Product Description
This third edition, now fully revised and updated by two of Dr. Zug's colleagues, provides herpetology students and amateur reptile and amphibian keepers with the latest taxonomy and species developments from around the world. Herpetology is a rapidly evolving field , which has contributed to new discoveries in many conceptual areas of biology.The authors build on this progress by updating all chapters with new literature, graphics, and discussions-many of which have changed our thinking.

With a new emphasis placed on conservation issues,Herpetology continues to broaden the global coverage from earlier editions, recognising the burgeoning reptile and amphibian research programs and the plight of many species in all countries and all biomes.

New information on the remarkable advances in behavioral, physiological, and phylo-geographical data provide students with the current research they need to advance their education and better prepare their future in herpetology.

* The latest taxonomy data
* End-of-chapter discussions for classroom use
* 90% new photographs, now all in full color for an enhanced visual representation
* Most recent information on the exciting and developing herpetological communities in Australia, Europe, Asia, South and North Americas
* New emphasis on conservation issues surrounding herpetology ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Testament to an exciting field of science
Herpetology is an odd biological field, combining as it does the study of two distantly related groups of animals, amphibians and reptiles, yet excluding closer reptile relatives, the birds and mammals, which each claim a field of their own. An eloquent justification for taxon based science in the forward (written by Rick Shine) to this new edition of what is now a classic textbook skims over this jarring fact. This dissonant science arose more from past mistakes in classification rather than from any biological justification but errors of history may lead to unexpected insights, and this has occurred frequently for herpetologists. Besides being housed together in natural history archives (museums), suites of amphibian and reptile species co-occur in the wild and are subject to similar ecological constraints due to the fluctuation of their daily activities and metabolic processes with the vagaries of the weather. It is this comparison, between distantly related taxa that have found independent solutions to the same environmental problems, that makes herpetology a dynamic and meaningful field, as is demonstrated throughout this readable and attractive book (which I was given by the publisher for examination as a course textbook).

The book provides precisely what might be expected from the subtitle - an introduction to herpetology. It is not a comprehensive account of reptile and amphibian biology but it covers most general topics in enough detail to form a solid basis for an advanced undergraduate course. The turgid descriptions of anatomical characters and repetitive lists of species data or diagnostic traits can be found elsewhere. Instead this book focuses on the historical relationships among taxa, life history and the scientific methods of herpetology. I would particularly like to complement the authors on the figures and photos, which are embedded at appropriate places alongside the text. The line drawings, graphs and colour figures, many adapted from primary research sources, are generally crisp, clear, of a reasonable size and relevant to the text. Almost all the colour photos are striking images, with few artefacts of cutting out and placement on an artificial background. Unfortunately, the particularly stunning photo on the cover is staged and seems unnatural. The authors have gone to a great effort to bring this third edition up to date with recent research, including much of the molecular phylogenetic work that is still in a process of integration with previous knowledge. The bibliography is monumental and the categorization of references at the end of each chapter makes this list of sources more accessible. There is a short but useful glossary along with taxonomic and subject indices both of which appear comprehensive. This gives the book a long shelf life as a reference for anyone interested in doing herpetological research.

Being up to date, however, also risks being swept along with the hubris of current opinion. In particular, amphibian classification has been extensively reformulated in the past few years and a textbook like this is a prime opportunity to help us digest these changes in more friendly environment than the original research papers - with photos, maps and time-. These changes are contentious, especially where large genera such as Rana and Bufo were broken into many smaller genera on the basis of limited data. This introduces the problem of linking old and new names raised by David Hillis and colleagues, which is incompletely addressed in the taxonomic index, with little discussion of the controversy. Part of the introduction and half of the first chapter present the case for phylogenetic taxonomy. This is well reasoned and informative but to me jars with the preceeding sections of these chapters, largely due to the sparsity of herpetological reference points provided. Strangely, given the authors' critique of Linnaean taxonomy, the book is replete with tables giving hierarchical lists of names, most of which would have been better placed on a cladistic tree-of-life for those groups. I also feel that the final chapters, on classification, overemphasises the tongue-twisting clade names formed as byproducts of phylogenetic taxonomy (Phthanobatrachia; Xinosyneunitanura!). A picture tells a thousand words and a phylogenetic branch shown beside each distribution map, referring back to a complete phylogenetic tree figure for each major lineage of amphibians and reptiles, at a readable scale and including time-calibrated branch lengths and some indication of support, would be a preferable way of indicating where each group fits in the tree-of-life (the current figures are too small to achieve this). The emphasis on cladistic nomenclature over phylogeny itself becomes more irksome where the classification is unstable, usually because too few of the key species have been analyzed. I feel that the authors' might have done better at showing which groups are well supported and which are likely to change in the future.

Another minor annoyance for me were the contrived or non-specific colloquial names that have no currency where the frogs occur ("Tropical Frogs" for the Indian genus Micrixalus, or "Ameroaustralian Tree Frogs" for Hylids, a group that also occurs widely in Asia and Europe). In general I found that groups from the Americas were better covered than those from elsewhere and as this tends to reflects the authors' experience as much as the state of research. For groups that I know well in Australia and Africa I found several minor errors and more substantial ommissions that should be addressed in the next edition. For example, the Cacosternine frogs are characterized as "mostly small (< 30 mm)" yet this is a diverse group with four of the eleven genera typically larger than this, including the Maluti River-frog, Amietia umbraculata, which grows to around 150 mm in Snout-Vent length. Sphenophryne cornuta is from New Guinea and does not occur in Australia (Fig 8.16). The Myobatrachid (Fig. 17.11) genus Myxophyes occurs in the highlands of eastern New Guinea, beyond the area depicted. Contrary to Fig. 17.44 there are no Ranid frogs near the southern end of Africa (having been shifted to other families in the taxonomic changes mentioned above). Neither Ptychadenid (17.39) nor Microhylid (17.32) frogs occur along the southern edge of Africa but Rain Frogs (Brevicipitids, 17.34) do occur along the south and south-west coast (not shown), and separately extend west to Angola further north (not shown) but are highly restricted to a fragmented chain of coastal mountains of East Africa and a single range in southern Ethiopia, rather than the broad sweep shown that encompasses everything from around Lake Victoria to the horn of Africa (they do not occur in either region). Figure 17.42 shows a detailed, spuriously fragmented distribution for African Rhacophorid frogs yet Figure 17.41 confounds five African and Asian frog families in the smallest map in the book; each of these has a substantially different distribution and should have been mapped separately. The written examples are similarly patchy, with no obvious reason why some genera are discussed and others ignored (for example, Myxophyes species show a variety of egg-laying behaviours from throwing their eggs out of water on to overhanging rocks, to the excavation of 'nests'). Thoughout the book I felt that the diversity of published behaviours, life-histories and ecological stories of African, Asian and Australian frogs was underrepresented and should be looked at again for future editions.

There are several other gaps that I believe might have been covered better in this general book. Amphibians differ from reptiles in their free-living larval life-stage. Although there are scattered references to tadpoles throughout the book I felt that this was insufficient and that the book could betteraddress the diversity of tadpole forms, feeding, antipredation adaptations, movements and factors affecting development time and metamorphosis. Also, the rapidly expanding field of phylogeography is mischaracterized here as molecular phylogenies and biogeography of species and higher taxa. This neglects the more typical characterization of phylogeography as the geographical interpretation of gene-trees within species. Consequently, although phylogeography is emphasized as an important field in which herpetology has contributed greatly, there are no actual examples used either of insights from single species studies or from comparative phylogeography.

Overall, however, these are relatively minor quibbles that can be addressed in future editions. This is really a superb book which I unhesitatingly recommend it to teachers, students and anyone who would like to gain more general knowledge of amphibians and reptiles.

Herpetology textbook
Book arrived in a timely fashion and was in great condition as described.Excellent transaction!!

Great!!
The book came in great condition and i was impressed on how soon it came.
In great Condition!!!

Not the best
This book was purchased for my Herpetology class and I had a hard time trying to use it along with the class. The book is not put together in an easy flow. I believe that having the amphibians separate from the reptiles would have made it a lot easier for use, especially to clarify specific details that one may look for, so that reading the whole section or chapter is not necessary. The book does overall have good information. It is lacking in some basic information that my professor was seeking for us to learn, so I did have to seek other sources, which I wouldn't think necessary with an informative textbook. After using this a few weeks in my class I tossed it to the side and relied more on the internet, than the book which is very disappointing.

Good but not perfect
Good book with a lot of information and illustrations. I've noticed some of the amphibian families (maybe 2 of the 45) don't have range maps. I don't really want to comment on other areas of the books as I have only mainly focused on frogs so far, but the information on turtle phylogeny is nice and up-to-date (as of 2006). All in all this book is somewhere between good and great. ... Read more

Product Description
For upper-level undergraduate courses in herpetology, found in departments of Biology, Zoology, Natural Resources, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology. Collaboration by the six authors--whose research specializations include autecology, synecology, systematics, evolution, morphology, physiology, and behavior--emphasizes the integration of information from different biological specialties to produce a comprehensive picture of amphibians and their important roles in modern ecosystems. This book presents the biology of amphibians and reptiles as the product of phylogenetic history and environmental influences acting in both ecological and evolutionary time. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Great book!
This book offers a complete review on herpetology.
It has great pictures and detailed information on the subject.
Recommended for grads and undergrad students, and for anyone interested.
Simple terms, well explained.

Fair Overall
Probably the biggest problem with the text is the lack of a glossary, which really makes the first few chapters far more difficult than they need be. The phylogeny chapters get weighted down by taxonomical terms that are not properly introduced.

Excellent conceptually
It's certainly not complete or perfect, and as a reviewer notes, contains some omissions and errors.However, while a textbook should strive to be as good as possible in those areas, it's no substitute for the primary literature in peer-reviewed journals and shouldn't be viewed as such, and instead should be seen as more of a conceptual introduction, in which I feel it does well.It avoids the tempting parade-of-taxa style, and instead focuses on the important concepts uniting reptiles and to an extent all animals, such as osmoregulation, feeding, locomotion, reproductive strategies, etc.

The section dealing with my primary focus, locomotion, is rather sparse, and contains some outdated information, but nothing that can't be corrected with a quick read through the literature.With any luck, my own work will be in the next edition.

Anurans and Squamates and Crocodylia! Oh, my!
This is easily the best herpetology text book out there. It is informative, yet not full of the boringness (if that's a word...) of many textbooks. You might say that it's...fun to read.

Herp Textbook
I have just finished an undergradute course which used this book as the main text.I agree with the previous reviewer that there is considerable overlap and occasional contradiction.The early chapters tend to use a lot of technical jargon, and seem to be written for people who alreadyunderstand the material.I was not so impressed with phylogenicdescriptions which frequently failed to discuss unifying characteristicswithin families.Later sections, including locomotion, water balance, andmate selection are well written.This book would benefit from a glossary,more relevant tables and figures, and a more inclusive index.Overall,editing is rather sketchy. ... Read more

Product Description
Herpetology, Second Edition has been thoroughly revised. The text has been reorganized, new chapters have been added, new text references have been inserted. All this plus new color systematics sections will maintain this book as THE leading textbook on the biology of amphibians and reptiles. The book will also showcase reptiles and amphibians as model systems in conceptual areas of biology. Such a text will help integrate herpetology as a discipline into conceptually oriented undergraduate programs. The book should also appeal to a large audience of sophisticated lay people interested in reptiles and amphibians.

* Written by internationally recognized experts on the biology of amphibians and reptiles
* Provides a general background on the evolution and morphology of amphibians and reptiles
* Details what is known about reproduction and life histories
* Examines physiological ecology, emphasizing water balance, temperature, and energy
* Integrates population and community ecology with conservation biology
* Provides detailed taxonomic accounts of all higher taxa, including high quality distribution maps and color photographs ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

great herp book!
It is a great herp book, with lots of information. But i guess there are newer version of it on the market...

Still Missing Some Details and Organization (otherwise very good)
This is generally a VERY good book!Still, given minimal initial knowledge of Herpetology, the book can be somewhat ambiguous and disorganized and is missing a few essential details such as habitat and food for families of reptiles and amphibians in the necessary chapters.It requires more photographs and better taxonomic organization for clarity.

Educational
This book covers everything from the basics of herps, to the more advance steps in classification, breeding, and observing. In the most case this book is not a good reference guide for those with a minor understanding of the biology of reptiles, however, for those who know the basics, and are interested enough to continue their learning experiance on an advnaced level, this book is a must. Used in colleges as college text, anyone in the herpetological field in college needs this book!

Great Book
This book is for expierienced herpers only .It has almost evrything you need to know.If you are interested in learning more about herps.I give this a 5 if you are a expiereienced reader. ... Read more

Product Description
Brief and meaningful definitions of words and terms used in herpetology. ... Read more

Product Description
Based on his more than 40 years of field research, Means, an expert on the eastern diamondback rattlesnake, reveals the biological complexity and beauty of animals that he has studied. Most people loathe these reptiles and amphibians, but Means shows his love for creatures that go bump in the night.

In Australia, Means searches for the fiercey, reputed to be the world's deadliest terrestrial snake. In Mexico, he stalks the rattlesnake that might have served as the model for the mythical plumed serpent of Mayan art. In Florida, he is chased by cottonmouth moccasins.

Through his experiences, Means hopes that readers will gain a new appreciation for animals called herps, or creepy-crawly things. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Stalking the Plumed Serpent and Other Adventures in Herpetology
This book is not only a must read for both amateur and professional herpetologists but a great book for generalized naturalists and ecologists. Bruce Means is a consummate writer who places a reader in his place in his travels so that the reader can vividly experience Dr. Means' experiences vicariously with a remarkable sense of "being there".I highly recommend this book to herpers, animal lovers, naturalists and eco-travelers.

Serpents in the garden
I picked up this book at the local library because of the intriguing title: "Stalking the Plumed Serpent and Other Adventures in Herpetology,"I did not notice the author's name, Bruce Means, until I got home.This immediately evoked the rambling house at Tall Timber Research Station in north Florida, with its thick stand of southern magnolia where I conducted a research project on Lyssomanes viridis (a jumping spider), and the mature eastern forest of Woodyard Hammock, where I discovered spotted salamanders under the rotted logs.

During the period I worked at Tall Timbers, Bruce Means was the director and I often got a chance to talk with him.He was certainly an interesting person, then (as he describes in his book) placing radio transmitters down the throats of the local diamondback rattlesnakes.I was pretty sure that he would eventually get bitten (as he does in the first part of the book), but the main threat he had to his health - about the time I was commuting once a month from Gainesville (University of Florida) to Tall Timbers - was an infection he got from being bitten by a baby opossum!

Bruce is a good writer and he has captured in this wonderful book the essence of the environment and herp fauna of the Southeastern United States, with Costa Rica, Mexico, Madagascar, and Australia thrown in for good measure. He even has chapters on cotton rats and earthworms - organisms that seldom get much play in books.He genuinely admires rattlesnakes and other magnificent snakes like the taipan, as well as everything living. Yes, some snakes can be dangerous, but if looked at more objectively than most people do they are amazing (like most, if not all life forms on Earth). The hatred of snakes, spiders, salamander and other "disgusting" fauna is not confined to the uneducated;I had one major professor and one department head who hated rattlesnakes with a passion to match Bruce's love of them and would always kill them if they could.On the other hand I once met a Ozark woman who was fascinated with such creepy creatures as spiders and salamanders - she was considered to be a witch-woman by the locals!

I may be prejudiced, but I though that this book was a fascinating read and I hope many people will at least look at it.Despite the popular idea, rattlesnakes and other venomous biota are not usually looking for victims in whom to sink their fangs.They are in fact some of the most interesting organisms (I would say next to spiders!) on this planet. Bruce Means has captured the excitement of working with these creatures as a field biologist.However, he does go a lot further than I would in trying to catch and photograph the most dangerous snakes on the planet! Maybe I am a coward, but I would never tackle a taipan alone along a one lane road in the outback of Australia, with the possibility that another vehicle would be soon approaching! Despite this I still recommend his book as a strong antidote to theuntruths about venomous snakes common in our culture. One should respect venomous snakes in their habitat - they are a part of what makes the wild lands wild!

One Man's Love Affair With Creepy Crawlies!
STALKING THE PLUMED SERPENT leaves the reader with two conclusions. First, author D. Bruce Means has a deep interest in and love for reptiles and amphibians. Second, he is certifiable! If you doubt that, read his description of driving a land cruiser one-handed with a deadly coastal taipan wrapped around his other arm starting on page 190. If you view snakes, alligators, salamanders and snapping turtles with distaste or horror, STALKING THE PLUMED SERPENT will be a revelation and a roller-coaster reading experience!

For 40 years scientist-conservationist Means has carried on a love affair with creepy crawlies. STALKING THE PLUMED SERPENT is his account of some of the adventures he has enjoyed over the years. I use "adventures" advisedly since they often involved creatures such as the aforementioned coastal taipan, cottonmouths, diamondback, pythons, snapping turtles, bushmasters and other less dangerous 'herps.'

Yet throughout the book, Means' fascination and admiration for those creatures shine through. He very much reminds me of Steve Irwin, possessing that same mix of love of nature, boyish enthusiasm and intimate knowledge of God's creatures that endeared the Croc Hunter to so many. Few people could wax poetic about the "noble head and face" of a taipan or the "wonderful work of life-art" that is a bushmaster but Means does. Yet, despite the joy that runs throughout the book, there is also an element of sadness. Time and again he observes the ongoing destruction of habitat that will doom so many of his beloved herps.

Whatever your feelings for creepy crawlies, STALKING THE PLUMED SERPENT will simultaneously enthrall, repel, fascinate and educate you as few other books can. It's a marvelous, guided tour to a world few of us knew about...till now. Highly recommended.

Read this if you think you don't like snakes and salamanders
In "Stalking the Plumed Serpent" Bruce Means has achieved something truly rare -a herpetological memoir which doesn't rely on the cheap gimmick of overdramatized bites by evil venomous snakes (or gators or snapping turtles) to keep the pages turning -not that some of these things don't occasionally happen in the course of the 40 year career that Means draws upon for the 22 essays that make up the book -it's just that they fade into perspective among all the other exciting things a herpetologist can accomplish in that time frame. The writing style is engaging and the author isn't afraid to laugh at himself -there's never a dull moment. Each essay ends with a strong conservation message without ever preaching. The very best parts of the book are when we are accompanying the author in his home turf of Florida, and the essay I found the most captivating of all was the one about studying the Alabama red hills salamander at night. Hopefully, this book will serve Means' intended purpose of convincing the unconvinced reader that animals neglected and hated are worthy of affection and protection. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good and lots of pics
I think this book was a very good book and should be bought if u are really wanting to breed ur axolotls and this book is ver great detailed bookand very easy reading sugested for all ages ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Product Description
Written with a true completist approach, this book is a tour de forceaccount of the elegant Trans-Pecos Ratsnake of the Chihuahuan Desert.It is the first and only book ever written about the most divergent andbeautiful of all the many colubrid snake species of North America, the Desert Ratsnakes -- including the Trans-Pecos Ratsnake (Bogertophis subocularis) and their West Coast "cousin", the Baja California Ratsnake (Bogertophis rosaliae).  The Complete Suboc is a monograph ofthese beloved bug-eyed beauties of the southwestern United States and Mexico.

Hereis a sample of what is included:

• 288 full-color photos.
• 291 glossy pages of text.
• Range maps for all speciesand subspecies.
• Lengthy, detailed chapters on naturalhistory, captive history, choosing a Trans-Pecos Ratsnake, color andpattern morphs, geographic variation and localities, caging and housingrequirements, diseases, feeding, breeding, egg-laying, and incubation of eggs.
• Over one hundred full-color images displaying animals from more than 25different geographic localities, including specimens from Texas, New Mexico, Mexico, and representing all known color phases, with several rareimages of wild-caught Albinos, Axanthics, Green Blondes, and othervarieties.
• SPECIAL chapters on how to make exciting, zoo-quality naturalistic vivaria for Desert Ratsnakes, AND on providing zooenrichment methods for ratsnakes.
• BONUS chapter by award-winning authors, biologists, and snake breeders, David and Tracy Barker,detailing their special "no brumation" technique to breeding Trans-Pecos Ratsnakes -- an alternative breeding method sure to be a hit for thosewho do not or cannot hibernate their animals during the winter!
• A second BONUS chapter detailing the natural history, husbandry, captivecolor morphs, geographic variation, and breeding of all other species of North American ratsnakes unique west of the Pecos River, including Baja Ratsnakes (Bogertophis rosaliae), Baird's Ratsnakes (Pantherophis bairdi), and Western Green Ratsnakes (Senticolis triaspis). Over 41 pages in this chapter, alone.
  
• The first-ever color photos of the Trans-Pecos Ratsnake's onlysubspecies, the "Durango Suboc".
• An extensive 23-pagebibliography.
• "My Search for Subocularis",  a specialfield-herping chapter paying tribute to -- and in the style of -- thelegendary Carl F. Kauffeld.

Customer Reviews (3)

Great book for a great snake
I too was eagerly awaiting the completion of this book. It was certainly worth the wait. From the incredible wealth of knowledge to the beautiful photographs of every color and pattern of suboc you can imagine, this book is loaded. I can't tell you how many times I've opened it to get some quick advice or just to check out a particular locale or color morph. Of course, it's also a great read cover to cover.

If you keep subocs, like subocs or plan on keeping subocs, this book is for you. It's also reasonably priced considering the high-quality printing.

Something for anyone interested in Trans-pecos Rat Snakes.
This book is thoroughly enjoyable for anyone interested in Trans-pecos Rat Snakes.
It is easy reading and combines information for three major target audiences, whose concerns are usually addressed independently:
· Hobbyist concerns.
· Field herping concerns.
· Herpetological (taxonomic, physiologic, etc.) concerns.

This author has a friendly, "down to earth" discussion type style of delivery that gives you the impression that he is sitting right there with you. The author seems to be talking with you and not at you.
It seems I needed such a book 26 years ago when I kept my first Trans-Pecos Rat Snake. I would not have made as many catastrophic mistakes since then, had this book been available!

The Complete Suboc: A Comprehensive Guide to the Natural History, Care, and Breeding of the Trans-Pecos Ratsnake
After months of anticipation, I finally received my advance copy of Dusty Rhoads' The Complete Suboc: A Comprehensive Guide to the Natural History, Care, and Breeding of the Trans-Pecos Ratsnake.When my wife brought the mail in, I immediately opened the package and I was impressed with the book at first sight.Unlike many of today's paperback publications, The Complete Suboc was a nice sturdy hardbound text with a beautifully done dust jacket. But that was just the eye-candy to tease the reader with.What about the meat of the book?What did the inside really have to offer?

I sat down and spent the next four hours until dinner digging into the book.The more I read, the more I was hooked on it.After dinner, I again picked the book up and retired to my office/herp room and picked up where I had left off.Bedtime rolled around and instead of turning in, I continued to read and I read until 4:30 AM when I finished the book and finally hit the sack.Thankfully, I did not have to get up early the following morning.

If you have any interest at all in Trans-Pecos Ratsnakes or in the herps of the American Southwest, including the other species of ratsnakes native to this region of the country, you will enjoy this book.If you keep or breed the Trans-Pecos Ratsnake or any of the other southwestern ratsnakes you will find this book most useful, if not essential.

The book's 300 pages are crammed full of information and personal experiences. Oh, and did I mention the range maps and the some 288 full-color photographs by a cadre of well-known herpers and photographers.

The author devotes the first 30 pages to the natural history of the Trans-Pecos Ratsnake and then discusses the species history from back when it was first described by Arthur ErwinBrown, Director of the Philadelphia Zoological Gardens in 1901.Coluber subocularis, as it was originally known remained known from only a handful of specimens for the next several decades and was considered one of the country's rarest snakes.The State of Texas protected them from 1977 until 1987 when naturalists and herpetologists we able to show that they were actually one of the more common snakes within their range.

The book discusses how to choose a Trans-Pecos Ratsnake and describes the many color and pattern morphs of the species.Localities and races of the "Suboc" are also discussed in some detail.There are detailed discussions relating to basic caging and housing requirements for captives, the use of naturalistic vivaria, along with discussions about feeding, breeding, oviposition, and incubation of Suboc eggs.There is also a Bonus Chapter on reproductive husbandry written by David G. Barker and Tracy M. Barker.

Another chapter deals with the common diseases and disorders of the Trans-Pecos Ratsnake.A second Bonus Chapter, which actually could have stood alone as a work of its own, discusses the other ratsnakes of the American Southwest in some detail...the Baja Ratsnake, Baird's Ratsnake, and the Western Green Ratsnake.

In Appendix A, the author uses the style of the late Carl Kauffeld to describe his own search for subocularis in the Trans-Pecos region of Texas.

The book concludes with 16 pages of recommended reading and 8 pages of cited texts.

With the publication of The Complete Suboc: A Comprehensive Guide to the Natural History, Care, and Breeding of the Trans-Pecos Ratsnake author Dusty Rhoads has firmly established himself as one of the leading experts on Bogertophis subocularis.

On a rating scale of "1" to "5"I give the book a resounding "5".Job well done, Dusty!

Gerald Keown
Southwestern Center for Herpetological Research
... Read more

Product Description
This book consists of three sections, each world-wide in coverage. The first and longest section, by Kraig Adler, is a series of completely new biographies of the leading contributors to herpetology beginning with the author of the first book on the subject. Nicoló Leoniceno (1428-1524). The acounts have a portrait, signature, and references for further interest. These feature 285 herpetologists and also include information about their colleagues and students and many other persons. The comprehensive index encompasses voluume 1 and 2 and covers nearly 1,400 individuals.The second section, by John S. Applegarth, is an index of 3,603 authors in taxonomic herpetology. This alphabetical list includes the full names, dates, countries of residence, and orders of taxa for everyone who has proposed a new taxon (genus or below, within the living families) or has had a taxon named in their honor. This is a unique resource for zoologists, historians, and librarians. In less than two decades (since the 1989 edition), the number of persons covered has increased by nearly 50 percent.The third section, by Ronald Altig, is a listing of herpetologists giving the names of their doctoral university, their major professor, and the date of their degree. This extensive revision is three times longer than the 1989 ediition. The informatioon is arranged in such a manner that the academic liineages can be followed from generation to generation, both forward and backward in time. 3,810 names are includeed and fully indexed. ... Read more

Product Description
Following the historical precedent of Peters (1964), the new updated Dictionary of Herpetology provides a comprehensive, single-volume dictionary, with selected cross-referenced entries to clarify the many technical terms and concepts that pertain to herpetology. The Dictionary provides a complete collection of words that are central to understanding the biology of amphibians and reptiles, offering concise and easy-to-use readable definitions in an A-to-Z format that contains 11,358 entries. This reference is essential for students, professionals, breeders, or anyone who is interested in herpetology and its many interdisciplinary connections. The new Dictionary emphasizes terminology related to anatomy, physiology, systematics, evolution, and other disciplines, including newly emerged fields that are relevant to the study of amphibians and reptiles. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An essential reference for students and anyone else involved with the study of amphibians and reptiles
Herpetology is defined as the scientific study of amphibians and reptiles. As with all other disciplines of scientific inquiry, herpetology has its own technical terms and conceptual terminology that must be mastered by its students and practitioners. New from the Krieger Publishing Company, "Dictionary Of Herpetology" is an updated, alphabetically arranged, 384-page guide by Harvey B. Lillywhite (Professor of Zoology, University of Florida). This authoritative, comprehensive, single-volume dictionary features selected cross-referenced entries clarifying technical terms and concepts associated with herpetology. The "Dictionary Of Herpetology" provides a complete, concise, 'user friendly' compilation of 11,358 entries and emphasizes terminology related to anatomy, physiology, systematics, evolution, and other thematically appropriate aspects of herpetology -- including newly emerged fields of the sciences relevant to the study of amphibians and reptiles. A core addition to academic library reference collections, the "Dictionary Of Herpetology" is an essential reference for students and anyone else involved with the study of amphibians and reptiles, as well as community library reference shelves for non-specialist general readers seeking clarification of associated terminologies and concepts. ... Read more

Product Description
Never Highlight a Book Again! Cram101 Textbook Outlines give the student all of the highlights, notes, and practice-tests for their textbook. Only Cram101 is Textbook Specific, not generic. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Lousy Book with Mostly Blank Pages
Most black pages with line and a few verbal definitions, and there is nothing else.It doesn't have what it claims. Buyer beware!!! If you buy, you can expect extremely poor quality in the print as well. It really is just a glossary.Cram 101 books are sham.It might be Okay for $5 plus shipping, but anything more is extensive for information available online free and can be print out more selectively.You will see definitions that most people would already learned in 6th grade.Most of it isn't college level.

Not what I was expecting
I got the Zug text a few years a go and thought this would be a nice outline that I could refer to from time to time.Instead all this is a glossary of terms from each chapter.To make it worse they use the wrong definition for certain terms.When the chapter discusses phylogenies of reptiles and amphibians the terms "roots" and "nodes" are not discussing parts of a plant.Just the glossary by chapter is not an outline nor does it highlight anything.I only paid $20 for this but it is by far the biggest waste of money I have ever spent on a book from Amazon.com ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
CNAH Facsimile Reprint Series. Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, Bulletin 177, 1947. B/w line drawings, tables and map. ... Read more

Product Description
This special issue of Laterality comprises a collection of papers, presented at the International Symposium on Behavioural and Morphological Asymmetries in Amphibians and Reptiles - the first of its kind. This is the first attempt to integrate and overview the works in the young field of study of lateralization in herpetological subjects, which is only about five years old. The volume is focused on amphibians (as reptiles are less involved so far) and specifically on the relations of behavioral and morphological directional asymmetries. It might serve as a starting point for future meetings and raise a number of evolutionary and developmental questions, directing the ways of prospective research. ... Read more