The Amphibians and Reptiles of Alberta: A Field Guide and Primer of Boreal Herpetology

The essential guide to amphibians and reptiles of Alberta. Both a field guide and a comprehensive natural history, this book is richly illustrated with colour photographs and detailed descriptiosn of species.

Amphibians and reptiles (herpetofauna) are a significant but much-neglected component of the natural economy of the province of Alberta. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Alberta, Second Edition continues both as a field guide and a comprehensive natural history, builds on the strengths of the first with a richly illustrated text and colour photographs of the species taken by renowned wildlife photographer Wayne Lynch.

The Amphibians and Reptiles of Alberta, First Edition won an Emerald Award for Environmental Excellence and an award from the Book Publishers Association of Alberta. This second edition has been thoroughly revised and updated. Nomenclature has been changed to reflect current thinking in the field. New photographs have been added, and maps and illustrations have been updated. This is the essential reference for Alberta herpetofauna. 

About the Authors:

Anthony P. Russell is a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Calgary.

Aaron M. Bauer is a professor in the Department of Biology at Villanova University, Pennsylvania.

Contents
Preface
Acknowledgements

1. Introduction

2. Characterization of Amphibians and Reptiles

3. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Alberta: A Brief Introduction

4. How to Observe Amphibians and Reptiles

5. A Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Alberta
A Checklist of the Amphibians and Reptiles of Alberta
Key to the Adult Amphibians and Reptiles of Alberta
Key to the Larval Amphibians and Reptiles of Alberta
Key to the Eggs of the Amphibians of Alberta

Species Accounts

Ambystoma macrodactylum
Ambystoma tigrinum
Spea bombifrons
Bufo boreas
Bufo cognatus
Bufo hemiophrys
Pseudacris maculata
Rana luteiventris
Rana pipiens
Rana sylvatica
Chrysemys picta
Phrynosoma hernandesi
Heterodon nasicus
Pituophis catenifer
Thamnophis elegans
Thamnophis radix
Thamnophis sirtalis
Crotalus viridis

Species Possibly Occurring in Alberta

Ascaphus truei
Chelydra serpentina
Charina bottae
Coluber constrictor

6. Zoogeography of the Alberta Herpetofauna

7. Amphibian and Reptile Natural History

8. Coping with the Cold

9. The Challenge of Aridity

10. Defence and Venoms

11. Amphibians, Reptiles, and People

Bibliography

General References and Guides to the Amphibians and

Russell and Bauer have produced a first-rate field guide with broad appeal that effectively places the extant Albertan herpetofauna into its proper evolutionary, historical, and ecological context;

—The Alberta Field Naturalist