North American Box Turtles: A Natural History (Animal Natural History Series) [Hardcover]

C. Kenneth, Jr. Dodd (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2001 | ISBN-10: 0806132949 | ISBN-13: 978-0806132945

Native to the United States and Mexico, the box turtle is so named because of its box-like appearance. A once familiar backyard visitor, the box turtle is also the focus of both conservation efforts and biological research.

North American Box Turtles is the first book-length natural history of the twelve species and subspecies of the terrestrial box turtle. It includes comprehensive information on the species' systematics, evolution, habitat use and activity patterns, behavior, courtship and reproduction, diet, population structure, and disease. Each chapter discusses conservation applications as well as the need for long-term data, monitoring, and viewing box turtles within a landscape context.

Special features of this book include: *color photos of all species and subspecies and habitats *a simplified identification guide to both living and fossil species *a summary of information on fossil Terrapene and Native uses of box turtles *end-of-chapter sections that highlight future research directions *a glossary of general natural history terms *a bibliography of literature on box turtles All royalties from the sales of this volume will go to the Chelonian Research Foundation, a nonprofit foundation for the conservation of turtles.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Animal Natural History Series

About the Author

C. Kenneth Dodd, Jr., is a Zoologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, President-Elect of the Herpetoogist's League, and Associate Editor of The Journal of Herpetology. He resides in Gainesville, Florida.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 364 pages
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press (June 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806132949
• ISBN-13: 978-0806132945
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,644,872 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is "the " book on box turtles!, July 12, 2007

By 

Otter mom (Little Rock, AR United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: North American Box Turtles: A Natural History (Animal Natural History Series) (Paperback)

As the education coordinator for our state's natural heritage program, when we begin developing a "citizen science" survey for box turtles, this was book that guided us. I have worked with interpretation programs for native animals for almost 25 years, and this is the best book I have ever used for detailed natural history about a particular animal. Dodd combines very solid science with a humanistic and practical approach. His text is very readable and I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about the turtles -- but I caution you -- once you begin reading this, you will quickly understand this is NOT a guide to keeping box turtles as pets, and in fact, Dodd details a variety of reasons why they do NOT MAKE GOOD PETS. PLEASE do NOT REMOVE BOX TURTLES FROM THE WILD! This book will give you guidance as to how to better enjoy the turltes you may see in the wild, and a true appreciation of the species.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars North American Box Turtles, April 2, 2010

By 

Christopher Samuelson - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: North American Box Turtles: A Natural History (Animal Natural History Series) (Paperback)

A very fine treatment of these amazing reptiles. A very good read. Anyone interested in box turtles or wildlife should read this book. Straight forward and to the point. I have found it helpful in my research thus far and recommend it highly. North American Box Turtles: A Natural History (Animal Natural History Series)