the sixth edition of Systema naturae(1748) (the third authored by Linnaeus) he haselevated Draco to a genus alongside the generaLacerta, Rana and Testudo in the order “Reptilia”of the third Class, “Amphibia”. This is the firstillustrated edition of Systema naturae and Dracois depicted (Fig. 1).
Draco is now a genus in the family Agamidaeoccurring in Southeast Asia, parts of China andsouthern India. Inger (1983) and Musters (1983)both recognized 15 species but their taxonomicopinions diverged slightly thus only 13 nameswere accepted by both.
The reproduced plate on the cover is originallyfrom Encyclopædia Londinensis, or Universal
RICHARD WAHLGRENPrennegatan 23B
SE-223 53 Lund, [email protected]
© International Society for the History and Bibliography of Herpetology, ISHBHNewsletter and Bulletin of the ISHBH, Vol. 2(1): 20-26, 2000
21
Fig. 1. Caroli Linnæi. Systema naturæ... Edito sexta [6th edition]. Stockholm, 1748, p. 36-37. Linnaeusdevised the Class III Amphibia in two Orders Serpentia and Reptilia. Linnaeus considered the Flying lizardso peculiar that he placed it as the separate genus, Draco with only one species, Lacerta volans.
Draco Volans or flying Dragon upon theDracontium foetidum or Scunkweed.” and“London. Published as the Act directs. July 30,1803, by J. Wilkes”. It is a copper engravingwith an image size 194mm x 250mm, and thepaper size is 230mm x 280mm. The illustrationswere like in most encyclopedias plagiarizedfrom other sources. The theme of the picturewith a spider hanging down from above and theplant figure itself are taken from Mark Catesby’s(1729-1747) The Natural History of Carolina,Florida, and the Bahama Islands, volume II,plate 71. Catesby’s plate however depicts aNorth American tree frog, Hyla cinerea(Schneider), on a “Skunk Cabbage”, Symplo-carpus foetidus (L.) Nutt, a North Americanplant of the family Araceae (Fig. 2). The artist ofthe plate in Encycl. Lond. has added the sealemons or cucumbers to the picture.
Dictionary, &c., &c. Compiled, digested andarranged by John Wilkes, of Midland House, inthe County of Sussex, Esquire; assisted by emi-nent scholars of the English, Scotch and IrishUniversities (hereafter referred as Encycl.Lond.). It was issued in weekly parts, the firstappearing in September 1796 and then continuedto 1829 with the last numbered 1,678, forming24 quarto volumes illustrated with numeroushand-colored plates. A complete copy is listedin British Museum (Natural History) LibraryCatalogue under Wilkes (John) (d. 1811). Encycl.Lond. is quite comprehensive but it containsnearly or quite the whole of Johann GeorgGmelin’s (1789) edition of Systema naturae(Cassin 1867).
The captions on the plate read “DORIS, DRACO,AND DRACONTIUM”, “1. The Doris Argo, orSea lemon. 2. Under part of the same. 3. The
ENCYCLOPÆDIA LONDINENSIS AND A GENUINE AND UNIVERSAL SYSTEM OF NATURAL HISTORY
22
Catesby’s The Natural History of Carolina... isa magnificent one-man accomplishment of theeighteenth century in natural history. Catesby(1682 or 1683-1749) was an Englishman whowent to Virginia in America for the first time in1712 to study the flora of the New World andremained there for five years. He made a secondtrip to America 1722 sponsored by e.g. Sir HansSloane and Charles Dubois, treasurer of theEast India Company, in the hope of returns ofplants and seeds, to make observations anddrawings for the book he was planning. Hereturned to England in 1726. Catesby waslacking the capital to pay other people and hadto produce the copper engravings and apply thehand coloring himself. His magnum opus when
finished contained 220 plates (30 areherpetological) of extraordinary artisticcomposition and brilliancy and informativeaccompanying text.
About the same time as Encycl. Lond. begunappeared a natural history series in octavo basedpartly on Encycl. Lond. and taking many of theillustrations from it. The title reads: A genuineand universal System of Natural History;comprising the three Kingdoms of Animals,Vegetables, and Minerals, arranged under theirrespective Classes, Orders, Genera, and Spe-cies, by the late Sir Charles Linnæus, Professorof Physic and Botany in the University of Upsal,and President of the Royal Academy at Stock-
holm; improved, corrected, andenlarged by J. Frid. Gmelin, M.D. Professor of Natural Historyin the Royal Society of Gottingen.There are no authors or editorsstated other than “Methodicallyincorporated and arranged by theEDITORS of the EncyclopædiaLondinensis.
Behind this work was EbenezarSibly (d. 1800), mostly heard ofas an astrologer. John Wilkes (d.1811) continued the series fromvolume four after Sibly’s death.The series was issued in 14volumes, dated only on the plates.British Museum (N.H.) LibraryCatalogue gives the period ofpublication as 1794-1810. Thereare 415 hand-colored plates, inoctavo or folding quarto. Volume12 is devoted entirely to the ClassAmphibia, divided into “amphib-ious reptiles” and “amphibiousserpents”. The text part consistsof 735 pages. Seventeen of the 21plates are in folded quarto andpresumably all of them taken from
Fig. 2. Tree Frog on Skunk Cabbage by Mark Catesby in The NaturalHistory of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands, 1st edition1729-47. The Artist of the plate in Encyclopædia Londinensis (thisissue’s frontispiece) has taken the theme from Catesby but exchangedthe frog with a flying dragon.
RICHARD WAHLGREN
23
Encycl. Lond. and the remaining four engravedexpressly for this work. The plates are datedfrom July 1794 to August 1809.
The plates from Encycl. Lond. occasionallyappear on the antiquarian market. Several yearsago I found in New York a bound suite of 21hand-colored plates of ophidian or at leastserpent-like animals. A similar set also withouttext was listed in 1978 (Catalogue 142) byWheldon & Wesley, a natural history antiquarianbook dealer in England. The latter set is now inthe library of Kraig Adler. It has 20 plates withthe majority being the same as in my collectionand both sets constitute plates only from Encycl.Lond.
Table 1 is the result of a collation of the platesin the two sets of plates from Encycl. Lond. andfour copies of the book A genuine and universalSystem of Natural History... as well as the plateof Draco volans. One of the books containsplain plates and three have colored plates andone book is missing two plates but are otherwiseidentical. The plate “Boa Constrictor” appearsas a variant (the head is pointing in a differentdirection) in one of the Encycl. Lond. sets.Thirty plates with herpetological themes can beidentified but one can deem that Encycl. Lond.contains more plates with amphibians andreptiles than included in this table. Of theavailable plates is the earliest dated 15 July1794 and the last “1818”, a nine-year leap fromthe last by one which is dated 14 August 1809.The plates that were published in the relativeshort period October 1801 to February 1802 arenumbered in roman typescript 1 to 16 with plate4 not available in any of the sets. The date orderis approximately that of the plate numbers. Theother plates bear no number or just “I” or “II”.
The majority of the plates are copied fromAlbert Seba’s Locupletissimi rerum naturaliumthesauri accurata descriptio, et iconibusartificiosissimis expressio..., 1734 -1765 (Am-sterdam) with due acknowledgments in thebottom left corners.
My thanks are directed to Anthony Swann,Director of Wheldon & Wesley for his help witharchive research and to Kraig Adler for provi-ding information from his copies of the booksand plate set used in the collation. ThomasMadsen and Björn Lardner helped withattributing the plates to species and RalphTramontano commented the manuscript andreviewed the English.
References
Anonymous. (1809 or 1810). A genuine anduniversal system of Natural History;comprising the three kingdoms of animals,vegetables, and minerals, arranged under theirrespective classes, orders, genera, and species.By the late Sir Charles Linnæus, Professor ofPhysic and Botany in the University of Upsal,and President of the Royal Academy ofStockholm. Improved, corrected, andenlarged, By J. Frid. Gmelin, M. D. Professorof Natural History in the Royal Society ofGottingen. Faithfully translated, and renderedmore complete by the Addition of Vaillant’sbeautiful Birds of Africa, the superb Fish ofMark Eliezer Bloch; the AmphibiousAnimals, Reptiles, Insects, &c. in the costlyWorks of Albertus Seba, Merian, Fabricius,Knorr, &c. the elegant Improvements of theCompte de Buffon, and the more ModernDiscoveries of the British Navigators in theSouth Pacific Ocean, New Holland, NewSouth Wales, China, Cochin-China, &c.Methodically incorporated and arranged bythe Editors of the Encyclopædia Londinensis.Volume the Twelfth. No date. London. 1-735,plates 21.
Bontius, Jacobus (Bontii, Jacobi). 1658. Historiaenaturalis & medicae Indiae Orientalis. LibriSex. V. Historia animalium. In GulielmiPisonis. De Indiae utriusque re naturale etmedica libri. XIV. Amstelaedami, Elzevirios.(Not seen.)
British Museum (Natural History) Catalogue ofthe Books, manuscripts, maps and drawings.(5 vol., 1903-15; Supplement, 3 vols., 1922-40). London 1903-40. Reprint 1992 NewYork, N.Y.
ENCYCLOPÆDIA LONDINENSIS AND A GENUINE AND UNIVERSAL SYSTEM OF NATURAL HISTORY
24
Tabl
e 1.
Sum
mar
y fro
m a
colla
tion
of fo
ur co
pies
of A
gen
uine
and
uni
vers
al s
yste
m o
f Nat
ural
His
tory
... (v
ol. 1
2) p
rodu
ced
by Jo
hn W
ilkes
(180
9or
10)
and
var
ious
pla
tes f
rom
Enc
yclo
pædi
a Lo
ndin
ensi
s… (1
796-
1829
) mos
tly c
onta
ined
in tw
o bo
und
sets
with
her
peto
logi
cal p
late
s onl
y. T
hepl
ates
are p
lace
d in
chro
nolo
gica
l ord
er (o
ne h
as n
o da
te).
The f
orm
at fo
r the
dat
es fo
llow
nea
rly th
ose o
f the
text
on
the p
late
s. A
ttem
pts h
ave b
een
mad
e to
attri
bute
the d
epic
ted
anim
als t
o m
oder
n no
men
clat
ure.
All
plat
es th
at ar
e in
quar
to (4
to) e
xcep
t tw
o (“
RAN
A; A
ug 1
4.18
09” a
nd “D
ORI
S,D
RACO
, AN
D D
RACO
NTI
UM
; Jul
y 30.
1803
”) ap
pear
in on
e or b
oth o
f the
two a
vaila
ble s
ets o
f “se
rpen
t” pl
ates
from
Enc
yclo
pædi
a Lo
ndin
ensi
s.A
djac
ent
page
no.
inP
late
des
crip
tion
Dat
e of
pla
teN
o.F
orm
at“A
gen
uine
…”
Mod
ern
nom
encl
atur
eTh
e Ca
yman
Cro
codi
le a
nd(N
o da
te)
-8v
o23
5P
aleo
such
us p
alpe
bros
usA
mph
ysbæ
na V
iper
.M
icru
rus s
p.TH
E A
QU
ATIC
VIP
ER.
July
, 15,
179
4-
8vo
681
Agk
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pis
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The
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d.D
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1st 1
795
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o24
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ranu
s sp
.? (j
uven
ile)
AM
PHIS
BÆN
A. 1
. The
Ful
gino
sa a
nd13
th A
ugus
t 179
6-
4to
718
1. A
mph
isba
ena
fulig
inos
a2.
Alb
a Se
rpen
ts.2.
Am
phis
baen
a al
ba?
The A
frica
n La
nd T
orto
ise.
Mar
ch 1
, 179
9-
8vo
103
Geo
chel
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pard
alis
BOA
.Th
e Bo
a Co
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. (va
riant
pla
te Ja
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1. 1
800)
Sept
. 5. 1
800
II4t
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3B
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The
Cani
na, o
r Gre
en B
oa.
Feb.
10.
180
1I
4to
427
Cor
allu
s ca
ninu
sA
NG
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.Th
e Ja
culu
s, or
redi
cula
ted
Dar
t Sna
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lon.
Feb.
21.
180
1I
4to
696
Chr
ysop
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sp.
AN
GU
IS.
1. T
he h
orne
d Sn
ake.
Mar
ch 1
6. 1
801
II4t
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81.
?2.
The
tess
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ed S
nake
.2.
?3.
The
gre
at a
nnul
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f Sur
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Hel
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ta?
COLU
BER.
The
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ned
Vip
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June
3. 1
801
II4t
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COLU
BER.
The
Clot
ho, o
r Dea
dly
Vipe
r.O
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. 180
1I
4to
457
Lach
esis
mut
aCO
LUBE
R.Th
e La
ches
is, o
r fat
al V
iper
.O
ct. 7
. 180
1II
4to
456
?CO
LUBE
R.Th
e Atro
pos,
or L
ife c
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min
g Vi
per.
Oct
. 12.
180
1III
4to
458
?CO
LUBE
R.1.
The
Ber
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r Vip
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f Eur
ope.
Oct
. 23,
180
1V
I4t
o48
81.
?2.
The
Vip
er o
f Rhe
di2.
Vip
era
amm
odyt
esCO
LUBE
R.Th
e Vi
per B
itis,
and
Nov
. 4. 1
801
VII
4to
523
Cor
allu
s co
oki
Cobr
a de
Mon
il.B
unga
rus
sp.?
COLU
BER.
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ian
Vipe
r, or
Add
er o
f Afri
ca.
Nov
. 6. 1
801
V4t
o45
41.
Epi
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2. T
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nt V
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or c
ruel
Vip
er.
3. ?
COLU
BER.
1. a
nd 2
. The
Am
eric
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sp, m
ale
and
fem
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Nov
. 13.
180
1V
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o52
61
and
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sp.?
3. T
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ian
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.3.
Mac
ropr
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sCO
LUBE
R.1.
The
Cro
talin
e Vi
per.
Nov
. 28.
180
1IX
4to
529
?2.
The
Cor
onat
ed V
iper
.?
(It w
ears
a c
row
n)C
ontin
ued
on n
ext p
age.
..
RICHARD WAHLGREN
25
Tabl
e 1.
...c
ontin
ued
from
pre
ceed
ing
page
.
Adj
acen
tpa
ge n
o. in
Pla
te d
escr
ipti
onD
ate
of p
late
No.
For
mat
“A g
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oder
n no
men
clat
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COLU
BER.
The
Cæcu
s, or
secr
et V
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; and
Dec
. 4. 1
801
XII
4to
Naj
a sp
.th
e Co
bra
de C
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lo, o
r Spe
ctac
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oode
d V
iper
.N
aja
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COLU
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The
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ma
Vipe
r.D
ec. 1
8. 1
801
X4t
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COLU
BER.
1. T
he C
at-li
ke V
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.Ja
n. 3
. 180
2X
IV4t
o1.
Col
uber
gem
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sis?
2. T
he T
yger
-like
Vip
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2. C
olub
er h
ippo
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(1)
COLU
BER.
The
Nat
rix, o
r Wat
er V
iper
.Ja
n. 1
1. 1
802
XI
4to
Nat
rix
natr
ixCO
LUBE
R.Th
e Atro
x, o
r Fie
rce
Vipe
r.Ja
n. 2
0. 1
802
XIII
4to
Boi
ga c
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on?
COLU
BER.
1. T
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umm
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ving
Vip
er.
Jan.
28.
180
2X
V4t
o1.
?2.
The
Pet
hola
Vip
er.
2. ?
3. T
he p
aint
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.3.
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prop
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sp.
COLU
BER.
1. T
he M
ycte
rizan
s, or
Coa
ch-w
hip
Vipe
r.Fe
b. 1
. 180
2X
VI
4to
1. ?
2. T
he C
ench
oa V
iper
2. I
man
tode
s sp
.CR
OTA
LUS.
The
Gre
at R
attle
Sna
ke.
June
15.
180
2-
4to
405
Cro
talu
s ho
rrid
usD
ORI
S, D
RACO
, AN
D D
RACO
NTI
UM
.Ju
ly 3
0. 1
803
4to
1. T
he D
oris
Arg
o, o
r Sea
lem
on.
1. E
chin
oder
mat
a2.
Und
er p
art o
f the
sam
e.2.
Ech
inod
erm
ata
3. T
he D
raco
Vol
ans o
r fly
ing
Dra
gon
3. D
raco
sp.
upon
the
Dra
cont
ium
foet
idum
or S
cunk
wee
dSy
mpl
ocar
pus
foet
idus
ACR
OCH
ORD
US,
AN
D A
CTIN
IA.
Dec
. 13.
180
6-
4to
1. T
he Ja
van
Acr
ocho
rd o
r War
ty S
nake
.1.
Acr
ocho
rdus
java
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ENCYCLOPÆDIA LONDINENSIS AND A GENUINE AND UNIVERSAL SYSTEM OF NATURAL HISTORY
26
Cassin, John. 1867. Fasti ornithologiæ. No. 3.Encyclopædia Londinensis, or UniversalDictionary, &c., &c. Proc. Acad. Sciences,Philadelphia: 212-221.
Catesby, Mark. 1729-47. (1st edition.) The NaturalHistory of Carolina, Florida, and the BahamaIslands. Containing two hundred and twentyfigures of Birds, Beasts, Fishes, Serpents,Insects and Plants. London. (Not seen.)
Frick, George (introduction) and Joseph Ewan(notes). 1974. [Modern issue of] MarkCatesby. 1771. The Natural History ofCarolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands.Revised by Mr. Edwards. (3rd edition.) Thebeehive Press, Savannah, Georgia. xvi, (2), 1-107, (2).
Gmelin, Johann Fridrich . 1789 (1788). Caroli aLinné... Systema naturae per regna trianaturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera,species, cum characteribus, differentiis,synonymis, locis. T. 1. Lipsiæ. (Not seen.)
Inger, Robert F. 1983. Morphological andecological variation in the flying lizards(Genus Draco). Fieldiana: Zool., Chicago.New Series, 18: 1-35.
Jacobæi, Oligeri. 1686. De ranis et lacertisobservationes. 12mo. Hafniae (Copenhagen).Pp. 144, plates 4.
Kitchell, Kenneth Jr. and Harold A. Dundee. 1994.A trilogy on the Herpetology of Linnaeus’sSystema Naturae X. SmithsonianHerpetological Information Service, Washing-ton, No. 100: 1-59.
Linnæi, Caroli. 1735. Systema naturæ, sive regnatria naturæ systematice proposita per classes,ordines, genera, & species. (1st edition.)Stockholmiæ. Facsimile 1964. (Nieuwkoop).E. de Graaf. 1-31, (1-16 facs.), (1), plates 2.
Linnæi, Caroli. 1748. Systema naturæ sistens regnatria naturæ, in classes et ordines genera etspecies redacta tabulisque æneis illustrata.Editio sexta, emenda et aucta. (6th edition.)Stockholmiæ. Godofr. Kiesewetteri. (i-iv), 1-224, (27), plates i-viii.
Linnaei, Caroli. 1758. Systema naturae per regnatria naturae, secundum classes, ordines,genera, species, cum characteribus,differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. (10thedition.) Laurenti Salvii, Stockholm. (8), 1-823, (1). Reprint ed. Magdeburg, 1760.
Musters, C. J. M. 1983. Taxonomy of the genusDraco L. (Agamidae, Lacertilia, Reptilia).Zoologische Verhandelingen, Leiden. (199):1-120, plates 1-4.
Ray, John (Raio, Joanne). 1693. Synopsis MethodicaAnimalium Quadrupedum et Serpentini Generis.Londini (1-16), 1-336, (1-8).
Topsell, Edward. 1608. The Historie of Serpentsor, The second Booke of living Creatures.London. Printed by William Faggard. (1-10),1-315, (1-6).
Wheldon & Wesley Catalogue 142 (1978) under“Linnaeus”, item Nos. #312 - #315: “Anuniversal system...“
3. Quadrupeds, 43 hand-coloured plates. 180012. Amphibious Animals, 21 hand-coloured
plates. 180913. Of Insects, 35 (of 36) hand-coloured
plates. 180914. Of Vegetables, 19 hand-coloured plates.
1810Wheldon & Wesley Catalogue 142 (1978) under
“Reptiles and Fishes”, item No. #894:“Encyclopaedia Londinensis, edited by JohnWilkes.” Reptilia, 20 fine hand-colouredplates of snakes, 4to, 1801-02.
(Wilkes, John) Encyclopædia Londinensis, orUniversal Dictionary, &c., &c. Compiled,digested and arranged by John Wilkes, ofMidland House, in the County of Sussex,Esquire; assisted by eminent scholars of theEnglish, Scotch and Irish Universities.London, 1796 to 1829. 24 volumes quarto.
RICHARD WAHLGREN
27
BOOK REVIEW
Finding Order in Nature: The Naturalist tradition from Linnaeus to E.O. Wilson. By Paul Lawrence Farber, 2000. Johns Hopkins University
Press, Baltimore, xii, 136 (4) pp. (ISBN: 0-8018-6389-9) $29.95.BRECK BARTHOLOMEW
P.O. Box 58355Salt Lake City, UT 84158-0355, USA
modern theory of evolution, 1900-1950; 9) Thenaturalist as generalist: E.O. Wilson, 1950-1994.
Starting with the contributions of Linnaeus(classification) and Buffon (life history, ana-tomy, ecology, etc.) the author presents a his-tory in which natural history grew from a hobbyto science with several subdisciplines. Severalindividuals are mentioned who are also of inte-rest to the history of herpetology and shortbiographies are presented for most of them.
A list of suggested reading is presented, but Ithink it is quite telling that the book lacks aliterature cited section. Although I enjoyed theauthor’s perspective, I felt this book read morelike a literary analysis than a history. The authorfreely makes associations between people andsuggests what they were thinking, without offe-ring any references to support his suppositions.As a result it is difficult to believe that the bookwas written with much authority.
In the last chapter, the author suggests that E.O.Wilson has completed the circle of history, bycombining different subdisciplines of biology(natural history) to take a more complete viewof organisms. Unfortunately, I felt this chapterwas written with far too much praise, borderingon worship, and thus the message was diluted.
Overall, I would have to say that this history ofnatural history is worth reading. Many of theauthor’s ideas are interesting and the biographiesdiscuss aspects of lives that I have not seen insome other histories. However, whether thisbook is an accurate history or merely historicalfiction, I cannot really say.
As a history of natural history over the last twohundred and fifty years, this book necessarilydeals with some topics and people involved inthe history of herpetology. Since the approachto the history of natural history in this book isdifferent than other histories I have read, Ifound some of the author’s interpretations quiteinteresting and refreshing, while I disagreedwith some of his other interpretations.
In the introduction the author suggests thescience of natural history began in the eighteenthcentury with ”the attempt of naturalists to groupanimals, plants, and minerals according toshared underlying features and to use rational,systematic methods to bring order to theotherwise overwhelming variation found innature.” However, by beginning this historywith Linnaeus and Buffon the author seems tonegate the contributions of earlier systematists(e.g. John Ray) as well as naturalists that wereconcerned with other aspects of nature (e.g. M.S. Merian, Mark Catesby, A. J. Roesel vonRosenhof). Nonetheless, his definition is usedto set a starting point for his history.
The nine chapters in this book are: 1) Collecting,classifying, and interpreting nature: Linnaeusand Buffon, 1735-1788; 2) New specimens:transforming natural history in to a scientificdiscipline, 1760-1840; 3) Comparing structure:the key to the order of nature, 1789-1848; 4)New tools and standard practices, 1840-1859;5) Darwin’s synthesis: the theory of evolution,1830-1882; 6) Studying function: an alternativevision for the science of life, 1809-1900; 7)Victorian fascination: The golden age of natu-ral history, 1880-1900; 8) New synthesis: the
© International Society for the History and Bibliography of Herpetology, ISHBHNewsletter and Bulletin of the ISHBH, Vol. 2(1): 27, 2000
© International Society for the History and Bibliography of HerpetologyPrinted by KFS i Lund AB, 2000ISSN 1404-3815
International Society for the
History and Bibliographyof Herpetology
Newsletter and BulletinVol. 2, No. 1, 2000
Contents
Instructions for Authors ................................................................................. 2
Society News ................................................................................................. 3
Other News .................................................................................................... 6
ArticlesBAUER, A.M. — The Symbolae Physicae and the Herpetology of Hemprich
and Ehrenberg’s Expedition to Egypt and the Middle East. ..................... 8
DAS, I. — Herpetological contributions of Edward Bartlett
(ca. 1836-1908), pioneering herpetologist in Borneo. ...............................17
About the CoverWAHLGREN, R. — Encyclopædia Londinensis (1796-1829) and A genuine
and universal System of Natural History, vol. 12 (1809 or 1810) -
two little known contributions in the history of herpetology. .................. 20
Book ReviewBRECK, B. — Finding Order in Nature: The Naturalist tradition from
Linnaeus to E. O. Wilson. ............................................................................... 27
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