Descriptive Catalogue of the Reptiles of British India. E-book. Formato PDF - 9780259689591

In compiling the present Catalogue my object has been to meet a want which at present blocks the way to the general study of Herpetology in India, and to supply in an accessible and portable form such a condensed description of our Indian Reptiles as may enable any one interested in the Fauna of his locality to acquaint himself with the Reptiles he meets with. Some such work, indeed, as that now offered, is the indispensable precursor of a more complete and exhaustive work, for which, at present, our materials are wholly inadequate; and the main benefit I anticipate from the present publication is, that it may be the means of conducing to the formation of a large mass of notes, especially such as refer to distribution of species, from men who are at present unable to make trustworthy observations simply from the bulky or inaccessible nature of the books which treat of this division of the animal kingdom.

The present Catalogue is based on Günther's Monograph, published by the Ray Society in 1864. But though a great addition has been made to the Indian Reptile Fauna since that period, yet the total number of species in the present Catalogue will not greatly exceed those described by Günther, from the fact that considerably more than 100 species (exclusive of Hydrophidæ which with Batrachia I do not at present intend to include), enumerated by Günther, are excluded by me on geographical grounds.