INTRODUCTION. 
Yll 
l ive monograph, the species then known, which, according to his list, amounted 
to eighteen; of these, three are probably the young of species otherwise named 
in the same list, which reduces the number known by this naturalist to fifteen. 
His descriptions are generally sufficiently full for the purpose of ascertaining 
the species intended; but it is also evident, from the stress which he lays upon 
some of the general characters, that he was not aware of their real value, nor 
able to distinguish between those which belong to a whole division of the group 
and those which characterize species only. The “ Chelonographia ” of Wall- 
baum, and the scattered additions made about the same period by other writers, 
prepared the way for that portion of the “ Histoire Naturelle cies Quadrupedes 
ovipares et Serpens,” which relates to Tortoises, by the Comte de Lac^pecle, who 
contributed this addition to the celebrated “Histoire Naturelle ” of the Comte 
de Buffon. It would be no easy matter to analyse satisfactorily this elaborate 
work. That much was effected by it towards the improvement of Erpetology 
cannot be denied; but so much confusion of names and characters still remained 
to perplex the student of this branch of Zoology, as to leave perhaps little 
room for unqualified praise. The uncertainty which, from the first, attached 
to the specific distinctions of these animals, arising from the want of attention 
to essential characters, and the differences existing between the young and 
adult state of many species, still obtained. The total absence, also, of anything 
like a fully illustrated monograph was, under these circumstances, a fatal 
obstacle to the acquisition of a correct knowledge of the described species. 
This great desideratum was however undertaken by Schoepff, who, in 1792, 
commenced his “Historia Testudinum*.” His object was to give figures of 
every known species; but his premature death prevented the completion of 
the work. As far as it went, the figures are exceedingly correct and well 
executed; the accoun ts of the species full and clear, and the lists of the synonyms 
evince not only an extensive acquaintance with all that had before been writ¬ 
ten on the subject, but also no inconsiderable judgement in ascertaining and 
clearing up the doubtful and confused synonymy of previous authors. There 
is, however, no attempt at arrangement; the whole of the species are still in¬ 
cluded under the one generic term Testudo , and the land, the fresh-water, and 
* J. D. Schcepff, Historia Testudinum iconibus illustrata. Erlangae, 1792, et sequent. 
