Vol. 9, pp. 149-150

Asiatic Herpetological Research

2001

Book Review: A Guide to the Fauna of Iran
A Guide to the Fauna of Iran. Eskandar Firouz. Iran University Press; Tehran. 2000. vi + 491 pp
The first attempt to provide a comprehensive vertebrate zoology of Iran was that of William T. Blanford

history have survived the period of resistance to perceived "Westernization" in Iran, and young scholars

1876. Since that time, there have been treatises onand conservationists must now face the daunting chal-mammals: Lay.

1967; Harrington, 1977; Ziaie, 1996; birds: Scott, etlenge of rebuilding the edifice of conservation initiated by Firouz and his colleagues in the 1960s and1984 (snakes); Anderson,

early 70s. The present book is yet another major con-in

various groups of vertebrates

1975; reptiles:al.,

Latifi,(e. g.,

1979 (turtles, crocodiles, and amphisbaenians), 1999
amphibians:(lizards);
fishes:andBaloutch

Kami,

1995;

Coad, 1987, 1995. A Guide to the Fauna oftribution to that effort, and there should be a well-usedcopyinevery

Department of Environmentand department library and in thelocal

office, universitybring all of the vertebrates of Iran together into a natu-

personal libraries of individual zoologists and ecologists in Iran. It will also be a useful reference in spe-ral history guide.

cialized

Iran by Firouz is the first attempt since Blanford toAlthough the text is in Farsi (Persian), it is accessible to Western readers as a comprehensive list of thevertebrate species of Iran, since there

islibraries,

naturalhistory

museums,

andconservation institutions in the West and in the countries of the former Soviet Union.

a Latin andSteven C. AndersonEnglish index, color illustrations with Latin speciesnames, and lists of taxa with both Latin species names

and English colloquial names. Most genera are represented

by color illustrations, fishes by paintings,amphibians and reptiles by photographs, birds bypaintings, and mammals by both.
pal

A list of the princi-works consulted is provided (pp. 423-432). This

Department of Biological Sciences, University of thePacific, Stockton, CA 95211 USA and Department ofHerpetology, California Academy of Sciences, GoldenGate Park, San Francisco, CA, 94118 USA. email:asaccus@aol. comgood beginning bibliography for anyone interested in the vertebrate zoology and natural
list constitutes aLiterature Cited

history of Iran.

For this book, the author has consulted the zoolo-

Anderson, S. C. 1979. Synopsis of the turtles, lizards,

currently working on each of the vertebrate

and amphisbaenians of Iran. Proceedings of the Cali-gists

groups to assure that the species lists are up to date.
The work covers 164 vertebrate families and 1054

Emphasisspecies.

isgiven to conservation topics,

fornia Academy of Sciences, ser. 4, 41(22):501-528.

Anderson. S. C. 1999. The Lizards of Iran. Society for
the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Ithaca, NY, vii

including threatened and endangered species, problems of exotic introductions, and the ecological con-+ 442 pp.

change. The naturalhistory sections include consideration of the zoogeog-Baloutch, M. and H. G. Kami. 1995. Amphibians ofIran. Tehran University Publications, Tehran, 177 pp.

sequencesof environmental(In Farsi [Persian]).

raphy of Iran.

A renewed
recentlyininterest

Iran,theinhasoccurred

Blanford, W. T. 1876. Eastern Persia. An Account ofuniversitiesincluding

the Journeys of the Persianzoology

many

Boundary Commission,

departments of biology and zoology are attempting to1870-1872, vol. 2. The Zoology and Geology. Mac-build knowledgeable faculties

millan and Co., London, viii + 516 pp.

inthese disciplines.

author, Eskandar Firouz. Prior to the Islamic Revolu-Coad, B. W. 1987. Zoogeography of the freshwater
fishes of Iran. In
Krupp, et al. (Eds.). Proceedings oftion, Firouz was the principal architect of the conser-theThis emphasis

islargelydueto the efforts of thevation, natural history legislation and implementationin Iran through the Department of Environment, theestablishment of Protected Regions and NationalParks,

and the regulation of hunting andfishing.

These efforts were well on the way to setting a world
standard for conservation and the study of natural history at the time of the revolution. Interests in natural:

Symposium of the Fauna and Zoogeography ofthe Middle East. Beihefte zum Tubinger Atlas desVorderen

Orients.

ReiheA (Naturwissenschaften)

28:213-228.

Coad, B. W. 1995. Freshwater fishes of Iran. A checklist.

Institute of LandscapeEcology of the Academyof Science of the Czech Republic, 29(1): 1-64.

A

Guide to the Mammals
Harrington, F. A. Jr. 1977.
theofof Iran. Department
Environment, Tehran, 89
pp.
Latifi,M.

2001

Asiatic Herpetological ResearchVol. 9, p. 150

1984. The Snakes of Iran. Department ofScott, D. A., H.

Moravej Hamadani, and A. Adhami

Mirhosseyni. 1975. Parandegan-e Iran (The Birds ofIran). Department of the Environment, Tehran (InFarsi [Persian]; Latin, English, and French names).

the Environment, Tehran, 231 pp. (in Farsi [Persian];Ziaie, H. 1996. Field Guide to the Mammals of Iran.

English Translation, 1991, Society for the Study ofDepartment of the Environment, Tehran[Persian]; Latin and English names).

Amphibians and Reptiles, Oxford, Ohio).

A

study of the mammals of Iran.
Lay, D. M. 1967.
Fieldiana Zoology 54:282 pp.

(InFarsi