Les Tortues de l'Indochine

by René Leon Bourret
Bourret's Les Tortues de l'Indochine, published in Vietnam in 1941, was the first complete and detailed monograph to deal with the turtles and tortoises of Southeast Asia. Although focused on French Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia), the book treats the chelonian fauna of a larger area, extending from northeastern India to southern China to the Malay Peninsula. The book was based on work conducted during Bourret's decades of study in Vietnam and forms part of a series of his major publications on the herpetofauna of the region. More than 60 years after its original publication, Les Tortues remains an essential work in chelonian systematics and Southeast Asian herpetology. Published at the outset of more than 30 years of turmoil in the region, the book has long been a rarity and is among the most desirable of 20th century turtle books.
Detailed accounts are provided for 44 species of chelonians in 25 genera. Because of taxonomic changes these correspond to 56 currently recognized species in 34 genera. Species accounts are illustrated by more than 100 drawings and photos of whole turtles, skulls, carapaces and plastra. Six species are illustrated in color. In addition, the book provides a series of keys based on both skeletal and external characters, as well as chapters dealing with turtle morphology, the history of chelonian research in Indochina, and the faunal composition of the Indochinese region. An appendix on marine turtles and the turtle fishery in the Gulf of Siam by F. Le Poulain rounds out the volume, which also includes a 26 page bibliography.
Les Tortues de l'Indochine, originally published in the Notes de l'Institut Océanographique de l'Indochine, has long been out of print. With the publication of the new SSAR facsimile edition this classic book is again available to herpetologists with interests in turtles and tortoises or in the herpetofauna of Southeast Asia. The original French text is reproduced and a new English introduction by Indraneil Das of the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak places Les Tortues de l'Indochine in its historical context and provides and annotated correspondence between Bourret's nomenclature and that in current usage.
Specifications: 264 pages, 7 x 10 inches, 48 black and white and 6 color plates, clothbound. . ISBN 0–916984–64–8.
Price: $65.00 + shipping

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