The Book of Snakes: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species from Around the World

"A rich introduction to the snake world" filled with spectacular color photos and fascinating facts about six hundred different species (The Wall Street Journal). For millennia, humans have regarded snakes with an exceptional combination of fascination and revulsion. Some people recoil in fear at the very suggestion of these creatures, while others happily keep them as pets. Snakes can convey both beauty and menace in a single tongue flick and have held a special place in our cultures. Yet, for as many meanings that we attribute to snakes—from fertility and birth to sin and death—the real-life species represent an even wider array of wonders. The Book of Snakes presents 600 species from around the world, representing about one-sixth of all snake species. It brings greater understanding of a group of reptiles that have existed for over 160 million years, and that now inhabit every continent except Antarctica, as well as two of the great oceans. This first-of-its-kind volume pairs spectacular photos with easy-to-digest text. Entries include close-ups of the snake's head and a section of the snake at actual size. The detailed images allow readers to examine the intricate scale patterns and rainbow of colors, as well as special features like a cobra's hood or a rattlesnake's rattle. The text is written for laypeople and includes a glossary of frequently used terms. Herpetologists and herpetoculturists alike will delight in this collection—and even those with a more cautious stance on snakes will find themselves drawn in by the wild diversity of the suborder Serpentes. "A masterpiece." —Ichthyology & Herpetology Read more