Customer Reviews

A Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica

5 star:		(4)
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3 star:		(1)
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Twan Leenders has used his extraordinary knowledge and cool wit to create what is truly a revised Bible for the herpetological world. I recently ventured to Costa Rica on a field expedition in attempts to create an inventory of species in a certain area of rainforest, and had Twan's book with me 24/7. Not only is the information detailed and well-thought out; it is interesting to read and inspiring to the naturalist. I have had the pleasure of meeting Twan Leenders and can say with all honesty that he is one of the most respectable and knowledgable herpetologists in the field. Thank you Twan for your talent and depth of character, and for understanding and promoting the integrity of our living resources.

This is far and away the best field guide to Costa Rican amphibians and reptiles. At 305 pages long it provides photographs, line drawings and description for most of the country's 400+ species strong herpetofauna. Most of the species not covered are those that require laboratory conditions (e.g. dissection) for unequivocal identification. For those wanting a complete treatment, Jay Savage's "Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica" (available on Amazon, ISBN: 0226735370) is marvelous but not meant for the field. So, when all's said and done, this is the handy guide that all naturalists will want to take on a trip to Costa Rica. To that end, the book is a nice size (8 x 5"), is printed on quality paper and is fairly well bound, though the covers are flimsy. Information is clearly presented and (apart from the 86 central color plates) helpful illustrations are sprinkled throughout the text. Useful introductions are provided to orders and families. Surprisingly there are no maps - they would have been an additional identification aid. Nevertheless, this is an essential field guide and well worth the price.

I used this book as a field guide in costa rica and found it to be on par with what I expect of a field guide. Good pictures, decent descriptions and a fair amount of general information. With the wealth of Herpofauna in Costa Rica a book of this small size can not go indepth as I would like, but the size makes it easy to take on a trip and a good read for anyone just getting there feet wet in costa rican reptiles.

However if you want the full and complete story of these amazing animals then check out Jay Savage's book on Costa Rican reptiles. To big to take on trips, but to great to pass up.

What I liked best about this book was the detailed descriptions offered in such a compact book. It is far more managable than Savage's book.

However as a 'field guide' I found this book really lacking. The photographs are often dark and taken very nonprofessionally. Also has a poor index. Poor-lighting, not using polarizer filters on wet turtle shots, poor presentation of the specimens encountered all really hurt this guide.
Further it seems very incomplete. It seems several of herps I saw on my trip through were not included in at least the photographic portions of this book making it rather weak for field work. I actually carried along a little foldout frog/toad panflet that seemed to be more generally useful.

Still for the size and the text it certainly is worth including in your natural history guide books if you go to Costa Rica.

I would like to say that this is the best book ever written. I know Twan personally and he is one of the smartest most expeirenced people i know. We wish him best of luck in his upcoming books and many more to come.

big fans,
steve and will