Books in the Comstock Classic Handbooks series

The most thorough treatment of lizards of the United States and Canada when first published in 1946, Handbook of Lizards has become a landmark among herpetologists and lizard specialists.

In this book-first published in 1943-Sherman C. Bishop discusses in a lively but authoritative manner the 126 species and subspecies of salamanders that are known to exist in the United States, Canada, and Baja California.

Across the two volumes of Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada are accounts of more than three hundred species and subspecies, accompanied by photographs, drawings, and distribution maps.

The preeminent naturalists Albert Hazen Wright and Anna Allen Wright spent years assembling the wealth of material on frogs and toads appearing in this widely used handbook, the third edition of which was originally published in 1949.

Having spent years studying turtles in their native habitats, Archie Carr brought together a wealth of information in this celebrated volume. Organized in clear and concise fashion, written in an engaging and lively manner, and furnished with black-and-white photographs, drawings, and maps, Handbook of Turtles (first published in 1952) gives a comprehensive summary of 79 species and subspecies of North American turtles. In the foreword to 1995 paperback edition, J. Whitfield Gibbons, renowned ecologist and natural history author, brings the book into historical perspective and supplies information to bring it up to date.In the introduction, Carr considers such topics as turtle physiology, reproduction, growth, adaptation, and behavior. The introduction also includes discussions of methods for collecting specimens, the evolutionary origins of turtles, and the mythology and folklore surrounding the turtle. The second part of the volume is organized according to keys that give identifying characteristics, life histories, and illustrations of each species. Under headings of geographical range, distinguishing features, description, habitat, habits, breeding, feeding, and economic importance, the volume provides detailed accounts of the various species and subspecies. Throughout Carr offers colorful recollections and anecdotes about his fieldwork and research.