Lizards: Windows to the Evolution of Diversity (Organisms and Environments)
In this coffee table nature book, two renowned lizard ecologists explain why these remarkable reptiles not only have as much a place on the planet as humans, but are also helpful in understanding evolutionary biology. Pianka and Vitt describe lizards' incredible diversity and highlight some of the creatures' weirder tools for survival, including blood-squirting eyes, breakaway tails and kaleidoscope camouflage. With the hundreds of extraordinary color photographs picturing lizards in their own habitats, general readers might be tempted to page past text that includes a behavioral overview, a phylogenetic guide and an evolutionary analysis of lizards' past and future. However, most of the research is accessible to non-scientists, thanks to clear writing and layman's anecdotes illustrating nearly every theory. Sidebars contain delightful personal stories about the authors' adventures collecting lizards in remote places, and the book is full of gee-whiz facts: some lizards are tiny enough to be prey for spiders, while others are big enough to eat deer. The prose is concise and often surprising: "Few, if any, other vertebrates display autoamputation and self-cannibalism," the authors report mildly about the North American and Australian skinks who will shed their tail to divert a predator, only to return later and swallow the remains of their tail themselves. Pianka and Vitt offer both a comprehensive evolutionary perspective and a youthful enthusiasm for their subject, making this an essential reference for scientists and armchair zoologists. 218 color illustrations, 31 line drawings, 8 tables.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.