Reptiles and Amphibians of New Zealand - (Princeton Field Guides) by Dylan Van Winkel & Marleen Baling & Rod Hitchmough (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The definitive photographic field guide to all of New Zealand's reptiles and amphibians

With more than 400 extraordinary color photographs and richly informative text, Reptiles and Amphibians of New Zealand is the definitive field guide to all of the country's tuatara, geckos, skinks, frogs, marine turtles, and marine snakes. From the ancient tuatara, the sole surviving member of its order, to the world's largest collection of long-lived and live-bearing lizards, New Zealand's reptiles and amphibians represent an extraordinary part of the country's biodiversity. The only field guide to cover all of New Zealand's 123 currently recognized species, the book features authoritative and up-to-date species accounts, including names and description, as well as information on distribution, variation and similar species, habitat, and natural history. The book also provides a general introduction to these species, offering an overview of evolution, conservation, observing and collecting, ecosystems, and geographic history.

• Covers all of New Zealand's 123 species of reptiles and amphibians
  
• Contains more than 400 stunning new color photographs
  
• Includes a range map for every species
  
• Presents identification keys for each of the major groups
  
• Features a regional checklist and a handy quick guide on the inside flaps
  

Review Quotes

"Nicely bound, this fine guide will hold up well under field use . . . [and] will provide opportunity for systematics and ecology buffs to ponder how such a small land area came to be so rich with skinks and geckos."-- "Choice"

"Winner of the Whitley Award for Best Field Guide, Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales"

About the Author

Dylan van Winkel is a wildlife ecologist and consultant herpetologist based in New Zealand who is active in reptile and amphibian conservation. Marleen Baling is a wildlife ecologist with a special interest in New Zealand herpetology and wildlife restoration, including reptile translocations and monitoring. Rod Hitchmough is a New Zealand Department of Conservation science adviser whose specialties include the taxonomy of lizards, geckos, and skinks.