KEY WEST BED & BREAKFAST, Key West Lodging and Accommodation Guide: Florida Traveling Guides: Reptiles and Amphibians of the Amazon: An Ecotourist's Guide

Location: Home » Florida Traveling Guides » General AAS » Reptiles and Amphibians of the Amazon: An Ecotourist's Guide

Similar Items:

•	Neotropical Rainforest Mammals: A Field Guide
•	Birds of Peru (Princeton Field Guides)
•	Mammals of the Neotropics (Volume 3 ): The Central Neotropics: Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil
•	Amazon Insects - A Photo Guide
•	Cusco Amazonico: The Lives of Amphibians and Reptiles in an Amazonian Rainforest

Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
This handbook offers an illustrated guide to over 250 of the snakes, lizards, turtles, frogs and salamanders common to the Amazonian regions of Peru, Brazil, Bolivia and Colombia. From brightly coloured frogs so small that they fit on a thumbnail to large poisonous snakes camouflaged by green and brown patterned skin, it features all the more frequently seen species as well as types that are less common, and it also provides basic natural history information. Close-up photographs accompany text that describes appearance, range, size and colour and lists similar species.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars

Is it really usefull . . . August 13, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful

The five stars are simply to balance out the rating of this guide. If the title did not clearly state that this is an ecotourist guide, then I would understand poor ratings. The fact is that it does state this and it does have some value, both for ecotourist and herpetologist to some degree. Although some of the taxonomy is clearly out of date (as it will continue to do no matter the how new a guide might be), this guide is usefull in that it does provide some mid to high quality photos (mostly) and can be utilized to narrow down an individual to at least its generic level. I am assuming nobody would purchase this guide if they were not able to due that much anyway (or care to), and field biologists that are in need of literature that is more thorough on the particular taxon or taxons they are targeting would not be in need of this either (at least not neccesarily). This guide is affordable to the ecotourist or amateur herpetologist, and can help them distinguish between an individual that may be venomous (or poisonous - frogs). Biologists that are in need of better literature will more than likely have access to this via their university library, personal collection, or can purchase it with grant money (always an abundance - only kidding) as it often is more diffucult to find, and is often quite expensive. To make the point, this book serves a purpose, one way or another. Happy herpin. . .

1 out of 5 stars

Over-reaching title October 31, 2004
17 out of 19 found this review helpful

I got this book shortly after returning from South America and at first glance I was impressed. The cover is decent, the publishing quality higher than expected, and the intro a good start. Unfortunately, the content is a disappointment. I have three main complaints about this volume, and some background will add perspective to these criticisms. I have been keeping and breeding poison frogs of the family Dendrobatidae for nearly a decade and am familiar with R.D. Bartlett as author of numerous articles for the pet trade. Rather than articles from the hobby, I prefer the scientific literature, journals or texts on various herpetological subjects. I have made nearly a dozen trips to the Neotropics with friends or family in the last 5 years and have seen both the dendrobatids I study as well as over a hundred species of frogs and dozens of species of lizards and snakes.

My experiences in Central and South America have led me to conclude that ecotourist guides are ineffective. Whether they are for plants or animals, these guides are geared for people who are somewhat interested in a particular taxon, but relatively ignorant of the species. I have found that ecotourist guides illustrate a limited number of representative animals. This is justified in regions where there are hundreds of species including some new to science. However, the illustrations or descriptive text are so vague and generalized that they can't be used to identify species. The problem with ecotourist guides is that if you necessarily limit the number of species then you need more detail and information to make sure you are identifying the correct subject. However, most ecotourists want, at quick glance, to know what they saw and rarely require great detail. My first attempts to identify birds from an ecotourist guide were frustrating because of the lack of detail. I now travel with detailed excellent bird guides from various regions. I have been awaiting the herp equivalent of these books but the Bartletts' ecotourist's guide falls well short of the mark.

The information offered is vague, downright silly, or wrong. For each animal there is a species account that includes size, identifying features, voice, reproduction, similar species, habitat/range, and comments. Size is a generalized descriptor but it frequently does not help in distinguishing between similar species. Identifying features usually state the obvious but after reading a number of these one gets the impression that an animal could not be identified based on what the Bartletts have written. Voice descriptions are useless. Frogs usually call in mixed species choruses so one would have to have a calling animal in front of them to ascertain what it sounded like. Many frogs quiet themselves upon human approach so it would take patience to catch a frog species calling. I don't believe the average `ecotourist' would make that effort. The calling description is also difficult to use. What is a "series of peeps", "two syllables often repeated", or "repeated buzzes"? The habitat/range info is equally useless. Take this quote from Platemys platycephala: "Although essentially aquatic, twist-necked turtles wander far overland during the rains and when water levels are high. They may be left high and dry as the waters recede." Does this mean one can find this turtle anywhere in the entire Amazon basin? Numerous ranges are listed as primary, secondary, or edge habitats or entire countries. Well of course! I guess it wouldn't be in the book if it didn't occur in the Amazon!

Ah, but then that would be an incorrect assumption. Dendrobates azureus and D. tinctorius are poison frogs inhabiting the Guiana shield of South America. This geographically distinct region from the Amazon consists of a massive up welled landmass on the northern edge of South America. Take the following account of D. azureus. Voice: "Males produce easily overlooked peeps." The call of a male D. azureus is actually a soft buzz much like the electronic ballast of a fluorescent light fixture. Similar species: "Some dyeing poison frogs (D. tinctorius) are quite similar in color, but they usually sit in a more erect posture and often (but not always) have at least a little yellow on the back." Are the Bartletts suggesting that posture is an identifying characteristic of these species? They seem to think so, as they repeat that stance shortly thereafter under the account of D. tinctorius. Habitat/range: "This poison frog has become quite uncommon over much of its original range and is now found in isolated pockets of pinelands and surrounding rainforest near the Brazilian border in Southwestern Suriname. Of difficult access, this region is technically somewhat north of the actual delineation of the Amazon Basin but is drained by several rivers that do terminate in the Amazon." What exactly was the original range of this species? Difficult access to be sure. An expedition to collect this extremely rare species a few years ago was restricted as the local indigenous community controls the area. This region is not in the Amazon proper, but even more glaring is the Bartlett's stated reason for inclusion that the region has rivers that drain in the Amazon. Aside from the absurdity of that argument most of this region's rivers, the Sipaliwini included, flow north and drain into the Atlantic Ocean. So why are D. azureus and D. tinctorius included in this book? I can only conclude that they make pretty pictures, and like much of his dendrobatid section, are based on their popularity in the pet hobby.

The entire dendrobatid section of this guide is filled with errors. The indigenous people of the Amazon did not use these frogs to "concoct a potent toxin from these compounds with which they coat darts and arrows." Only the Noanama and Embera Choco Indians west of the Andes used frogs for poisoning darts. Most Amazonian hunting poisons are made from plants. The Bartletts frequently start to use locale as a defining characteristic for species but then lists the range as so wide, such as southeast Peru, that species overlap makes this technique useless. In fact they give no range for Dendrobates imitator and to beat that they include an incorrect photo of it. The Bartletts list the range of D. castaneoticus as Northeast Brazil (!), which is a massive area. Caldwell's description of the species specifies a much more restricted region. Under D. quinquevittatus they again say to use range to distinguish it from D. ventrimaculatus, yet the two species do have range overlap. They include an incorrect photo of D. quinquevittatus. They state that D. reticulatus are arboreal and while they are capable of climbing most hobbyists and field biologists know that they prefer a terrestrial lifestyle. Most of his accounts on Dendrobatids seem based on their, or others', hobby/pet trade experience. Many of the poison frog photos are of captive specimens. I wonder why they relied on these instead of in-situ shots of these animals if they were as widely traveled as they claim.

The Bartletts' vague mentality carries on in nearly every aspect of this book. Take the species account of Hyla leali. Bartlett calls it a non-descript frog that can most reliably be identified by what it is not (?!). There are hundreds of species of hylid frogs in the region. His photo of it is a Hyla brevifrons. Writing of vipers, they state that captive Bothriopsis bilineata can kill a lab mouse quickly. They remark repeatedly that nocturnal vipers are more prone to bite after dark. Obviously these comments are fluff and seem to be just words to fill the spaces; perfectly meaningless for identification or natural history.

The errors go on. I thought of listing them but there are simply too many to include here. Not to mention that I'm not being paid to correct the Bartletts' mistakes.

My last critique is of the photos. They are generally good and usually catch the identifying characteristics of the frogs, but the print quality is poor. It seems as if someone went bonkers with the hue/saturation settings in Photoshop, as many of the bright colors come off as garish and inaccurate. Some appear as if printed with a color laser printer. Nonetheless, the photos are the only useful part of this book. In fact this book would be more useful if it were just a collection of photos with species captions. That could certainly limit the number of inaccuracies.

The authors present themselves as Amazonian experts but after reading through this work it seems they just made a number of trips to the Iquitos region, taken a bunch of photos of the region's herps (as indicated by the location captions), and decided to publish a book. I would guess that many of the animals were identified for them; otherwise some research would have produced a deeper knowledge. The topic seems broader than their experience and their facts and natural history information come off as made up or based on limited dealings with the animals. They certainly could have benefited from delving into the literature on ranges, natural history, and other details that scientists have been documenting for years.

If you have herp experience or are serious about these animals then I can't recommend this book. It is inferior to Rodriguez and Duellman's, Guide to the Frogs of the Iquitos Region, Amazonian Peru, and Dixon and Soini's guide to the Reptiles of the Iquitos region. This book does have more photos, some of which prove useful in identifying animals. But if you were to take the Bartletts' advice and travel to the region with any of the South America tour companies, many with herp experts, then those experts will likely identify the animals for you free of charge.

5 out of 5 stars

A straightforward listing of species January 13, 2004
1 out of 9 found this review helpful

A lengthy inset section of full-color photographs beautifully illustrates Reptiles And Amphibians Of The Amazon: An Ecotourist's Guide, which is a straightforward listing of species of frog, salamander, turtle, lizard, snake, and more. Each entry describes the species' appearance (with a note in regard to similar-looking species), habitat, reproductive cycle, and much more. Reptiles And Amphibians Of The Amazon an excellent catalogue and reference for field identification. Also very highly recommended is the Bartlett's A Field Guide To Florida Reptiles And Amphibians.

1 out of 5 stars

Reptiles and Amphibians of the Amazon: An Ecotourist's Guide September 10, 2003
0 out of 2 found this review helpful

Reptiles and Amphibians of the Amazon: An Ecotourist's Guide by Richard D. Bartlett and Patricia P. Bartlett is a 291 page paperback published by the University Press of Florida. Having read several of the Bartletts' guides to herp captive care, I was a bit disappointed by this effort. It appears that the Bartletts' main talent lies in husbandry and less in the realm of writing about field herping. The species overviews are weak and several are misinformed. The Bartletts refer to some species that do not even occur in the Amazon region while leaving several very important and common species out of the guide. This was surprising for a book that aims to furnish information on some of the more common herps throughout Amazonia. As a matter of fact, the majority of the reptiles and amphibians that are illustrated in this book are unlikely to even be seen by an ecotourist. I found the photo quality to be poor and numerous species were misidentified. Furthermore, the title is a bit misleading as most of the species represented in this book are from the Upper Amazon region of Peru, making this guide not as user friendly in other areas of the Amazon. I have traveled extensively, and the Amazon is one of my favorite spots to visit. I was really hoping to finally have a herp guide that would prove useful throughout the mighty Amazon. Looks like my wait continues!