A comprehensive guide - you could teach a college course out of this book!

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Product Description

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.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #215126 in Books
• Published on: 2003-09-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 346 pages

From Publishers Weekly
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.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"A beautiful book crammed with a wealth of information, not just about lizards, but about ecology, anatomy, physiology, biogeography, biomechanics, evolution, and ethnobiology as well. A fascinating reading for any herpetologist or natural historian, no matter how professional." - Copeia "This is a book for the home library, to be pulled down off the shelf whenever some unfamiliar creature skitters across the patio, or just to be read on rainy afternoons... the writing is clear, authoritative and enlivened by personal tales of lizard encounters. The photos are bright and beautiful. Just an hour or two turning the pages is guaranteed to kindle a whole new sense of wonder the next time you flick on your porch light and surprise a gecko." - Bill Marvel, Dallas Morning News "This engaging, well-researched volume depicts an amazing variety of lacertilian beasts in its lavish illustrations and deftly examines their bizarre lifestyles and behaviors." - American Scientist "All readers will find Lizards an excellent introduction to the ecology of an interesting and scientifically rewarding group of animals." - Science"

From the Inside Flap
"This book is the first to provide a comprehensive introduction to the diversity of lizards and their major adaptive features. The scope and mastery of the material are truly impressive. The authors discuss the latest research findings in readily accessible terms and provide sweeping new hypotheses about lizard diversity that will generate much discussion and research among lizard specialists, community ecologists, and evolutionary biologists. This book should reach a wide audience and will undoubtedly stimulate the interest of future biologists. I wish I had had it when I was a teenager!"--William E. Cooper, Indiana University-Purdue University

"It was a treat to read this book. Together Pianka and Vitt form an unbeatable team of lizard experts. Vitt has extensive experience in South America and tropical forests, as well as southwestern U.S. deserts, whereas Pianka has specialized in deserts of Australia, southern Africa, and North America. They have spent a lot of time in the field studying lizards, and this is apparent in the text. I especially enjoyed the personal vignettes, which add to the liveliness of the book. This is a wonderful synthesis and a great addition to the herpetological literature."--David B. Wake, University of California, Berkeley

"No one knows lizards better than Pianka and Vitt. These master naturalists and master ecologists have combined forces to provide a scholarly--yet accessible and personal--overview on the biology of a fascinating group of organisms. If you like lizards, you must read this book. If you don't like lizards but still have an open mind, you really should read this book. If you're not sure whether you like lizards, you definitely should read this book."--Raymond B. Huey, University of Washington

"This book provides an excellent overview of the staggering diversity of lizards, highlighting not only the intrinsically fascinating traits of these reptiles but also their appropriateness as models for evolutionary and ecological studies. The authors' thorough treatment of lizard biology is engagingly presented and is enhanced by personal insights derived from decades of fieldwork in the deserts and rain forests of the world."--Aaron M. Bauer, Villanova University

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Customer Reviews

A wonderfully comprehensive overview of an amazing group
Without a doubt, this book is the most comprehensive overview of lizard evolution and ecology, available on the market today. Pianka & Vitt take readers on a tour through the many aspects of the lacertilian suborder. In the process, they show one how incredibly useful lizards have been for science.

The book is broken up into three sections. The first section gives an overview of lizards in general. It goes over the basic anatomy, and the distinct differences between the three main lizard groups (Iguania, Gekkota & Autarchoglossa). The second section goes more in depth about each major group. It gives a breakdown of all the major families, and even goes so far as to explain the different genera in each. The final section takes the reader through a brief history of the squamata. It explains their evolution throughout the Mesozoic, and ending with a chapter on relationship of lizards with people.

The appendix, at the end, gives a taxonomic summary of all the lizard genera known for each family; along with a total species count. While this is already a bit out of date (sad fate for all published material dealing with taxonomy), it is a nice addition.

The chapter on lizards and humans, has a nice section talking about lizards as pets. In the past, herpetologists have often frowned on the keeping of lizards as pets. Pianka & Vitt considered doing the same. Yet, as they mention: "We would be hypocrites if we did." They realize that most up and coming (and many professional) herpetologists/paleontologists, keep/kept lizards as pets. Herpetoculture is here to stay. As such, it makes more sense to learn the most one can about the animal they intend to keep. Reading words of acceptance from those in the field, is always an encouraging thing to see.

Of course, not everything about the book is perfect. I did have some minor gripes with it.

For starters, I took minor issue with the treatment of the three main lizard groups. In particular, the treatment of Iguanians compared to the scleroglossans. The scleroglossan lizards are often exalted above the iguanians, at the latter's expense. I can understand Pianka & Vitt's reasoning behind this. Scleroglossa make up the majority of living lacertilians, yet remain the least studied group of lizards out there. In that sense, I can't blame the authors for wanting to put more emphasis on this group. I just wish that it didn't appear to be at the expense of the iguanians. It's not done all that often, and it's never intentional, but every once in a while, a comment is made on the archaic nature of iguanians that tends to make them out as sounding inferior.

A neat thing about the second part of the book, is that Pianka & Vitt do explain the meaning behind many of the genus names. Unfortunately, they don't do it for all of them. This wouldn't be so troublesome if it didn't happen so randomly. For instance, in the beginning of the agamid descriptions, a definition for each genus name is given. Yet at, roughly, the last third of the section, the definitions just stop. It remains this way until well into Iguanidae (a quick blurb at Leiocephalinae) before disappearing again. Gekkotans get a brief, but acute, set of definitions (done as an example of how many are named after their toes), with some other definitions sprinkled in throughout the rest of the chapter. It continues like this throughout the rest of this section. As such, it leaves readers such as myself (who enjoy the meanings behind the names) left wanting more.

Finally, the last real gripe I have about the book is in respect to the trend, in recent years, to apply cladistic methods to classification. Throughout the book, mentions are made on the monophyly of one group vs. the paraphyly of another. That in itself, is not bad, but when it interferes with classification, it becomes an annoyance. One area in particular, is the way in which snakes are handled. The group, itself, is descended from a lizard ancestor. Yet, snakes are still classified as a separate collection of squamates; which is fine (the same happens with mammals and therapsids, among other examples). My problem with the book, is that the authors feel this need to mention how "snakes are lizards too." It's pounded into one's head at the beginning, and towards the end of the book. Yet, the snakes themselves, are hardly ever mentioned. There is no section of the various families of snakes out there. Nor any real mention of their various life histories. So, I'm left wondering: Why bother mentioning the "snakes are lizards too" bit? If one is going to insist of abiding by the cladistic paradigm in classification, then one should follow through with it.

With that said, please keep in mind that I do consider all of these to be minor gripes. The book is still a must read for anyone with more than just a passing interest in this amazing group of animals, and the author's chilling take on the status of our planet (last section of the final chapter) is another must read for any young biologist, preparing to enter the field.

Highly recommended.

Pianka and Vitt's "Lizards" a remarkable contribution
This book is truly amazing! As a scientist, I have read hundreds of works, but never have I encountered a better combination of scientific rigor coupled with what one might call, popular appeal. The authors have basically provided the contribution of record on lizard biology, while simulataneously producing one of the most interesting coffee table "thumb-throughs" that one could imagine. First the biological rigor. Pianka and Vitt break the book into three sections, very appropriately I believe, beginning with lizard behavior--evolution, life history, context. These seven chapters lead naturally to a second section, six chapters devoted to lizard diversity. Not anatomical or taxonomical hell at all, but brilliantly protrayed, ecologically situated depiction of form and function, from iguanas to dragons. The third section ties together the ethology, the diversity of genera, as a well articulated synthesis. In so doing in this concluding synthesis, the authors have managed to write a tutorial that is extremely valuable as a stand alone study plan for teaching evolution and biology to students of just about any level of sophistication. Yes, the book provides comprehensive documentation, references, and taxonomic details--it is a remarkable scientific work. But it is one that can't be put down--the authors even share their personal histories of interest, and they embed numberous "so what? boxes". I found the professional quality photo's to merit review themselves as a contribution to photography. In fact, after walking through the habitat-borne illustrations, I felt that I had spent an eye-opening day with these creatures. "Lizards: Windows to the Evolution of Diversity" is a must for biologists, and a gotta have for anyone interested in creatures. Harry Greene's foreward claim that the book is "a survey of unprecedented depth and breadth" is classic understatement.