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The New Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. Edited by Tim Halliday
and Kraig Adler, 2002 (Oxford: Oxford University Press) [Pp. 240]. Price
£25.00 (hbk). ISBN 0198525079.
Article in Journal of Natural History · May 2004
DOI: 10.1080/0022293031000155241
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The New Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians edited by Tim Halliday and
Kraig Adler Oxford University Press, Oxford 2002. [Pp 240 with a glossary, reference
section and a useful index. The book also has profuse excellent coloured photographs
and high quality artwork] Price £25.00, hb ISBN 0198525079.
This superb book has, at first glance, the look of a coffee table volume rather than a
serious reference text. Appearances can be deceptive (as anyone who works with these
animals knows). This edited volume by 38 International contributors, devoted to what
Carl von Linne described as “These foul and loathsome animals”, hangs together
extraordinarily well. The clarity of expression is excellent throughout the volume.
Major chapters introduce both herpetological classes. That on Amphibia deals with the
evolution of the group and their transition to land, modern amphibians, adaptations to
the environment, their distribution patterns, diet and feeding, locomotion, reproduction,
social behaviour and communication and their current conservation status (in a word,
‘imperilled’). There are also Special Features (most with ‘snappy’ titles) essentially on
classification and taxonomy, metamorphosis in frogs, salamanders and caecilians,
amphibian colour change, parental care in amphibians, causes of amphibian population
declines, attempts to save the World’s amphibians and the life of the tadpole! There are
then separate authorative sections on the worm-like Caecilia, the Caudata (salamanders
and newts) and the Anura (frogs and toads). Sections often have ‘Factfile’ boxes and
many more Special Features such as ‘Courtship and Mating in Salamanders and Newts’
and ‘Decoding the Frog Chorus’. The Families within the Orders are also dealt with
effectively. There is also a ‘Photo Story’ ‘From Tadpole to Frog’.
The major chapter on Reptilia deals with the evolution, the anatomy and the physiology
of the Class. It then has Special Features on ‘The Age of Reptiles’ (on dinosaurs etc),
‘Temperature Relations of Reptiles’, ‘Reptiles at Risk’ (on conservation), ‘Playful
Reptiles’ (a rather speculative account of potential play in the group), ‘Pre-ejaculators,
Sneakers and She-males’ (on mating strategies) and ‘Temperature and Sex’ (on sex
determination). There are then separate sections on the Orders, namely turtles and
tortoises, lizards, worm-lizards, snakes, tuatara and crocodilians. As in the case of
Amphibia, there are ‘Factfile’ boxes on distribution, size and colour etc. There are also
further Special Features on the different Orders including ‘The Asian Turtle Crisis’,
‘Natural Desert Dwellers’ (on the adaptation of lizards to arid climates), ‘Venomous
Snakes’ and ‘The Threat from Snakebites’. There are also ‘Photo Stories’
‘Leatherbacks: Birth on the Beach’ with some excellent pictures of turtle egg-laying
and hatchling turtles and ‘Harvesting Snake Venom’ (mainly in India). The Families
within the reptile Orders are also dealt with effectively in most sub-sections. The
volume finishes with Special Features applicable to both Amphibia and Reptilia. These
are ‘Pollution and Hormone Mimics’ (on the endocrine actions of contaminants) and
‘Unisexuality: the Redundant Male?’ (on the mechanisms of sex-free reproduction).
This is a fascinating, wide-ranging and impressive volume. It is really likely to enthuse
students of whole organism animal science.
Paul F. Brain
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