On Amphibians and Reptiles in Linnaeus's Students' Dissertations

Linnaeus oversaw 185 doctoral dissertations throughout his career. These theses, often overlooked in the vast Linnaean legacy, offer valuable insights into the scientific understanding of amphibians and reptiles during the 18th century.

Two of these theses, Siren lacertina and De Morsura serpentum, deal with amphibians and reptiles as central topics. Another three, Amphibia Gyllenborgiana, Museum Adolpho-Friedericianum, and Surinamensia Grilliana, describe collections that were duly donated to the University, all of which have a significant component of Amphibia in the Linnaean sense. Two more, Lignum colubrinum and Radix senega, deal with the identification and uses of supposed antivenins of vegetal origin. In addition to these seven, amphibians and reptiles were occasionally mentioned in another 25 dissertations.

This volume contains English translations of seven complete dissertations, plus the herpetological portions of twenty-five additional dissertations. The 466 added footnotes and an the extensive bibliography, place these translations in their original context and makes them accessible to the modern reader.