Snakes of The Southeast

SNAKES OF THE SOUTHEAST. Whit Gibbons and Michael Dorcas. 2005. University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia. ISBN 0-8203-2652-6. 253 p. $22.50 (softcover). —Snakes—the very word brings mental images and feelings to nearly everyone. Some people automatically feel fear, some see vivid pictures based on a personal experience, and some have such extreme phobias that even mention of the word invokes anxiety attacks. Increasingly, however, more and more people see snakes in a favorable light and find them attractive and interesting. Whatever one’s attitude towards snakes, most persons, except those with true phobias, will flock to them in zoos and when one is found or killed outdoors. The reptile house in zoos is usually the most visited facility, and those who have taught in any capacity about snakes will admit that they engender the most fascination and attention of all animals. This book takes advantage of that fascination to provide information about snakes to the public in the Southeast. The southeastern region of the United States supports the highest diversity of snakes in any region north of Mexico; only the desert southwest has a comparable number. I once heard a U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran say that he has been all around the world but has never seen snakes as often as he does in the Southeast. Snakes are often visible elements of the region’s biodiversity, and they affect southerners’ lives in many ways. They represent part of the identity of being a southerner, and indeed snakes and snake stories form an important part of the lore and history of the Southeast. Both authors are highly qualified researchers with years of experience with snakes. They are also dedicated educators devoted to teaching about the natural history and conservation of these fascinating creatures. Whit Gibbons is well known for his popular writings on natural history and his spirited public lectures on snakes. Mike Dorcas runs a widely-acclaimed program for undergraduates in North Carolina that engages the public at all levels. Thus, the contents of this book reflect their understanding of the kinds of information most useful to the general reader. The first 26 pages address a variety of general topics about snakes. These include general biology, snake diversity, food and feeding, predators, defense, reproduction, locomotion, activity, and thermal biology. All of these sections are profusely illustrated with color photographs of adults, juveniles, and phenotypic variants. Indeed, all of the pages in this book, except glossary, further reading, acknowledgments, and credits, contain several color images. Most of the color photographs of snakes are on natural or appropriate background but several have been cropped so that only the snake is illustrated on the white paper. This artistic approach creates diversity in image presentation and helps some readers focus solely on the snake and its characteristics. The illustrations of the 53 species covered in this book adequately cover a wide range of morphological variations and adaptations. The species accounts follow a section on how to identify snakes that focuses on key traits, color and pattern, venomous versus nonvenomous, and size and a section on how to understand the organization of each account. The accounts themselves are organized into five sections on small terrestrial snakes, mid-sized terrestrial snakes, large terrestrial snakes, watersnakes, and venomous snakes. The last section is preceded by information on the biology of venomous snakes, snakebite, and treatment. A section on introduced snakes has short accounts on the Brahminy Blind Snake, Burmese Python, and Brown Tree Snake. An important final chapter, from the public’s perspective, is on people and snakes. It includes sections on what a herpetologist is, why and how to study snakes, backyard snakes, snakes as pets, snake conservation, and attitudes about snakes. Each account provides common and scientific name and sections on description, what the babies look like, distribution and habitat, behavior and activity, reproduction, predators and defense, and conservation. A few accounts include a scientific nomenclature paragraph. A color shaded range map and a box on how to identify the species using scales, anal plate, body shape, body pattern and color, distinctive characters, and size are included. The writing is directed to the general public and lacks jargon. The information presented in each account is up to date and accurate. Multiple color photographs of each species make this book attractive to professionals and nonprofessionals alike. Some of the similar species are grouped into single accounts: both species of earth, pine, ribbon, and worm snakes, and two species of black-headed snakes. Gibbons and Dorcas are conservative with scientific names, choosing to use well-established