Volume 54 Published on 10 October 2002
This is the first comprehensive book on Amphibians and terrestrial Reptiles from Guadeloupe (including Saint-Barthélemy and Saint-Martin). It is the result of over 66 weeks of fieldwork, of compiling nearly all earlier works, and of studying unpublished correspondence and manuscript written by early naturalists. This book contains a lot of new data providing new insights on the herpetofauna of these islands. The first chapter deals with historical geology in connection with speciation events and with the islands’ habitats. The second is a presentation of observations made by early chroniclers and naturalist travellers from the Paris Muséum who collected Herps. The third chapter is an analysis of the herpetofauna from both historical and biogeographical points of view. Six Anouran, 5 Chelonian, 21 Lizard -including 4 extinct- and 7 Snake species are considered. The presentation of each species begins with a systematic account, and then it is described with numerous unpublished coulour photographs, and line drawings. Species distribution is shown on one map of the Caribbean Islands and on a detailed map of the Guadeloupe Archipelago. Detailed information on habitat, biology-ecology, reproduction and sometimes protection needs and regression factors are given. There are two appendixes. The first one gives a critical herpetofauna list for each island (even the smallest) and the second one is the list of Amphibians and Reptiles from these islands housed in the Paris Museum’s collections. This Natural History is intended for naturalists, teachers, researchers and administrators.
