Book Review

A Field Guide To The Reptiles of South-East Asia
By Indraneil Das

RAUK has received a review copy of this forthcoming book (publication September 2010). Although South-East Asia hardly qualifies as the UK, this could well prove of interest to those of our members planning a holiday or field trip to the region. This is an extremely comprehensive guide to the reptiles of this area. The author is a well-experienced and qualified herpetologist with an excellent knowledge of the animals in the region.
The book opens with a brief (relatively) introduction to reptiles and the region. In typical field guide style this is followed by the illustrations. These are paintings of the animals and nearly 700 species are illustrated in 74 coloured plates. The standard of the illustrations is extremely high. If I were to search for weaknesses in these there are one or two instances where the exact shape of an animal's head is not captured - but this is a difficult area for any artist. Inevitably, of course, it is also impossible to capture all the potential colour variations, especially in such families as the Agamids where colour changes can be quite pronounced. Nevertheless, these minor factors are not so pronounced as to preclude identification, especially when taken with the brief species descriptions accompanying each plate.
The latter part of the book - nearly 200 pages - is devoted largely to more detailed descriptions of each species and includes their habitat, behaviour and, of course, their geographical distribution. There is a comprehensive index of both English and taxonomic names.
The book claims to cover all of the species in the region (Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, Peninsular Malaya and the Greater Sundas) . If it were not for the speed with which animals are being re-classified and new species being discovered I would say this claim is well justified.
Probably the only problem with this book as a field guide is its sheer size - some 375 pages. Nevertheless it should prove invaluable to those visiting the region.
Thoroughly recommended for those planning a trip to the area or just interested in the reptiles of the region.

Chris Davis

New Holland Publishers
(www.newhollandpublishers.com)

ISBN 978-1-84773-347-4

Price £35

Hardback 24 x 16 x 2.8 cms
c. 930 gms

Sliding Scales

The Whitsun Bank Holiday weekend saw the launch of Amphibian and Reptile Conservation's "Sliding Scales" campaign.

On their website they say "Snakes are as central to our natural history and as prominent in folklore as the water vole, badger or barn owl. Yet, unlike these species, snakes are maligned by many people. There is a general lack of awareness of the conservation needs of these species amongst landowners and members of the wider community. Persecution events still occur even though this practice is illegal. But the extent and significance of this is still largely unknown."

The purpose of this campaign is to raise the profile of these beautiful creatures, improve an understanding of them and their needs amongst the general public.

Click on the campaign logo above for more information.

New Guide to UK Reptiles and Amphibians

WILDguide publications have released an exciting new book about our native herpetofauna. Authored by Howard Inns, who many of you will know, it has probably the finest selection of photographs, including alien species, ever accumulated in a single volume. For more details click here for a Word leaflet or here for a PDF.

RAUK has sponsorship

RAUK would like, on behalf of all its members, to acknowledge the assistance of Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (ARC) and the Amphibian and Reptile Groups of the UK (ARG UK) who have kindly sponsored this site. These two key organisations recognise the importance of a totally independent forum in which those interested in our herpetofauna in the field and its conservation can freely exchange news, advice and opinions. As a result of their financial support, RAUK can now to look forward to continuing, and growing, for the foreseeable future.
Both of these organisations can themselves benefit from your support.

You can become a ‘Frog Friend’ of Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, to support and find out about its herpetofauna conservation work www.arc-trust.org.
Or you can get stuck in with your local Amphibian and Reptile Group www.arguk.org

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Send us your records!

Records are essential to the conservation of the UK's Reptiles & Amphibians

A record is a description of WHAT was seen, WHEN it was seen and WHERE. It is also useful to know WHO saw the animal so that we can follow up reports of endangered species and verify records.

WHAT: The species observed, whether it was an adult, juvenile, larva or egg and how many
WHEN: The date and time of your sighting
WHERE: A GB grid reference or a post code if the animal was spotted in your garden, it is also useful to know the nearest town and the name of the site such as your local nature reserve
WHO: Who made the observation

Reptiles & Amphibians of the UK have provided an on-line submission form to make the process of telling us about what you have seen as straightforward as possible. The form requires a valid email address as our reference of who submitted the record.

On-line records submission form

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