Product Description

There has been a huge surge of interest in reptiles and amphibians over the past few years in both scientific research and common interest. This superbly designed and illustrated encyclopedia has brought together a wealth of new and fascinating information on amphibians and reptiles in one volume. Written by a stream of distinguished zoologists and brought together by internationally renowned experts, Tim Halliday and Kraig Adler, the encyclopedia gives an excellent and authoritative overview of reptiles and amphibians. Vividly illustrated with excellent colour photographs on all reptiles and amphibians, it manages to combine scientific research with easy to read essays thus appealing simultaneously to a general audience interested in natural history and to specialists requiring an accurate up to date reference work. The New Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians builds on the success of its first edition, published in 1986, to produce an up-to-date, authoritative and hugely readable species by species guide to all the reptiles and amphibians of the world.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30094 in Books
• Published on: 2002-10-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 240 pages

BBC Wildlife
'highly recommended...very attractive...Excellent accounts of the biology are given, each written by experts in the field'

Reference Reviews
'Terrific value for money...for anyone wanting a top-class introduction...this book cannot be bettered'

About the Author
Dr Kraig Adler is Professor of Biology and Vice Provost for Life Sciences at Cornell University, USA. He has also served, on two occasions, as Chairman of the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at Cornell. His major research is animal orientation and navigation, with special emphasis on sensory receptors and cues, and he has published extensively on these topics. In addition, he has conducted research on the systematics, ecology, and evolution of amphibians and reptiles, and has
conducted field research in many parts of the world. He has written or edited eight books, among them 'Herpetology of China' (with Ermi Zhao, 1993) and 'Captive Management and Conservation of Amphibians and Reptiles' (with James B. Murphy and Joseph T. Collins, 1994). In 1985 he was Visiting Scholar at Pembroke College, Cambridge. He served as President of the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles in 1982 and was elected the first Secretary-General of the World Congress of
Herpetology.

Customer Reviews

Nice title
A tough job covering these animals. I thought that although a little slim, the book is about right for the interested non-specialist. Nicely printed, with clear illustrations and a good "feel". Worth the asking price too. However, the sheer comparable size of its sister publication on mammals does lead me to wonder why more space couldn't be made for our cold-blooded descendants? Certainly worth buying though.

Could be better
This book is not up to the same standard as the Oxford birds or mammals encyclopedias. But never the less had some good information in. Could have done with more information on monitors.

reptiles and amphibians
This excellent book by 38 contributors deals with amphibians(caecilians,salamanders and newts,and frogs and toads)plus reptiles(turtles and tortoises,lizards, snakes,tautara and crocodilians)
There are introductory chapters on amphibia and reptilia which discuss evolution,physiology,life history andbehaviour. There is a seperate entry to the various orders listing number of species,distribution,habitat, size ,colour longevity and conservation status.
The scale drawings relate to a 6" man and are first class.Ther is a good glossary and bubliography. A book to be highly racommended.