René Léon Bourret (28 January 1884,

Nérac Nérac (; oc, Nerac, ) is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department, Southwestern France. The composer and organist Louis Raffy was born in Nérac, as was the former Arsenal and Bordeaux footballer Marouane Chamakh, as was Admiral Francois Dar ...

, (

Lot-et-Garonne Lot-et-Garonne (, oc, Òlt e Garona) is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the rivers Lot and Garonne, it had a population of 331,271 in 2019.herpetologist Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and rept ...

and

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

. In 1900, he arrived in

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...

as a member of the military. Beginning in 1907, he worked as a surveyor for the "

cadastral survey Cadastral surveying is the sub-field of cadastre and surveying that specialises in the establishment and re-establishment of real property boundaries. It involves the physical delineation of property boundaries and determination of dimensions, a ...

". From 1919 to 1925, he performed geological surveys in

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

, becoming a professor in 1925 at the ''École Supérieure des Sciences'', ''Université Indochinoise'' in

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...

. Two years later, he released his first zoological publication, a general review on

vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () ( chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, ...

s native to

. During the ensuing years, he published three major works on

herpetofauna Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and rept ...

native to Indochina: monographs on

snakes Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more joi ...

(1936),

chelonians Turtles are an order (biology), order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special turtle shell, shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) an ...

(1941), and

amphibians Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbore ...

(1942). During the Japanese occupation of Indochina, he remained in Hanoi, where he continued regular publications. In 1947, he returned to France and settled in

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

. Most of his specimens are preserved in museums in Toulouse and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. These herpetological species/subspecies are named after him: * Bourret's blind skink, ''

Dibamus bourreti ''Dibamus bourreti'', also known commonly as Bourret's blind skink, the white-tailed dibamid, or the white-tailed worm-like lizard, is a species of legless lizard in the family Dibamidae. The species is endemic to Asia. Etymology The specific ...

'' *

Bourret's box turtle Bourret's box turtle (''Cuora bourreti''), also known commonly as the central Vietnamese flowerback box turtle and the Indochinese box turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae. The species is endemic to Southeast Asia. Geographi ...

, ''Cuora bourreti'' * Bourret's cat snake, ''

Boiga bourreti ''Boiga bourreti'' is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Southeast Asia. Etymology The specific name, ''bourreti'', is in honor of French herpetologist René Léon Bourret. Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2 ...

'' * Bourret's emo skink, '' Emoia laobaoensis'' * Bourret's ground skink, '' Scincella ochracea'' * Bourret's odd-scaled snake, ''

Achalinus ater ''Achalinus ater'', commonly known as Bourret's odd-scaled snake, is a species of snake in the family Xenodermatidae. The species is found in northern Vietnam and China in Guizhou and Guangxi Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alte ...

'' * Bourret's pit viper, ''Protobothrops jerdonii bourreti''.

Selected writings

* ''Études géologiques sur le nord-est du Tonkin'', 1922 (dissertation) – Geological studies on northeast

Tonkin Tonkin, also spelled ''Tongkin'', ''Tonquin'' or ''Tongking'', is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain ''Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, includi ...

* ''Études géologiques dans la région de Pay-Lay (Moyen Laos)'', 1925 – Geological studies of the Pay-Lay region (Moyen

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

) * ''Les serpents de l'Indochine'', 1936 - Snakes of Indochina * ''Notes herpetologiques sur l'Indochine francaise : no. 1 + 18-25'', 1939-1941 – Herpetological notes on

. * ''Les batraciens de l'Indochine'', 1942 – Amphibians of Indochina * ''Les mammiféres de l'Indochine : les gibbons'', 1947 – Mammals of Indochina,

gibbon Gibbons () are apes in the family Hylobatidae (). The family historically contained one genus, but now is split into four extant genera and 20 species. Gibbons live in subtropical and tropical rainforest from eastern Bangladesh to Northeast India ...

s * ''Les lézards de l'Indochine'' (with Roger Bour) –

Lizards Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia althou ...

of Indochina.WorldCat Titles
(publications)

References

External links

SSARherps Biographies
1884 births 1957 deaths French herpetologists 20th-century French geologists People from Nérac 20th-century French zoologists {{France-scientist-stub

Selected writings

See also

References

External links