Snakes of the United States and Canada [Hardcover]

Carl H. Ernst (Author), Evelyn M. Ernst (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 17, 2003

World-renowned snake expert Carl Ernst and coauthor Evelyn Ernst reveal the unusual lifestyles of these fascinating creatures, describing every known aspect of each of the 131 species found in the United States and Canada. From the venomous rattlers to the docile garter snakes, each species is shown to display a unique set of behaviors and adaptations to its environment.

Much more than simply a field guide, this monumental reference begins with an introduction to snake biology and evolution, which is followed by an identification guide and key to the North American species. The heart of the book is the species accounts which, accompanied by color photographs, provide detailed information on identifying features, geographic variation, known fossils, current distribution, habitat type, behavior, reproduction, growth, diet, and predators. Completing the book is a glossary of terms and a comprehensive reference section. No other book provides as thorough or as reliable coverage.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Carl H. Ernst is a Distinguished Professor of Biology at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. He has written six books, including the award-winning Turtles of the World (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1989) and is coauthor of Snakes in Question (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1996). Evelyn M. Ernst is director of information for the National Science Resource Center in Washington, D.C.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 680 pages
• Publisher: Smithsonian Books (April 17, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1588340198
• ISBN-13: 978-1588340191
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #297,835 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #25 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Zoology > Reptiles
  • #69 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Animals > Reptiles & Amphibians

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great info!, June 26, 2007

By 

Schuyler Dartez (Kaplan, La United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Snakes of the United States and Canada (Hardcover)

This book provides a tremendous amount of information for many species and subspecies. It includes habitat, range, diet, etc. I recommend this book as a reference book for anyone interested in snakes. In my opinion, this book is not intended to be read from cover to cover, since it reads more like a scientific/academic reference field guide for general snake species info.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you want to get inside a snake's head...., March 22, 2011

By 

Adam Hummer - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Snakes of the United States and Canada (Hardcover)

I got this book because my grandfather lives on 2 1/2 acres back in the mountains, and I always find little snakes to catch. Now of course a Petterson's Field Guide would serve me a better purpose on IDing them in the field, but I wanted somthing that had ALOT of information on snakes, and well, I found it. I'm a junior in highschool right now and when I first got this, I could have sworn it was a textbook just on snakes. It comes with a dust jacket, and has a really heavy duty hard cover. When I opened it up, WOW. I have the training/experiance level of, 0 out of 10, so I was quickly overwhelmed when I first opened it up to the Common Garter Snake (Eastern and subspeices) and looked for its average length, and first seen the term TBL (Total Body Length) I quickly realized that this isn't a recreational book, this is hardcore. In my opinion, this book is awesome, if your into snakes. If your just wanting a book to ID snakes that you see around your property, on the trails around the campsite,A Field Guide to Reptiles & Amphibians of Eastern & Central North America (Peterson Field Guide Series) is a better way to go, and won't kill your wallet. If your planning on going into the biology field, such as herpetology, or Zoology (Like me!) this text is AWESOME! Even if your a die hard snake fan, this book is great. Its just that, this book, is DETAILED. When it says it has where they live, what eats them, what they eat, up top in the amazon description, no no no, it has this, but in great detail! Anywhere from 3-8 color photos per species of snake, showing various color phases/morphs. It has their denning sites, when they are most active, what they tend to do when threatened or handled, AND THE ONE FEATURE I LOVE THE MOST Average Body Lengths depending on AGE! So lets say a Garter Snake was 1 year old and you just caught him, and he measured 58cm, The book has a part in each extensive writeup that says

Male 1 Year Old: 30cm-68cm (IM JUST GUESSING RANDOM NUMBERS this isnt what the book has)
Female 1 Year Old: 35-72cm

THIS I LOVE!!! Now I can guess a rough age on the snake I catch! Another thing the book has per species is sexual dimorphism, (I think I spelled that right) which in common talk, how to tell a boy from a girl and vice versa, WITHOUT dangerous probing. Probing is usually the way to sex a snake, but its very dangerous if done by anyone other than a vet or a trained wildlife expert, us rookies we would risk harming the snake very badly if we did it. The book tells you the differences so you can make a good estimated guess without harming the snake. Like I said before this book is a awesome tool if your looking to study snakes and get extensive knowledge on them, if your looking for a field guide to carry with you in the woods, the one above is best, and that has more than snakes in it. So in a nutshell


Buy this book if:
You want to learn alot, and I mean ALOT about snakes.
If your going to be studying snakes.
If you want to learn more about a certain species.
If you deal with snakes on a daily basis.
If you want to learn technical facts about snakes.

Dont buy this book if:
Your looking for a field guide.
Your afraid of snakes.


Enjoy!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW, May 7, 2007

By 

Gareth "Gareth" (Fl) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Snakes of the United States and Canada (Hardcover)

This is an awesome book for beginners and professionals alike. I was amazed at the amount of information for each snake. definitely not small enough for a field guide, if thats what you're wanting.