Lizards of the World

Lizards of the World PDF Author: Mark O'Shea
Publisher: Ivy Press
ISBN: 1782409572
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
Lizards of the World is ultimate book on these fascinating creatures, featuring the all the different types of lizard worldwide. As survivors from the time of the dinosaurs, lizards are scaly, cold-blooded, living fossils—relics from a prehistoric world that remain alive and well in ours. Lizards exert a morbid fascination, in many mythologies they are dark creatures, symbolizing death and misfortune. From chameleons and skinks to geckos and iguanas, Lizards of the World brings these creatures firmly into the light, to reveal their extraordinary diversity Found in almost every type of terrain globally, there are almost 6,500 species of lizard, including lizards with frills, horns, or wings, those that drop their tails, and others that squirt blood from their eyes. Here, the lizard family and subfamily profiles, organized phylogenetically, are illustrated with stunning photography. Each profile includes a population distribution map, a table of essential information, and a fascinating commentary revealing notable characteristics, fresh scientific understanding, and the diversity of species. Written by world-renowned herpetologist Mark O’Shea, Lizards of the World is a magnificent showcase of the natural history and beauty of these remarkable reptiles.

Lizards of the World

Lizards of the World PDF Author: Mark O'Shea
Publisher: Ivy Press
ISBN: 1782409572
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 242

Get Book

Book Description
Lizards of the World is ultimate book on these fascinating creatures, featuring the all the different types of lizard worldwide. As survivors from the time of the dinosaurs, lizards are scaly, cold-blooded, living fossils—relics from a prehistoric world that remain alive and well in ours. Lizards exert a morbid fascination, in many mythologies they are dark creatures, symbolizing death and misfortune. From chameleons and skinks to geckos and iguanas, Lizards of the World brings these creatures firmly into the light, to reveal their extraordinary diversity Found in almost every type of terrain globally, there are almost 6,500 species of lizard, including lizards with frills, horns, or wings, those that drop their tails, and others that squirt blood from their eyes. Here, the lizard family and subfamily profiles, organized phylogenetically, are illustrated with stunning photography. Each profile includes a population distribution map, a table of essential information, and a fascinating commentary revealing notable characteristics, fresh scientific understanding, and the diversity of species. Written by world-renowned herpetologist Mark O’Shea, Lizards of the World is a magnificent showcase of the natural history and beauty of these remarkable reptiles.

Stolen World

Stolen World PDF Author: Jennie Erin Smith
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0307720268
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 338

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Book Description
Tortoises disappear from a Madagascar reserve and reappear in the Bronx Zoo. A dead iguana floats in a jar, awaiting its unveiling in a Florida court. A viper causes mayhem from Ethiopia to Virginia. In Stolen World, Jennie Erin Smith takes the reader on an unforgettable journey, a dark adventure over five decades and six continents. In 1965, Hank Molt, a young cheese salesman from Philadelphia, reinvented himself as a “specialist dealer in rare fauna,” traveling the world to collect exquisite reptiles for zoos and museums. By the end of the decade that followed, new endangered species laws had turned Molt into a convicted smuggler, and an unrepentant one, who went on to provide many of the same rare reptiles to many of the same institutions, covertly. But Molt soon found a rival in Tommy Crutchfield, a Florida carpet salesman with every intention of usurping Molt as the most accomplished reptile smuggler in the country. Like Molt, Crutchfield had modeled himself after an earlier generation of natural-history collectors celebrated for their service to science, an ideal that, for Molt and Crutchfield, eclipsed the realities of the new wildlife-protection laws. Zoo curators, caught between a desire for rare animals and the conservation-minded focus of their institutions, became the smugglers’ antagonists in court but also their best customers, sometimes simultaneously. Crutchfield forged ties with a criminally inclined Malaysian wildlife trader and emerged a millionaire, beloved by some of the finest zoos in the world. Molt, following a string of inventive but disastrous smuggling schemes in New Guinea, was reduced to hanging around Crutchfield’s Florida compound, plotting Crutchfield’s demise. The fallout from their feud would result in a major federal investigation with tentacles in Germany, Madagascar, Holland, and Malaysia. And yet even after prison, personal ruin, and the depredations of age, Molt and Crutchfield never stopped scheming, never stopped longing for the snake or lizard that would earn each his rightful place in a world that had forgotten them—or rather, had never recognized them to begin with.

Lizards of the World

Lizards of the World PDF Author: Gordon H. Rodda
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 1421438240
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 828

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Book Description
The first, definitive reference on the natural history and ecology of every one of the known 6500+ species of lizards, spanning the entire globe. Our planet is literally crawling with lizards. More than 6500 species are known to science, and new species are being discovered annually. In this monumental work, eminent researcher Gordon Rodda has created the first compilation of the natural histories of all the world's lizards and amphisbaenians, as well as the Tuatara. Although other books have attempted to survey the scope of adaptations present in the world's lizards, only Rodda has been able to quantify and summarize all species or higher taxa. Analyzing the relationships among traits such as morphologic characteristics, reproductive strategies, and food sources, Rodda uncovers novel insights into reptile ecology. Identifying 14 recurring character syndromes across all the world's lizards, he proposes a new lens for categorization. He also touches on • common names • geographic range • length • mass • age • maturation • differences between the sexes • nominal variables, including diel activity cycle and foraging mode • home range • predator avoidance tactics • thermal biology • social spacing • climate envelope • habitat and microhabitat • reproduction • parental care • diet • population density • conservation status • ecological business models Rodda's alphabetical taxon accounts provide an instantly retrievable sketch of every species, genus, and family. Outlining more than 1500 statistically significant associations extracted from a data matrix composed of more than 300 conditions tabulated—to the extent known—for all 6528 species of lizards, Lizards of the World will be the go-to source for the next generation of reptile ecologists, as well as herpetology students and serious herpetoculturists.

World's Weirdest Reptiles

World's Weirdest Reptiles PDF Author: Tom Jackson
Publisher: Hungry Tomato (R)
ISBN: 154150089X
Category : Reptiles
Languages : en
Pages : 36

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Book Description
"Find out where the world's weirdest reptiles live and hunt, along with some of their most bizarre behaviors. Illustrated spreads designed to engage young readers and keep them captivated as they learn accessible, fun facts"--

Varanoid Lizards of the World

Varanoid Lizards of the World PDF Author: Erick Pianka
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 9780253343666
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 654

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Book Description
Monitor lizards (genus Varanus) have attracted a great deal of interest--these large and impressive lizards are often the centerpiece of reptile house exhibits. Monitors tend to be fairly wary and difficult to observe--therefore they are not particularly tractable research subjects, but they have nevertheless received an extraordinary amount of attention from devoted students.Varanoid Lizards of the World is a comprehensive account of virtually everything important that is known about monitor lizards, beginning with detailed species accounts and proceeding to various modern comparative analyses. Where possible, people who have had detailed field experience with a particular species have assembled species accounts. In the process of reporting what is known, we also identify what remains to be learned about these lizards. We hope to establish a prototype showing how such a diverse monophyletic group can be exploited both to identify and to understand the actual course of evolution. As such, this effort becomes a protocol for future workers to follow for other groups of closely-related species.

World's Biggest Reptiles

World's Biggest Reptiles PDF Author: Tom Jackson
Publisher: Hungry Tomato ®
ISBN: 1541533100
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 32

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Book Description
Learn about snakes that swallow their meals whole and massive saltwater crocodiles! Take a journey in search of the largest reptiles on Earth with full-color illustrations designed to keep young readers engaged and entertained while they learn.

Exploring the World of Reptiles and Amphibians

Exploring the World of Reptiles and Amphibians PDF Author: Jen Green
Publisher: Facts On File
ISBN: 9781604132564
Category : Amphibians
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Designed to introduce middle school students to the diverse species that make up the reptilian and amphibian classes. Includes more than 100 articles that describe in detail specific groups of cold-blooded vertebrates; illustrated by colour photographs, drawings, and maps.

Reptiles & Amphibians

Reptiles & Amphibians PDF Author: Scott Weidensaul
Publisher: Smithmark Publishers
ISBN: 9780831795917
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 68

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Book Description
Color photos and accompanying text describe reptiles and amphibians.

World of Reptiles

World of Reptiles PDF Author: New Holland New Holland Publishers
Publisher: New Holland Publishers
ISBN: 9781925546538
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
World of Reptiles is a visual celebration of the diversity of the planet's scaly inhabitants. It is a unique book in that it distils the 10,800 species of reptiles into 240 full-page images, with these photographs depicting representatives from 68 of the Earth's 86 families. It covers everything from the very common to the extremely rare, from the huge Saltwater Crocodile to the miniscule Pygmy Chameleon, and from the venomous King Cobra to the highly endangered Tuatara. The completeness of the collection, and the fact that it contains many rare species, lends it strong appeal to keen reptile enthusiasts, while the remarkable nature of the images will be appreciated by anyone who has an interest in the subject - from beginner to expert - by showcasing the incredible diversity of the world's reptiles.

Reptiles and Amphibians

Reptiles and Amphibians PDF Author: Sharon Dalgleish
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781590841969
Category : Amphibians
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
From fishy beginnings, reptiles and amphibians have evolved into many different kinds of animals. This title helps you learn about creatures that live on the land, those that live in the water, and some that live in both environments.