Author: Schreibers, C. [F. A. Ritter von]
Title: A historical and anatomical description of a doubtful amphibious animal of Germany, called, by Laurenti, Proteus Anguinus.
Description: London, The Royal Society, 1801. 4to (29.8 x 23.2 cm). 24 pp.; two large, double-folded engraved plates. Disbound. Original blind wrappers included. = A detailed, early description of the olm (Proteus anguinus), the only aquatic cave-dwelling vertebrate in Europe, by the Austrian zoologist and naturalist Carl Franz Anton Ritter von Schreibers (1775-1852). "This cave salamander is most notable for its adaptations to a life of complete darkness in its underground habitat. The olm's eyes are undeveloped, leaving it blind, while its other senses, particularly those of smell and hearing, are acutely developed. It also lacks any pigmentation in its skin." (Wikipedia). According to the Eponym dictionary of reptiles, Schreibers is commemorated in the scientific names of two species of New World lizards: Cercosaura schreibersii and Leiocephalus schreibersii. Published in the Society's Philosophical Transactions for 1801. Part II. An unusually fine, uncut and spotless copy. Rare. Adler refers to Schreibers a few times but does not include a biography. Not in any other major bibliography.

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