The book describes each amphibian with its alternate name, its main characteristics, biological data, population status, and geographic distribution. Each entry is accompanied by plenty of figures and colored pictures of the amphibian and its geographic distribution map. These illustrate China's amphibian species diversity and the latest research findings. It is the most comprehensive summary of China's amphibians. The text and picture combination aids species identification and comparison, and is valuable for the in-depth study of their phylogeny. Its detailed, comprehensive and illustrative descriptions help to identify amphibian species, and have important academic significance for further surveys and research on amphibian numbers, animal protection and the development of protective measures as well as quarantine in customs. It provides important information for research units concerned with amphibians both in China, and the rest of the world, and also for animal protection and law enforcement agencies. Professor Liang Fei, was formerly the director of the department of the herpetological research at Chengdu Institute of Biology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China; Professor Changyuan Ye works at Chengdu Institute of Biology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China;

Herpetology has always been one of the most exciting disciplines of zoology. During the past few years the field has continued to grow, yet it has been plagued by scarcity of comprehensive, up-to-date textbooks containing the most important developments. This timely book fills that void. Through skillful synthesis, the author summarizes the diversity in the biology of living amphibians and reptiles and describes the breadth of current herpetological research. Topics covered include the evolution, classification, development, reproduction, population, and environmental issues surrounding the study of amphibians and reptiles. Designed as an advanced undergraduate textbook, Herpetology is a valuable resource for students, practitioners, and interested amateurs alike. - Provides an incisive survey and much needed update of the field - Emphasizes the biological diversity among amphibians and reptiles - Details the most recent research findings, citing ke

Animals have been studied for centuries. But what are the most important and relevant reference and information sources in the zoological sciences? This work is a comprehensive, thoroughly annotated directory filled with hundreds of esteemed resources published in the field of zoology, including indexes, abstracts, bibliographies, journals, biographies and histories, dictionaries and encyclopedias, textbooks, checklists and classification schemes, handbooks and field guides, associations, and Web sites. A complete revision of the award-winning Guide to the Zoological Literature: The Animal Kingdom (1994), this new title includes extensive, up-to-date coverage of invertebrates, arthropods, vertebrates, fishes, amphibians and reptiles, birds, and mammals. In addition, the work features a detailed introduction by the author, as well as thorough subject, title, and author indexes. Students and researchers can now quickly and easily pinpoint works in their field of study. The book is of equal importance to LIS students specializing in science or biology librarianship, as it provides a comprehensive, straight-forward overview of zoological information sources. An essential addition to the core reference collection of public and academic libraries!