COUTURE (Philippe, Pierre, Auguste) - Lot 304

COUTURE (Philippe, Pierre, Auguste) The Pyrenean Desman. Galemys Pyrenaicus G. Thesis for the Doctorat Vétérinaire defended in 1983 at the University of Toulouse. In-8 paperback: 8f., V, 117pp. illustrated with 4 sheets of black photographs. Letter from the author to Jacques Labarère. ½ green filleted chagrin, gilt title on unstained spine, publisher's buff cover retained. The Pyrenean Desman or trumpet rat is a mammal of the Talpidae family, endemic to the Pyrenees (living only in the Pyrenees (in the streams and lakes of the Franco-Spanish Pyrenees) and in the north of the Iberian Peninsula). It is a semi-aquatic insectivore, living close to streams and essentially nocturnal. It has a proboscis that enables it to perceive its environment and search for food. It has webbed feet. Its sharp claws enable it to cling to slippery rocks. The Desman anatomically resembles other animals such as the rat, a good swimmer, the mole, equipped to dig in the earth, or the shrew with its pointed snout, sniffing out insects. It is one of 79 animal species listed as vulnerable in France by the Centre de surveillance de la conservation de la nature.