2001

Asiatic Herpetological ResearchVol. 9, pp. 153-153

Book Review: Wild About Reptiles.
Field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of the UAE
Wild About Reptiles. Field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of the UAE. by Marycke Jongbloed. 2000.
Barkers Trident Communications; London.

I

16 pp.. numerous unnumbered color photographs. Order from Natu-History Book Service: www.nhbs.com

ralThis attractive little spiral-bound book is the first fieldAnyone seriously

guide
amphibians and reptiles of the United
Arab Emirates. Most of the 68 species covered areparticular will want this in his library.

to theillustrated

interested in the herpetofauna ofSouthwest Asia in general or the Arabian Peninsula inwith good color photographs. There are nokeys, but the color photographs will serve to identify

Steven C. Anderson

most live specimens. Descriptions are sketchy and theemphasis is on natural history. The book should serve
well as an introduction to desert reptiles, sea snakes

and sea turtles, and the few amphibians of the region.
English speakers who work in the Emirates, particularly members of the natural history societies, willDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of thePacific, Stockton, CA 9521] USA and Department ofHerpetology, California Academy of Sciences, Golden

Gate Park, San Francisco, CA, 94118 USA. email:asaccus @ aol. com

find this ahandy reference. Visiting herpetologists.
while they will still want the keys and descriptions ofArnold (1986). Balletto, et al. (1986). Gasperetti(1988). Leviton and Anderson (1967), and Leviton, etal.

(1992). will want this for quick identification. The

Literature Cited
Arnold. E. N. 1984. Ecology of lowland lizards in theArab Emirates. Journal of Zoology,London 204:329-354.

technical papers that emphasize the herpetology of theEmirates are few in number (see Arnold. 1984: Levi-eastern United

ton and Anderson,Arnold, E. N. 1986. A key and annotated check list to)and only Arnold(1984) concerns

the ecology and natural history of this region of theArabian Peninsula.

Jongbloed takes a highly personal and anecdotal
approach in this book, demonstrating her enthusiasm
for these creatures. She includes field notes takenbyherfriend.

JohnNorman Bishop "Bish" Brown.

Because so little professional herpetological work has

and amphisbaenians of Arabia. Fauna ofSaudi Arabia 8:384-435.
the lizards

Balletto. E..

M. A. Cherchi, and J. Gasperetti.

1986.

Amphibians of the Arabian Peninsula. Fauna of Saudi
Arabia 7:318-392.
Gasperetti. J. 1988. Snakes of Arabia. Fauna of Saudi

Arabia 9:169-450.

been done in the Emirates, and those studies that havebeen carried out have dealt mainly with systematics.
using preserved specimens, this book is almost theonly source of natural history information for thesegroups in the UAE. The natural history observations
are informal, but still, informative.

The bibliography

sketchy and disappointing and will not lead thebeginning naturalist very deeply into the literature ofisIE. and S. C. Anderson. 1967.

Survey of

the Sheikhdom of Abu Dhabi. Arabian Peninsula. PartII:

Systematic account of the collection of reptiles

made in the Sheikhdom of Abu Dhabi by John Gasperetti. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences (4) 35(91:157-192.

Leviton, A. E.. S. C. Anderson. K. Adler, and S. A.

Minton. 1992. Handbook to Middle East Amphibians

the UAE.

recommend this field guide to any naturalist, pro-fessional or amateur, planning to travel to theLeviton, A.

UAE.

and Reptiles. Society for the Study of Amphibians
and Reptiles. Oxford. Ohio, vii + 252 pp.