From the dust jacket:
In this handsome volume a well-known author presents the whole fascinating range of the amphibians of the world in a full-length text and a gallery of extraordinary photographs.
Written for the novice as well as the professional, the text opens with the relatively unfamiliar caecilians, those secretive, burrowing, surprisingly worm-like amphibians. It then goes on to the numerous kinds of salamanders, which range in size from two inches to five feet and include species that live in caves and lose the power of sight, others that live in water and still others that climb trees. Finally there is the largest and most popular group, the frogs, found in almost every region of the globe.
On all of these Dr. Cochran covers not only such basic processes of the life cycle as birth, growth stages, courting, mating and breeding but also range distribution, coloration, defense mechanism, feed, and adaptation. Wherever pertinent she discusses their value on the farm, in the laboratory or on the gourmet's table. Finally, she comments on the suitability of many species as pets and concludes with a practical and expert chapter on keeping amphibians in a home vivarium or a laboratory.
As any reader of the six earlier volumes in this series may anticipate, the 220 photographs (including 77 in color) are the most beautiful and informative collection of amphibian pictures ever assembled.
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