Complete Field Guide to Dragonflies of Australia [OP]
Categories: Books, Science & Math, Biological Sciences



Dimensions: 5.75 x 1 x 8.5 inches
ISBN-13: 978-0643090736
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0643090738
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Print length: 376 pages
Publication date: October 12, 2006
author: Günther Theischinger John Hawking
review: Editorial Reviews Review "This photographic guide covers the 324 species of damselflies and dragonflies of Australia. Each species is given a color photograph, text, a color range map and usually line drawings. Anyone interested in Australian damselflies and dragonflies will like this book." ( BirdBooker Report 2009-09-01) "This book will appeal to everyone, from beginners to students and researchers, and should become the first reference book that anyone interested in Australian Odonata will consult." (Richard Marchant The Victorian Naturalist 2007-06-01) "This wonderful field guide can be wholeheartedly recommended to all who are interested in the biodiversity of Australia and/or of the order Odonata. The book is of equal usefulness for laymen as well as for entomologists. The price is absolutely adequate, especially considering the outstanding quantity." (Gunter Bechly Aquatic Insects: International Journal of Freshwater Entomology 2007-03-01) "The guide is a profusely illustrated visual feast. Highly recommended - at 376 pages, you get your money's worth, yet it remains portable for the field." (Greg Czechura WILDLIFE Australia Magazine 2007-01-01) "Not only is this book a great step forward in the knowledge of Australian dragonflies, it will cause a giant leap forward in such knowledge when more naturalists start to bring in observatons of the country's wonderful dragonflies." (Sidney W. Dunkle, author of Dragonflies Through Binoculars.) "It is an excellent tome and I have no doubt that it will be the 'Bible' of Australian Dragonflies for many years to come." (Stephen Richards, South Australian Museum, Vertebrates Department) Book Description Dragonflies and damselflies are conspicuous insects – many are large and brightly coloured. Here for the first time is a comprehensive guide to the Australian dragonfly fauna. The book includes identification keys not only for adults but also for their larvae, commonly known as "mud eyes" and often used as bait for freshwater fish. With stunning full-colour images and distribution maps, the book covers all 30 families, 110 genera and 324 species found in Australia. Dragonflies are valuable indicators of environmental well-being. A detailed knowledge of the dragonfly fauna and its changes is therefore an important basis for decisions about environmental protection and management. Their extraordinary diversity will interest entomologists and amateur naturalists alike. About the Author John Hawking is an invertebrate ecologist at Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre in New South Wales. He holds numerous workshops on identification of freshwater invertebrates. Günther Theischinger has had a lifelong interest in aquatic insects. He has collected specimens in Australia, Greece, Spain and Australia and published more than 200 scientific papers. In the last few years he has described more than 60 new species and several new genera of Australian dragonflies. He has been a visiting scientist at the Australian National Insect Collection in Canberra, and is a Research Associate of the Australian Museum and a Visiting Fellow at the Smithsonian Institution. Read more