One of the most important hotspots of herpetological biodiversity in the United States, California is home to many endemic amphibians and reptiles found nowhere else on earth. Many of these taxa have unique ecological and morphological specializations, and their management is an important conservation challenge. Increasing climate change impacts, human development, and extreme drought mean many of these species face an ever-greater risk of extinction. California Amphibian and Reptile Species of Special Concern provides an up-to-date synthesis of the current state of knowledge regarding the biology and conservation risks faced by 45 of California’s most sensitive amphibian and reptile species. With the goal of enhancing management based on the best available science, the authors developed a novel set of risk metrics to identify special concern species and the threats they face, including population declines, range size and restrictions, and ecological specializations and niche restrictions. In addition to detailed species accounts, this book provides a quantitative analysis of the conservation status and pressing management issues facing individual species and the state’s amphibian and reptile fauna as a whole. The volume focuses on identifying threats, concrete recommendations for management and recovery, and future research needs. The text is complemented by detailed distribution maps, color photos, and graphs. Written in nontechnical language, California Amphibian and Reptile Species of Special Concern will be a valuable resource to a broad range of users from resource managers, field biologists, and academic herpetologists to students and recreational naturalists. Published in association with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Field guide to all the amphibians and reptiles of San Diego County (pop. 2.9 million), which has been designated one of the 25 "biodiversity hotspots" in the world; the majority of these animals exist elsewhere in S. California as well.

The Baja California peninsula is home to many forms of life found nowhere else on earth. This, combined with the peninsula's rugged and inaccessible terrain, has made the area one of the last true biological frontiers of North America. L. Lee Grismer is not only the foremost authority on the amphibians and reptiles of Baja California, but also an outstanding photographer. He has produced the most comprehensive work on the herpetofauna of the peninsula and its islands ever published. With its stunning color images, detailed accounts of many little-known species, and descriptions of the region's diverse environment, this is the definitive guide to the amphibians and reptiles of a fascinating and remote region. The culmination of Grismer's quarter century of fieldwork on the Baja peninsula and his exploration of more than one hundred of its islands in the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortés, this book gives information on the identification, distribution, natural history, and taxonomy of each species of amphibian and reptile found there. Preliminary accounts of the life history of many of the salamanders, frogs, toads, turtles, lizards, and snakes are reported here for the first time, and several species that were almost unknown to science are illustrated in full color. The book also contains new data on species distribution and on the effect of the isolated landscape of the peninsula and its islands on the evolutionary process. Much of the information gathered here is presented in biogeographical overviews that consider the extremely varied environments of Baja California in both a contemporary and a historical framework. An original and important contribution to science, this book will generate further research for years to come as it becomes a benchmark reference for both professionals and amateurs.

Bibliography of herpetofaunal literature through Dec. 31, 1999, limited to published papers and books that deal primarily with single states or provinces or substantial portions thereof.