 | | | Edition | | | 2nd Ed 1999 | | Description | |
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| | Australia is home to a rich and unique fauna, but few Australian animals are as intriguing as the monitor lizard. Their abundance and bold behavior have made them a familiar favorite with generations of Australian bush walkers, campers, and even picnickers. In an easy-to-read style, Monitors covers the fascinating natural history of these ancient animals, which includes the world's largest lizard, the Komodo dragon. This book is an update of the
successful 1993 Australian Natural History Series title, Goanna. Since the publication of the first edition, many major studies have been undertaken on Australian, Asian, and African species of monitors (goannas) and much fascinating new information regarding varanid lizards has emerged. For instance, research on Varanus albigularis has revealed that they can count, while work on Varanus salvator shows that they swim in the ocean when not searching for food. These findings plus other new
information in areas as diverse as taxonomy, diet, breeding behavior, and energetics have been incorporated into this text. Two new additions are a chapter on parasites of varanids and a section on foraging strategy. | |
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| "[MONITORS] is a readable little book that makes scientific information easily understood. The section on water use, energy and food are particularly good." -- National Parks Journal.
"I recommend this book to animal enthusiasts. It will add another dimension to your faunal passions." -- Herpetology in Australia.
"This book is highly
recommended for the veterinarian, herpetoculturist, or anyone with any level of interest in these fascinating lizards or reptiles in general." -- Nancy Carpenter, Journal of Herpetological Medicine and Surgery, Volume 12, No. 4, 2002
"…scientific enough for those who want more than to keep these animals 'just as a pet'…this is a book which should be a part of any serious lizard breeders library." -- Alan H. Wilkie, The Herptile, December 1999
"The book will
be invaluable to monitor enthusiasts for the nine pages of references in the suggested reading alone." -- David Pepin, American Zoologist, 40:156-159 (2000)
"The nice thing about a book like this is that someone else has gone to the immense trouble of sifting through the masses of varanid literature to produce an easy-to-read, concise work loaded with facts." -- Rom Whitaker, HAMADRYAD, Vol. 25 No. 2, December 2000
"Clearly there is still much to be learned
about these fascinating animals; but for an authoritative, readable summary of the current state of knowledge, Monitors: The Biology of Varanid Lizards is definitely to be recommended." -- Nicholas Gould, International Zoo News, Vol. 46, No. 6 1999 |
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