EDITORIAL INFORMATION

The existence of comprehensive books serving as identification guides and manuals on the distribution and biology of African amphibians and reptiles has always been a privilege of Southern Africa. For the rest of the continent, only regional treatments, checklists and keys at best, mostly confined to particular groups such as frogs or snakes, were the only available sources of information. Also in northern, i. e. palearctic Africa, a herpetological field guide is lacking so far, if one leaves out of consideration that the Snakes of Europe and around the Mediterranean Sea also covers Near Eastern and North-American forms. The authors of present book filled therefore a gap which has grievously experienced by many students, amateur or professional, of the herpetofauna of Northern Africa.

(Extracted from the Foreword).

GENERAL TABLE OF CONTENTS

-Foreword.

-Preface.

-Introduction.

-Amphibians and reptiles of North Africa - species list.

-Climate and vegetation.

-Geographic distribution.

-Ecological aspects.

-Special part: Amphibians and reptiles of the Maghreb and Libya.

-The amphibian and reptile species of Egypt.

-Appendix.

-Index.

-Literature.

-References for text figures.

-Addenda during press (genus Chalcides).

-Colour plates.

OUR REVIEW

The authors have done a very valuable task of compiling, ordering and writing the information that they offer in this book. The great amount of drawings, present in most of the pages, are a very important element. The volume, presented as a guide, describes the different species within sections in a file format, where clear, concise information is provided.

Although a great part of the book is occupied by the descriptions of different species one by one, there also are more reduced sections that are of a great interest, like for instance the one devoted to ecological aspects, which deals with such questions as locomotion on sand, relations to the ambient, or biotopes, for instance.

A section that also merits special mentioning is that of the bibliography. The authors have taken great care to look for and evaluate the references that appear here.

This guide will be very useful indeed to those students or researchers interested in the herpetofauna of Northern Africa.