Field Guide to the Reptiles of South-East Asia [Hardcover]

Indraneil Das (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 24, 2010 | Series: Field Guide

South-East Asia is one of the richest parts of the world in terms of reptiles. The first comprehensive guide to the reptiles of this region, "A Field Guide to the Reptiles of South-East Asia" covers all the reptiles recorded from mainland South-East Asia, from Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia to Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia, as well as the islands of the Great Sundas (including Sumatra, Java, Borneo and Bali). A detailed account with key identification characteristics, habitat and behaviour is included for each species, from crocodiles, tortoises and turtles, to lizards and snakes. Every recognized species is described, and 74 magnificent specially commissioned colour plates by top wildlife artists depict nearly 700 major species in meticulous detail. Where useful, details such as plastrons (for turtles and tortoises), juveniles, variants and head patterns are also shown on the plates.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

INDRANEIL DAS is Professor of Herpetology at the Institute of Biodiversity Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. He received his doctorate from Oxford University, and was a Fulbright Fellow at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University. His other books include photo guides to the reptiles of India (2002), Sri Lanka (2005) and Borneo (2006).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 376 pages
• Publisher: New Holland Publishers Ltd (September 24, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1847733476
• ISBN-13: 978-1847733474
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #944,841 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Much needed book, January 30, 2011

By 

Smoochy (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Field Guide to the Reptiles of South-East Asia (Hardcover)

When Das showed the advanced copy at a herpetological meeting this summer, everyone's eyes lit up. This is a much needed book for the region and a reference I use quite frequently.

This book gives basic information about the species in Southeast Asia, and does a great job of providing the information needed for basic identification. Species lengths are included in the descriptions. Unfortunately there are no range maps - a bummer.

Novices using this book should also be aware that the large python plate numbers are labeled incorrectly. Hopefully this will be fixed.

I hope to see more from Dr. Das in the future. This is a great book, don't hesitate to buy it if you're at all interested in the region.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Ground-breaking but far from great, August 11, 2011

By 

Laszlo Wagner (Hungary) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Field Guide to the Reptiles of South-East Asia (Hardcover)

This book is indeed a much needed and very welcome first one to cover all known species of reptiles from mainland SE Asia and the Greater Sundas.

All species are shown on color plates, with more detailed descriptions of their appearance, habitat, behavior and conservation status, distribution (without maps) to be found separately at the back of the book.

So far so good!

Unfortunately, while all this makes for a very interesting overview of the region's herpetofauna, the book's usefulness as an actual field guide is undermined by the fact that the illustrations are often too few, poor or inaccurate to let you identify even some very common species, and worse still, there are no keys provided to aid identification either.

For the Sunda subregion (Malay peninsula and the Greater Sundas), the more professionally compiled German language guide Amphibien und Reptilien Südostasiens. can be much more useful, with keys and distribution maps, and quality photos of most species.