In The Greenland Entomofauna an international team of 64 taxonomic specialists provide for the first time a richly illustrated guide to the identification of the 1200 species of Hexapods/Insects, Arachnids and Myriapods so far known to occur in the country. While the composition, origin and adaptations of the Greenland fauna has always been a challenge to biogeographers and ecologists/ecophysiologists, the provision of a tool for detailed identification of its constituent species is now particularly timely, since global climate change will expectedly have a particularly noticeable impact on biota at high latitudes. This obviously renders the feasibility of monitoring distributional range shifts of the principal components of this biota a matter of some urgency. Contributors are: Achterberg, Cornelius van; Ahola, Matti; Bartak, Miroslav; Behan-Pelletier, Valerie; Bird, Jeremy M.; Bog, Katrine; Brodo, Fenja; Buhl, Peter N.; Dahl, Christine; Disney, R. Henry L.; Dittmar, Katharina; Fjellberg, Arne; Gammelmo, Oivind; Forshage, Mattias; Gerecke, Reinhard; Gertsson, Carl-Axel; Haastriter, Michael M.L.; Haenni, Jean-Paul; Heie, Ole E.; Heraty, John M.; Hodgson, Chris; Hodkinson, Ian D.; Horsfield, David; Huber, John T.; Jaschoff, Matthias; Jensen, Frank; Johanson, Kjell A.; Jussila, Reijo; Karsholt, Ole; Krzeminska, Ewa; Lantsov, Vladimir I.; Laska, Pavel; Lindegaard, Claus; Lyneborg, Leif (); Makarova, Olga; Marusik, Yura M.; Mathis, Wayne N.; Mazanek, Libor; Michelsen, Verner; Munk, Thorkild (); Murphy, William L.; Nielsen, Soren A.; Nielsen, Tore R.; Noyes, John S.; Oosterbroek, Pjotr; Ozerov, Andrey L.; Pape, Thomas; Pinto, John D.; Pollet, Marc; Rindal, Eirik; Rohacek, Jindrich; Simonsen, Thomas J.; Smith, Vincent S.; Soeli, Geir; Stary, Jaroslav; Strassen, Richard zur; Svensson, Bo. W.; Vilhelmsen, Lars; Vilkamaa, Pekka; Wilson, Michael; Zatwarnicki, Tadeusz

With a wide variety of habitats ranging from southeastern swamps to western deserts, Texas is home to numerous species of frogs, toads, and salamanders. Each area of Texas has a particular set of species that has evolved there over thousands of years. Indeed, most amphibians are not very mobile, and many live their entire lives within a few square meters. This makes them particularly vulnerable to environmental degradation and habitat destruction. Texas Amphibians is the only field guide focused exclusively on the state's frogs, toads, and salamanders. It presents brief, general accounts of the two orders and fifteen families. Then it identifies each of the seventy-two species in detail, including size, description, voice (if applicable), similar species, distribution (with maps), natural history, reproduction, subspecies (if applicable), and comments and conservation information. Color photographs illustrate the species. The book also includes a general introduction to amphibian natural history, conservation, observation and collection, maintenance in captivity, museum and preserved specimens, and scientific and common names, as well as scientific keys to Texas salamanders and frogs and a generic key to amphibian larvae. This wealth of information, compiled by a team of experts who collectively have over a century of experience in field herpetology, will increase our appreciation for amphibians and the vital role they play as an early indicator of threats to the quality of the environment that we all share.

An account of the evolution of turtles, tortoises and terrpains from their origins 220 million years ago to the present day. This covers most of the fossil species and all living species.

This is a comprehensive monograph on the problems of intoxication incurred by snake venom. This publication is primarily intended for those at all levels of health care, for members of rescue teams, surgeries and emergency hospitals, as well as specialised workplaces and intensive care units. Providing didactic instructions for first aid and treatment procedures, information is also presented on venomous snakes, the fundaments of their morphology and behaviour, snakebite prevention, the composition of snake venom, symptoms of envenoming, plus first aid in the event of snakebite for non-professionals, travellers, terrain biologists, and breeders. This book features an updated alphabetical list of types and sub-types of all venomous snakes, including their home ranges, as well as a comprehensive index, list of abbreviations, glossary, and colour picture insert with one hundred photographs of venomous snakes.

Host to more than one hundred species of reptiles and amphibians, the Savannah River Site, a 780-square-kilometer tract in South Carolina, is one of the most intensely studied areas of herpetological ecology in the world. This guide is a summary of basic information on the site's richly varied herpetofauna, from their taxonomy and distribution to their behavior and habitats. Keys to identify the adult and larval forms of the site's known species comprise the core of the guide. These keys are supplemented by maps, graphs, and illustrations as well as by information on habitats; population characteristics and distribution; behavior related to movement, feeding, and reproduction; morphology; and techniques for collecting specimens. The guide also includes information about special identification and study problems involving unresolved sighting reports; subspeciation; and venomous, edible, endangered, and introduced species. Finally, a bibliography gives not only the sources referred to in the guide but virtually all studies and reports based on herpetological research conducted at the Savannah River Site. The site-related publications are listed by author but can also be found through an index to the subjects they cover. Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of the Savannah River Site is a valuable one-volume introduction to the existing information on herpetofauna at the site and to the countless research opportunities the site still presents. Because it is clearly written and designed and lists most of the reptiles and amphibians found in Georgia and South Carolina, the guide is also useful to wildlife observers--professional and amateur--in those states.

Destruction of habitat due to urban sprawl, pollution, and deforestation has caused population declines or even extinction of many of the world's approximately 2,600 snake species. Furthermore, misconceptions about snakes have made them among the most persecuted of all animals, despite the fact that less than a quarter of all species are venomous and most species are beneficial because they control rodent pests. It has become increasingly urgent, therefore, to develop viable conservation strategies for snakes and to investigate their importance as monitors of ecosystem health and indicators of habitat sustainability.

In the first book on snakes written with a focus on conservation, editors Stephen J. Mullin and Richard A. Seigel bring together leading herpetologists to review and synthesize the ecology, conservation, and management of snakes worldwide. These experts report on advances in current research and summarize the primary literature, presenting the most important concepts and techniques in snake ecology and conservation. The common thread of conservation unites the twelve chapters, each of which addresses a major subdiscipline within snake ecology. Applied topics such as methods and modeling and strategies such as captive rearing and translocation are also covered. Each chapter provides an essential framework and indicates specific directions for future research, making this a critical reference for anyone interested in vertebrate conservation generally or for anyone implementing conservation and management policies concerning snake populations.

Contributors: Omar Attum, Indiana University Southeast; Steven J. Beaupre, University of Arkansas; Xavier Bonnet, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Frank T. Burbrink, College of Staten Island-The City University of New York; Gordon M. Burghardt, University of Tennessee; Todd A. Castoe, University of Colorado; David Chiszar, University of Colorado; Michael E. Dorcas, Davidson College; Lara E. Douglas, University of Arkansas; Christopher L. Jenkins, Project Orianne, Ltd.; Glenn Johnson, State University of New York at Potsdam; Michael Hutchins, The Wildlife Society; Richard B. King, Northern Illinois University; Bruce A. Kingsbury, Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne; Thomas Madsen, University of Wollongong; Stephen J. Mullin, Eastern Illinois University; James B. Murphy, National Zoological Park; Charles R. Peterson, Idaho State University; Kent A. Prior, Parks Canada; Richard A. Seigel, Towson University; Richard Shine, University of Sydney; Kevin T. Shoemaker, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York; Patrick J. Weatherhead, University of Illinois; John D. Willson, University of Georgia

Written by two of the Southeast's foremost authorities on sea turtle conservation, this is an accessible, fully illustrated guide to the species that frequent the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States. No one who encounters a sea turtle soon forgets it. The leatherback, for instance, can grow to huge proportions, commonly approaching eight feet in length and more than half a ton in weight. Powerful swimmers, they are also among the deepest divers of all air-breathing sea creatures. Despite these assets, the survival of the leatherback, like that of all sea turtle species, is under constant threat from commercial fishing operations, overdevelopment of nesting grounds, pollution, and predation by introduced species. The guide opens with comprehensive coverage of the sea turtle's evolution, juvenile and adult life cycles, nesting, diet and feeding, disease and parasites, predators, and conservation issues. Each subsequent chapter is dedicated to a particular turtle species: loggerhead, leatherback, Kemp's ridley, green sea turtle, hawksbill, and olive ridley. The account of each species describes distribution, habitats, general appearance, life history and behavior, and conservation. For each species, photographs of hatchlings and adults and a map showing distribution and migration provide further information. Sea turtles have been swimming the seas for one hundred million years. Yet all of the species in this book - indeed, all sea turtles worldwide - are on U.S. and international endangered lists. Biologists Carol Ruckdeschel and C. Robert Shoop have dedicated their careers to learning about sea turtles - and to ensuring that we understand that we are stakeholders in the fate of these ancient creatures. With this guide in hand, readers will be better equipped to understand sea turtle biology and support sea turtle conservation efforts.

"Assays of assemblages of amphibians and reptiles provide important information on community structure in the tropics. These ectothermic organisms are highly responsive to slight differences in the environment and to seasonal differences, such as patterns of rainfall. Most species seem to have rather restricted home ranges; therefore, data gathered in a restricted area provide much better insight into the requirements of, and potential interactions among, the species in the assemblage." from the IntroductionThe rainforests in the southwestern part of the Amazon Basin in southeastern Peru are home to scores of amphibians and reptiles. Cusco Amazonico is a richly illustrated and comprehensive account of the lives of 151 of these species. William E. Duellman's masterpiece of community ecology includes descriptions of the physical environment and vegetation found in this unique habitat along with syntheses of abundance, mass, feeding, reproductive guilds, and daily and seasonal patterns of activity. Identification keys in English and Spanish precede detailed and illustrated species accounts. Tadpoles of many frogs are described and illustrated.Cusco Amazonico will become a standard reference for herpetologists, tropical biologists, biogeographers, ecologists, and conservationists and stands on its own as a portrait of an animal community in a unique bioregion. The illustrations include 236 color photographs, 121 charts and graphs, 16 maps, 42 line drawings, 2 halftones, and 56 sets of audiospectrograms and waveforms. There are 71 tables."

The large and impressive monitor lizard (genus Varanus) has attracted a great deal of interest. Despite being wary and difficult to observe, monitors have received an extraordinary amount of attention from devoted students. Varanoid Lizards of the World is a comprehensive account of virtually everything important that is known about monitor lizards, beginning with detailed species accounts and proceeding to various modern comparative analyses. Where possible, people who have had detailed field experience with a particular species have assembled the species accounts. In the process of reporting what is known, the book also identifies what remains to be learned about these lizards. This volume stands as a model for showing how such a diverse monophyletic group can be exploited both to identify and to understand the actual course of evolution.

The most thorough treatment of lizards of the United States and Canada, Handbook of Lizards has become a landmark among herpetologists and lizard specialists. Hobart M. Smith spent years compiling and oganizing information on 136 species of lizards for this classic study. With more than 300 illustrations, including photographs, labeled drawings, range maps, and illustrated keys, this volume serves as a convenient ference guide to the study of North American lizards. Darrel Frost, a prominent lizard specialist, provides a foreword that underscores the work's relevance for herpetology today.In the first section, Smith covers in concise fashion the habits, life history, habitats, methods of collection and preservation, and structural features of lizards. The second section of the book considers each species under topics that are conveniently arranged for studying both living lizards and laboratory specimens: range, type, locality, size, color, scalation, recognition characters, habitat and habits, and references. Smith also discusses problems for further study and gives recommendations for special investigations of each species. The book concludes with an extensive bibliography.Hobart M. Smith is Professor of Environmental, Population, and Organismic Biology, Emeritus, at the University of Colorado.

For years Albert Hazen Wright and Anna Allen Wright traveled extensively, attempting to observe every species of snake in North America in its natural surroundings and collecting data and live specimens. Their exhaustive research resulted in a famous two-volume sourcebook, first published in 1957. Abundantly and painstakingly illustrated by the authors, this personalized natural history organizes for ready reference a wealth of information on American and Canadian snakes.Across the two volumes of Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada are accounts of more than three hundred species and subspecies, accompanied by photographs, drawings, and distribution maps. Generous excerpts from the authors' field journals give the reader a vivid feeling of some of the satisfactions and conclusions of the Wrights' search.Volume I features an introductory section in which the Wrights cover snake names and such features of their biology and behavior as range, size, longevity, distinctive characteristics, color, habitat, period of activity, breeding, ecdysis, food, venom and bite, and enemies. It also includes an informative new foreword written for the 1994 reprint edition by Jonathan A. Campbell, a leading expert on snakes. The main section of Volume I comprises in-depth accounts of twenty-nine snake species, from Leptotyphlopidae (blind snakes) to Opheodrys (green snakes).Volume II includes species accounts of nineteen species, from Oxybelis (pike-headed tree snakes) to Sistrurus (ground rattlesnakes, pigmy rattlesnakes, and massasaugas), as well as a glossary and an index for both volumes

For years Albert Hazen Wright and Anna Allen Wright traveled extensively, attempting to observe every species of snake in North America in its natural surroundings and collecting data and live specimens. Their exhaustive research resulted in a famous two-volume sourcebook, first published in 1957. Abundantly and painstakingly illustrated by the authors, this personalized natural history organizes for ready reference a wealth of information on American and Canadian snakes.Across the two volumes of Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada are accounts of more than three hundred species and subspecies, accompanied by photographs, drawings, and distribution maps. Generous excerpts from the authors' field journals give the reader a vivid feeling of some of the satisfactions and conclusions of the Wrights' search.Volume I features an introductory section in which the Wrights cover snake names and such features of their biology and behavior as range, size, longevity, distinctive characteristics, color, habitat, period of activity, breeding, ecdysis, food, venom and bite, and enemies. It also includes an informative new foreword written for the 1994 reprint edition by Jonathan A. Campbell, a leading expert on snakes. The main section of Volume I comprises in-depth accounts of twenty-nine snake species, from Leptotyphlopidae (blind snakes) to Opheodrys (green snakes).Volume II includes species accounts of nineteen species, from Oxybelis (pike-headed tree snakes) to Sistrurus (ground rattlesnakes, pigmy rattlesnakes, and massasaugas), as well as a glossary and an index for both volumes

Despite their abundance in many parts of North America, salamanders have generally been neglected by all but a few specialists. In this book-first published in 1943-Sherman C. Bishop discusses in a lively but authoritative manner the 126 species and subspecies of salamanders that are known to exist in the United States, Canada, and Baja California.Group by group, Bishop describes salamanders in accounts that give the common and technical names, type of locality, range, habitat, size, anatomical characteristics, color, breeding habits, and relationships-all in a uniform arrangement that makes the handbook especially convenient for studying both living animals and laboratory specimens. His brief introduction surveys the relationships and general habits of salamanders and gives information on collecting and preserving them. In his foreword to the 1994 reprint edition, Edmund D. Brodie, Jr., a specialist on salamanders, updates the taxonomy of the group.

Fifty-two kinds of snakes can be found in the Southeast, almost half of all species native to North America. Filled with more than 300 color photographs and written by two of the region's most renowned herpetologists, this is the most comprehensive educational guide to the Snakes of the Southeast. At the heart of the guide are its heavily illustrated, fact-filled descriptions of each species and its habitat. Also included is a wealth of general information about the importance of snake conservation and the biology, diversity, and life cycles of snakes. Useful information about the interactions of humans and snakes is also covered: species that are likely to be found near houses, snakes as pets, what to do in case of a snake bite, and more.Clearly written, cleanly designed, and fun to use, the guide will promote a better understanding of the habitat needs of, and environmental challenges to, this fascinating group of animals.Features: Conservation-oriented approach Over 300 color photographs Nearly 50 distribution maps Clear descriptions of each species, including differences in the appearance of young and mature snakes Size charts, key identifiers (scales, body shape, patterns, and color), descriptions of habitat, behavior and activity, food and feeding, reproduction, predators and defense, and conservation

This practical handbook of reptile field ecology and conservation brings together a distinguished, international group of reptile researchers to provide a state-of-the-art review of the many new and exciting techniques used to study reptiles. The authors describe ecological sampling techniques and how they are implemented to monitor the conservation status and population trends of snakes, lizards, tuatara, turtles, and crocodilians throughout the world. Emphasis is placed on the extent of statistical inference and the biases associated with different techniques and analyses. The chapters focus on the application of field research and data analysis for achieving an understanding of reptile life history, population dynamics, movement patterns, thermal ecology, conservation status, and the relationship between reptiles and their environment. The book emphasises the need for thorough planning, and demonstrates how a multi-dimensional approach incorporates information related to morphology, genetics, molecular biology, epidemiology, statistical modelling, animal welfare, and biosecurity. Although accentuating field sampling, sections on experimental applications in laboratories and zoos, thermal ecology, genetics, landscape ecology, disease and biosecurity, and management options are included. Much of this information is scattered in the scientific literature or not readily available, and the intention is to provide an affordable, comprehensive synthesis for use by graduate students, researchers, and practising conservationists worldwide.

An indispensable manual for conservationists throughout the UK and much of mainland Europe. It provides conservation guidance on the twelve non-marine amphibian and reptile species native to the British Isles. It covers a wide range of issues, from advice on surveying to reintroductions. Reprint edition of 1861074506 published in 1998.

Adaptive radiation, which results when a single ancestral species gives rise to many descendants, each adapted to a different part of the environment, is possibly the single most important source of biological diversity in the living world. One of the best-studied examples involves Caribbean "Anolis "lizards. With about 400 species, "Anolis "has played an important role in the development of ecological theory and has become a model system exemplifying the integration of ecological, evolutionary, and behavioral studies to understand evolutionary diversification. This major work, written by one of the best-known investigators of "Anolis, "reviews and synthesizes an immense literature. Jonathan B. Losos illustrates how different scientific approaches to the questions of adaptation and diversification can be integrated and examines evolutionary and ecological questions of interest to a broad range of biologists.

Lizards utilise many different niches across a large variety of habitats. As a result of selective pressures exerted by the particular environments, many lizards in similar habitats have been shown to exhibit convergent morphologies. The performance of a lizard, or any organism for that matter, is a fundamental attribute employed in its survival, and therefore significantly impacts its fitness. The study of an organism's functional capacity is fairly new, with relatively few studies published. In studies of lizard functional capacity, performance is most often defined as the whole organism's ability to conduct an ecologically relevant task, and measures thereof have included sprint speed, bite force and locomotor endurance, amongst others. Primarily, the study of whole-organism performance includes those performance aspects related to dynamic animal movements, and not more passive' performance aspects (such as immune function levels or reproductive output) or those performance traits measured within an organism (such as enzyme reaction rate). This book focuses on the thermal ecology, genetic diversity and functional role lizards have in ecosystems. It discusses the influence of light on visual discrimination of sexually dichromatic dewlap colour in male and female brown anoles; the tolerance to thermal stress in lizard embryos; the leiolepis guttata; the impact on habitat modifications of thermoregulation in coastal sand dunes; the convergence in morphology in lizards; and sexual dimorphism and thermoregulatory behaviour in the long-tailed spiny lizard.

Who was Richard Kemp, after whom the Kemp's ridley sea turtle is named? Is Wake's Gecko named after Berkeley's Marvalee Wake? Or perhaps her husband, David? Why do so many snakes and lizards have Werner in their name? This reference book answers these and thousands of other questions about the origins of the vernacular and scientific names of reptiles across the globe.

From "Agkistrodon piscivorus conanti," the Florida cottonmouth subspecies named for Roger Conant, to "Xantusia," the night lizard genera namesake of John Xantus, this dictionary covers everyone after whom an extant or recently extinct reptile has been named. The entries include a brief bio-sketch, a list of the reptiles that bear the individual's name, the names of reptiles erroneously thought to be associated with the person, and a summary of major--and sometimes obscure or even incidental--contributions made by the person to herpetology and zoology. An introductory chapter explains how to use the book and describes the process of naming taxa. Easy to use and filled with addictive--and highly useful--information about the people whose names will be carried into the future on the backs of the world's reptiles, "The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles" is a handy and fun book for professional and amateur herpetologists alike.

This volume provides an up-to-date guide to the identification, range, habitat, and status of snakes found within eastern and central North America, from west Texas, to western Manitoba, to the eastern seaboard. Species accounts are grouped by family (Blind Snakes, File Snakes, Boas and Pythons, Colubrid Snakes, and two families of venomous snakes) and illustrated with 251 color photos showing species, subspecies and most natural intergrades and color phases. The descriptive text combines details of appearance, naturally occurring color morphs, behavior, range/habitat, prey, and look-alikes with the authors' personal field observations. Enhancing the text are 98 distribution maps. For ease of use, photos, range maps, and descriptive text are presented on the same page. Introductory chapters explain snake taxonomy and habitats, and they survey the legal and safety issues that should govern any attempts to handle these animals. For the general reader curious about the identity of a backyard visitor, the resource manager or naturalist seeking an engaging and informative handbook, or the herpetologist seeking an authoritative single volume devoted only to snakes, ""The Bartletts' Guide and Reference"" provides a handy, detailed, readable, and richly illustrated guide.