Over de zoogdieren van den Indischen Archipel. [On the mammals of the Malayan Archipelago].

Leiden, S. Luchtmans, J. Luchtmans, C. C. van der Hoek, [1839]. Folio (43.4 x 29.0 cm). 57 pp., three double tables. Contemporary half calf over mottled boards, spine with gilt ornaments and title. = One of the first catalogues by the German-Dutch zoologist Salomon Müller (1804-1863) on mammals of Indonesia, dealing with Quadrumana, Chiroptera, Entomophaga, Insectivora, Carnivora, Marsupialia, Ruminantia, etc. The author, who had a keen interest in zoogeography, pays special attention to the peculiar distribution of the several species and higher groups of mammals. Eventually this lead to the definition of 'Müller's line' (1846), the first to describe the amazing boundary between the Oriental and Australian faunas (see Simpson). Offprint from the Verhandelingen Natuurlijke Geschiedenis der Nederlandsche Overzeesche Bezittingen. Bookplate of the Academy of Natural Sciences (Philadelphia) pasted on front paste-down. Edges worn, two cm of spine foot perished. Rather foxed throughout; a repaired erased library stamp on the title. In all a good copy. Rare. Simpson, 1977 Too Many Lines; The Limits of the Oriental and Australian Zoogeographic Regions.