A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians: Eastern and Central North America / Edition 3

by Isabelle Hunt Conant, Roger Tory Peterson, Joseph T. Collins, Roger Conant, Tom R. Johnson

Overview

This newly designed field guides features detailed descriptions of 595 species and subspecies. The 656 full-color illustrations and 384 drawings show key details for accurate identification. More than 100 color photographs and 333 color photographs and 333 color distribution maps accompany the species descriptions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780395904527
Publisher:	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date:	05/28/1998
Series:	Peterson Field Guides Series
Edition description:	Third Edition, Expanded
Pages:	640
Product dimensions:	4.50(w) x 7.25(h) x 1.16(d)

About the Author

Roger Tory Peterson, one of the world's greatest naturalists, received every major award for ornithology, natural science, and conservation as well as numerous honorary degrees, medals, and citations, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Peterson Identification System has been called the greatest invention since binoculars. These editions include updated material by Michael O'Brien, Paul Lehman, Bill Thompson III, Michael DiGiorgio, Larry Rosche, and Jeffrey A. Gordon.

The late JOSEPH T. COLLINS was the herpetologist with the Kansas Biological Survey and emeritus at the University of Kansas Natural History Museum, where he worked for thirty years. He was founder and director of the Center for North American Herpetology and author of many articles and books, most recently Amphibians, Reptiles, and Turtles in Kansas (2010; with Suzanne L. Collins and Travis W. Taggart).

ROGER CONANT was an American herpetologist, author, and conservationist.
 

Read an Excerpt

ALLIGATOR SNAPPING TURTLE Pls. 3, 9 Macroclemys temminckii IDENTIFICATION: 15–26 in. (38–66 cm); record 311?2 in. (80 cm). Weight 35–150 lbs. (16–68 kg); record 251 lbs. (113.9 kg) for a specimen maintained in captivity for nearly 50 years; 316 lbs. (143.3 kg) for a wild-caught example. Look for the huge head with its strongly hooked beaks, the prominent dorsal keels, and the extra row of scutes on each side of the carapace. Likely to be confused only with Snapping Turtles. Young (Pl. 3): Brown, shell exceedingly rough; tail very long. About 11?4–13?4 in. (3–4.4 cm) at hatching. This gigantic freshwater turtle, our largest and one of the largest in the world, often lies at bottom of lake or river with mouth held open. A curious pink process on floor of mouth resembles a worm, wriggles like one, and serves as a lure for fish. similar species: Snapping Turtle has a saw-toothed tail and a smaller head, and also lacks the extra row of scutes be-tween costals and marginals. range: Sw. Ga. and n. Fla. to e. Texas; north in Mississippi Valley to Kans., Iowa, and sw. Ky.; an isolated record in cen. Tenn.

Table of Contents

Editor’s Note vii Acknowledgments ix 1. Introduction 1 2. Making and Transporting the Catch 16 3. Care in Captivity 25 4. In Case of Snakebite 33 Plates 37 Species Accounts 135 5. Crocodilians 142 6. Turtles 146 7. Lizards 200 8. Amphisbaenians 280 9. Snakes 282 Harmless Snakes 283 Venomous Snakes 395 10. Salamanders 416 11. Toads and Frogs 500 Glossary 581 References 585 Photo Credits 595 Index 597

Editorial Reviews

The first edition was published in 1958, the second in 1975. This third edition of the invaluable field guide features new information, color plates, and new maps. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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