A comprehensive source for discovering, identifying, and learning about any of the state's fifty-three amphibian and reptile species, from the common American Toad to the little-seen Western Ratsnake. Including current information about designations of species in need of protection, this reference covers the latest research and work on environmental threats and conservation measures, such as the deformed frog phenomenon, turtle-protection legislation, climate change, and habitat restoration. With more than two hundred photographs, written descriptions, county-based maps, habitat and distribution data, life histories, and circular keys to adult and larval specimens, the book brings readers up to date on Minnesota's new species and changes to scientific names.

Offers substantial information designed for use by both amateurs and specialists and useful to residents of other Upper Midwest states and bordering Canadian provinces as well. Introductory chapters present the history of herpetology in Minnesota, the preferred habitats of these species, techniques

When deformed frogs-many with missing legs or eyes, footless stumps, or misshapen jaws-began to emerge from Minnesota wetlands, alarm bells went off. What caused such deformities? Pollution? Ultraviolet rays? Biological agents? And could the mysterious cause also pose a threat to humans? Former government biologist Judy Helgen provides an inside view of a highly charged environmental issue that continues to spark controversy among scientists, politicians, and government agencies. Book jacket.

OC Extinction of species, the silent crisis of our time, diminishes our world...and a commitment to the preservation of species diversity is fundamental to an optimistic view of the future of our own species, OCO says Harrison B. Tordoff in his forward to this comprehensive reference book. MinnesotaOCOs Endangered Flora and Fauna is the result of a legislative mandate -- the 1981 amendment to the State Endangered Species Act -- which called upon the stateOCOs Department of Natural Resources and an expert advisory committee to prepare a list of plants and animals in jeopardy. Covered in the book are some 300 species, ranging from mosses and lichens to jumping spiders, and including vascular plants, birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians, fish, butterflies, mollusks, and tiger beetles. A chapter is devoted to each of these floral and faunal groups, with individual status accounts provided for all species. Each account includes the designation endangered, threatened, or special concern, the reasons for that choice, and related information on habitat and distribution. Endangered and threatened species are illustrated; state distribution maps are provided for all species, as well as information on national range. In their substantial introduction, the editors describe the historical background of this project; the components of MinnesotaOCOs Endangered Species Program -- one of the most comprehensive and respected in the nation; and the stateOCOs natural environment -- its diverse landforms and vegetation."

In the first book on snakes written with a focus on conservation, editors Stephen J. Mullin and Richard A. Seigel bring together leading herpetologists to review and synthesize the ecology, conservation, and management of snakes worldwide.