Reptiles

Packed with sumptuous photography, this is one of the first titles in the new and lavish ‘ Deluxe’ natural history series from Reed New Holland. The images celebrate the beauty and marvelous design of some of our most misunderstood animals, the reptiles. They share a magnificence and elegance that we are now beginning to really appreciate. They are, in the true sense of the word, awesome! The images have stories to tell. A gecko with padded toes dashes across vertical glass, seeming to mock the laws of gravity as it moves effortlessly over that smooth surface. In just a fraction of a second a chameleon unleashes its tongue, a high- velocity projectile, with the accuracy of a marksman to snatch an insect from a twig a body’ s length away. In a powerful test of strength and endurance, two great Komodo Dragons, the largest living lizards, rise on their hind limbs and try to topple each other in a meeting of muscles and scaly hides. Stunning shots of snakes, lizards, crocodiles and turtles from around the world are brought together via a foreword from expert herpetologist Steve Wilson, who explains why reptiles are such an ongoing success story, having been around for 200 million year

Steve lifelong love affair with reptiles has taken him to some of Australia most remote places. For the past 30 years he has been working to compile a comprehensive photographic documentation of Australia reptiles. He has authored/co-authored more than 5 books, including A Field Guide to Reptiles, What Snake is That, and What Lizard is That and has written many magazine articles on reptiles. For the past 20 years Steve has worked at the Queensland Museum, educating the public, identifying their specimens and (hopefully) instilling a desire to conserve our unique biological heritage. Gerry Swan kept geckos while at school and after moving to Australia from New Zealand in the 1960s a chance encounter with a blue tongue lizard rekindled his interest in reptiles. An Associate of the Australian Museum and past editor of the journal Herpetofauna, Gerry has written and co-authored more than 9 books about reptiles, including What Snake is That, What Lizard is That, and Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia. He also works as a reptile consultant and has a particular interest in the reptiles of the arid and semi-arid regions of New South Wales. Steve Wilson's lifelong love affair with reptiles has taken him to some of Australia's most remote places. For the past 30 years he has been working to compile a comprehensive photographic documentation of Australian reptiles. He has authored/co-authored more than 5 books, including A Field Guide to Reptiles, What Snake is That, and What Lizard is That, and has written many magazine articles on reptiles. For the past 20 years Steve has worked at the Queensland Museum, educating the public, identifying their specimens, and (hopefully) instilling a desire to conserve our unique biological heritage.