The project that produced the 1989 printed edition could not have been completed without the help of many people who assisted in diverse ways. Most contributed or reviewed taxonomic accounts, a task far more difficult and time consuming than it sounds. Contributors and reviewers alike had to devote considerable effort to the undertaking; the former in ferreting out first uses of taxonomic names, type specimens and type localities, and then writing the accounts, and the latter in laboriously wading through and annotating an enormous manuscript. In addition, contributors in particular had to lay aside proprietary interest in their output in favor of the cooperative production of this volume. However, the efforts of some people went considerably beyond passing on the output of the days they spent with a word processor or with a red pencil.

Peter Meylan helped locate potential contributors, uncovered some publications we had difficulty locating, and put unpublished manuscripts on softshells at our disposal. Charles R. Crumly also made available unpublished manuscripts on tortoises. Gregory Mayer and Franklin D. Ross were extremely helpful in sorting out the New World crocodilians, and kept pushing us until the accounts came right. Marinus S. Hoogmoed took a great deal of time out of his busy schedule to critique the entire manuscript twice, first as a friend and again as a member of the WCH committee. Between reviews he called our attention to overlooked literature. John B. Iverson also made detailed comments on nearly every account in the manuscript. It took us weeks just to check all of John's suggested corrections and then to enter them into the computer. Rene Honegger helped locate data on European species. Edward O. Moll and John L. Carr gave us valuable input on South American and Asian turtles in the critical early days of the project. Peter C.H. Pritchard critically reviewed the draft manuscript and later took hours away from a personal defense of `TEDs' (turtle excluder devices) he was making to Florida shrimp fishermen to answer questions. Heinz Wermuth not only gave valuable insights on various accounts, he also helped us interpret spellings based on classic Latin and on the ICZN. Philip M. Hall spent days in the library of the American Museum of Natural History running down references that had eluded us in Florida.

Many participants in the project were involved before we took over as editors. Many had already produced or critiqued early sections of the manuscript before the computer files were transferred to us. Since we cannot adequately measure efforts expended before we came aboard, the acknowledgements relate solely to our interactions with contributors and reviewers. We hope that we have not overlooked anyone's extraordinary contribution. If we have, it was unintentional.

Thanks are due Stephen R. Edwards, former executive director of the Association of Systematics Collections, who wheedled and cajoled us into taking on the editorship of this volume despite our initial reluctance. He then maintained his composure, and even sense of humor, when we missed deadlines. Thanks are also due Darrel Frost and John B. Iverson, the original editors. They initiated the project, developed an outline checklist, and made initial contact with potential contributors. Special thanks are due Elaine Hoagland and Alan Emery, respectively Executive Director and President of ASC, for moving production of the checklist series forward while sorting out conflicting editorial responsibilities, jumbled contracts, budget shortfalls, and missed deadlines. Kraig Adler, Secretary General of the World Congress of Herpetology, has our gratitude for selecting the members of the WCH committee that reviewed the manuscript in its final stages.

Thanks are due the Standardized Nomenclature Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) which consistently has championed the checklist project before the plenary sessions of the Convention. No less gratitude is due the 95 Party nations that approved continued support for the project, and the CITES Secretary General, Eugene Lapointe, and the Secretariat, for overseeing dispersal of funds and production of the finished volumes.

Finally, we owe much to our wives, Sherry King and Pamela Harpel-Burke, who supported the project by keeping us sane when progress was slow. Sherry was especially supportive when thunderstorms caused computer crashes and forced the expenditure of hours re-entering lost data. Pamela was even more invaluable; she contributed her professional library science skills to help locate original references in other archives.

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