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Octavo (335 x 260 mm), Large-quarto. Original printed wrappers. Collation: I. Second Contribution (.)": pp. 135-230, with 8 photolithographic plates numbered XVI-XXIII; - II. On the Lizards (.)": 104 pp., with 7 photolithographic plates and 12 text figures. Condition: Some signatures and stamps from a dispersed library on front- and rear-wrappers to both volumes as well as on verso of plates (last plate of 1st work: recto), not shining through and not very disturbing actually), also the first page usually stamped in the margin. The first work with minor traces of use only, a generally very nice copy, the second shows some heavier wears to the wrapper s margins, spine there is broken, some minor thumbing in places, corners a little bumped. But still a handsome copy. Both titles should eventually be rebound together, especially if one could add the 1905 treatise that would make this set a complete run of Boulengers important and ground-breaking revision of the Wall-Lizard and related scpecies (see below, please)., a well preserved copy. [Transactions of the Zoological Society of London; Vol. XX, part 3 & vol. XXI, part I]. - [=Transactions of the Zoological Society of London, vols. XX, pt. 3 & XXI, pt. I]. - First edition. Two seminal papers in early 20th-century herpetology by the preeminent taxonomist George Albert Boulenger (1858-1937) in which the author continues his groundbreaking systematic revision of the common Wall-Lizard (Lacerta muralis), a species notorious for its extreme morphological variability. The work is of particular scientific importance for its meticulous analysis of intra-specific variation. Boulenger moved beyond simple species description, instead documenting the complex web of subspecies and local varieties across Europe and the Mediterranean. His methodology relying on precise pholidosis (scale counts) and proportional measurements set a new standard for lacertid taxonomy. The publication is further distinguished by its high-quality lithographic plates, typically executed by J. Green, which remain essential for the visual identification of the subtle color patterns and morphological features described in the text. This set comprises the final two installments of Boulenger s monumental trilogy on the genus Lacerta. While these 1913 and 1916 volumes represent the pinnacle of his mature taxonomic thought, it is important to note their relationship to the foundational First Contribution" (1905, not present here). The absence of the 1905 volume means that the foundational geographical focus on Western Europe and North Africa is not covered in the same primary detail and the 1905 work established the typical form" (forma typica) of Lacerta muralis and the initial classification system that the 1913 Second Contribution" expands upon. Major subspecies and varieties from regions such as Spain, Portugal, and Northwest Africa (e.g., breviceps) are the primary focus of the first part. Without it, the evolutionary trajectory and the full geographic map of the species radiation remain incomplete. The 1905 paper contains Boulenger s initial justification for using pholidosis (scaling) as the primary diagnostic tool over color pattern a methodology that the later two works take for granted. Despite the absence of the 1905 volume, this pair remains still highly significant as it covers the more complex Eastern and Central European varieties as well as the crucial comparative analysis with allied species (L. agilis and L. parva). Together, they represent the transition from a regional study to a comprehensive Palearctic synthesis. For the researcher or collector, they provide the most refined version of Boulenger s statistical approach to herpetology, illustrated by the most sophisticated lithography of the era. - [00B | SOD | oR ] 560 g.
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