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Show 1897.] ON THE REPTILES AND BATRACHIANS OE CELEBES. 193 A fair collection of birds had been made, which would be of interest to British naturalists as representing species not often brought to this country by collectors. Besides these, collections had, where possible, been made of the Invertebrate Fauna of the country. The following papers were read:- 1. A Catalogue of the Reptiles and Batrachians of Celebes, with special reference to the Collections made by Drs. P. & F. Sarasin in 1893-1896. By G. A. B O U L E N G E R , F.R.S., F.Z.S. [Keceived December 11, 1896.] (Plates VII.-XVI.) During their three years' exploration of Celebes, the Drs. Sarasin paid much attention to the herpetological fauna of that island and succeeded in bringing together a collection of 565 selected specimens of Beptiles and Batrachians, representing 86 species, of which 18 proved to be new to science and 11 new to the island, all in excellent state of preservation and with the localities carefully noted. These collections were sent home in several consignments, the first three of which were received by Dr. F. Midler of Basle, who published two preliminary notes on them. At the death of that distinguished herpetologist in 1895, I was offered by the Drs. Sarasin to continue the w7ork of identification and to write a general report on the Beptiles and Batrachians. This I gladly undertook, and in the beginning of 1896 I published descriptions of several new species sent to me from the southern part of the island. Towards the end of the same year, on the return of the explorers, the whole of their collection, including the specimens already studied by Dr. Midler, was made over to me. It seemed, however, that the value of the report would be much increased by not limiting it to the collection made by the Doctors, and I therefore resolved to prepare a complete Catalogue of the Beptiles and Batrachians of Celebes, exclusive of marine species, which would prove practically useful to future students and collectors, as by its means all specimens could be identified. I have given descriptions of the endemic forms, and of a few that are imperfectly known, and a key, as short and simple as the subject permits, by which it is possible to determine all the species so far recorded from Celebes. The older literature contains but little information on the herpetology of Celebes. But within the last twenty-five years important collections were made, with special attention to localities, and described by Peters, Giinther, Doria, M. Weber, van Lidth de Jeude, and myself. These collections- will be alluded to throughout in the text, with the names of the collectors, A. B. Meyer, Bruijn, Beccari, M. Weber, and Everett. I have, PROC. ZOOL. Soc-1897, No. XIII. 13 |
