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|---|---|---|
Searching... Salem Main Library | 597.95 Pianka 2003 | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
From tiny to gigantic, from drab to remarkably beautiful, from harmless to venomous, lizards are spectacular products of natural selection. This book, lavishly illustrated with color photographs, is the first comprehensive reference on lizards around the world. Accessible, scientifically up-to-date, and written with contagious enthusiasm for the subject, Lizards: Windows to the Evolution of Diversity covers species evolution, diversity, ecology, and biology. Eric R. Pianka and Laurie J. Vitt have studied and photographed members of almost all lizard families worldwide, and they bring to the book a deep knowledge based on extensive firsthand experience with the animals in their natural habitats.
Part One explores lizard lifestyles, answering such questions as why lizards are active when they are, why they behave as they do, how they avoid predators, why they eat what they eat, and how they reproduce and socialize. In Part Two the authors take us on a fascinating tour of the world's manifold lizard species, beginning with iguanians, an evolutionary group that includes some of the most bizarre lizards, the true chameleons of Africa and Madagascar. We also meet the glass lizard, able to break its tail into many highly motile pieces to distract a predator from its body; lizards that can run across water; and limbless lizards, such as snakes. Part Three gives an unprecedented global view of evolutionary trends that have shaped present-day lizard communities and considers the impact of humans on their future.
A definitive resource containing many entertaining anecdotes, this magnificent book opens a new window to the natural world and the evolution of life on earth.
Author Notes
Eric R. Pianka is Denton A. Cooley Centennial Professor of Zoology at the University of Texas, Austin. His books include Evolutionary Ecology (sixth edition, 2000), The Lizard Man Speaks (1994), and Ecology and Natural History of Desert Lizards (1986). Laurie J. Vitt is a George Lynn Cross Research Professor (Zoology Department) at the University of Oklahoma and Associate Director of Collections and Research at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History. He is coauthor of several books, including Herpetology: An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles (second edition, 2000). Pianka and Vitt are also coeditors of Lizard Ecology: Historical and Experimental Perspectives (1994).
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In this coffee table nature book, two renowned lizard ecologists explain why these remarkable reptiles not only have as much a place on the planet as humans, but are also helpful in understanding evolutionary biology. Pianka and Vitt describe lizards' incredible diversity and highlight some of the creatures' weirder tools for survival, including blood-squirting eyes, breakaway tails and kaleidoscope camouflage. With the hundreds of extraordinary color photographs picturing lizards in their own habitats, general readers might be tempted to page past text that includes a behavioral overview, a phylogenetic guide and an evolutionary analysis of lizards' past and future. However, most of the research is accessible to non-scientists, thanks to clear writing and layman's anecdotes illustrating nearly every theory. Sidebars contain delightful personal stories about the authors' adventures collecting lizards in remote places, and the book is full of gee-whiz facts: some lizards are tiny enough to be prey for spiders, while others are big enough to eat deer. The prose is concise and often surprising: "Few, if any, other vertebrates display autoamputation and self-cannibalism," the authors report mildly about the North American and Australian skinks who will shed their tail to divert a predator, only to return later and swallow the remains of their tail themselves. Pianka and Vitt offer both a comprehensive evolutionary perspective and a youthful enthusiasm for their subject, making this an essential reference for scientists and armchair zoologists. 218 color illustrations, 31 line drawings, 8 tables. (Sept.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Choice Review
Pianka (Univ. of Texas, Austin) and Vitt (Univ. of Oklahoma), two eminent North American herpetologists, have produced an excellent introduction to many aspects of lizard biology. Their book is divided into three major sections; the first part, "Lizard Lifestyles," describes variations in morphology, locomotion, feeding, predator avoidance, social behavior, reproduction, and life history. The second part, "Lizard Diversity," provides a taxonomic and descriptive treatment of the various monophyletic groups of lizards. The third part, "Synthesis," offers evolutionary and biogeographic interpretations of the patterns described in the first two sections. The authors are field herpetologists extraordinaire, and the work reflects their broad knowledge of and enthusiasm for this group. The discussion is perhaps too heavily weighted toward problems that their individual research programs have addressed. Moreover, their coverage of many topics in contemporary ecology and evolution may be unsatisfying to experts, who may find the treatment too simplistic, and to less knowledgeable readers, who may find the theoretical discussions too sketchy to follow. The book is punctuated by delightful anecdotal essays about fieldwork, and the photographs are both numerous and of extraordinarily high quality. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. General readers; lower-division undergraduates through professionals. P. E. Hertz Barnard College
Library Journal Review
Two of the world's leading experts on lizards have teamed up to create this authoritative and scientifically up-to-date, yet readable reference. Part 1 focuses on lizard lifestyles with chapters on evolution, lizards as predators and prey, social behavior, reproduction, and life history. Concentrating on diversity, Part 2 discusses the major groups of lizards and highlights many interesting, unusual, and colorful species. Part 3 concludes the volume with two chapters on the evolutionary history of lizards and lizard-human relationships. Zoology professors Pianka and Vitt envisioned this project as a "semipopular" book in a coffee-table format, and it is a fitting characterization. The authors do not talk down to their audience, so readers unfamiliar with biological concepts may find the book slow going in places. Even so, the authors write clearly, and their enthusiasm and personal "asides" help enliven the text, as do the more than 200 marvelous full-color photographs. A useful glossary is included, along with a lengthy bibliography. The pictures alone will make this essential for lizard lovers of all ages and backgrounds. Recommended for academic and larger public libraries. [Smaller public libraries serving high school students may prefer David Badger's more accessible Lizards: A Natural History of Some Uncommon Creatures; Extraordinary Chameleons, Iguanas, Geckos, and More.-Ed.]-William H. Wiese, Iowa State Univ. Lib., Ames (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
| List of Tables |
| ForewordHarry W. Greene |
| Acknowledgments |
| Introduction: The Logic of Biology |
| Part I Lizard Lifestyles |
| 1 Evolutionary History and Phylogeny |
| 2 Getting Around in a Complex World |
| 3 Lizards as Predators |
| 4 Escaping Predators |
| 5 Social Behavior |
| 6 Reproduction and Life History |
| 7 Reflections of the Real World |
| Part II Lizard Diversity |
| 8 Iguanians |
| 9 From Geckos to Blind Lizards |
| 10 From Racerunners to Night Lizards |
| 11 Skinks |
| 12 From Girdled Lizards to Knob-Scaled Lizards |
| 13 Monsters and Dragons of the Lizard World |
| Part III Synthesis |
| 14 Historical Perspective |
| 15 Lizards and Humans |
| Appendix Taxonomic Summary of Lizard Genera |
| Glossary |
| References |
| Index |