Moths of Australia (First Edition)

COMMON, I.F.B. & Ederic SLATER. Moths of Australia. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1990.

Quarto. Original publisher's cloth. Pictorial dust jacket. vi, 535 pp., illustrated throughout with colour and halftone photographs of more than 1,000 named species. First edition. Winner of the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales Whitley Award, 1991.

Australia's moth fauna is one of the largest yet least-known in the world. Of the approximately 10,000 named Australian species the great majority remained, until this book's publication, accessible only through scattered technical papers and the accumulated private knowledge of a handful of specialists.

Ian Common spent the better part of a career at the CSIRO Division of Entomology working to change this, presiding over the Australian National Insect Collection as it grew from 60,000 specimens to several million, and synthesising the results of decades of research into this single comprehensive volume.

More than 1,000 species are figured in colour and halftone photographs, with authoritative accounts of structure, life history, biology, larval food plants, economic significance, evolution, and geographical distribution. No comparable work exists, and the first edition has not been superseded.

Near fine in a near fine unclipped dust jacket. Some shelf fading to the dust jacket spine, otherwise bright, clear, and fine. Volume likewise fine, with two small and discreet spots to the fore-edge.

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Catalogue Number: HH000425