Description
Book SynopsisAnyone can look at a snake and see a creature unique unto itself, a reptile with a set of zoological and biological traits that are entirely its own. Just looking at this distinct animal raises many scientific questions. With regard to evolution, how did such an animal come to be? How does a snake move, and how do its sense organs differ from that of other reptiles? How does it eat, and how does it reproduce? Essentially, how does a snake work? In How Snakes Work: The Structure, Function and Behavior of the World''s Snakes, leading zoologist Harvey B. Lillywhite has written the definitive scientific guide to the functional biology of snakes. Written for both herpetologists and a more general audience with an interest in the field, How Snakes Work features nearly two hundred color images of various species of snakes, used to provide visual examples of biological features explained in the text.Chapter topics include the evolutionary history of the snake, feeding, locomotion, the structure and function of skin, circulation and respiration, sense organs, sound production, and reproduction. Containing all the latest research and advances in our biological knowledge of the snake, How Snakes Work is an indispensable asset to professional zoologists and enthusiasts alike.
Trade ReviewI think this is a terrific book for readers with a variety of knowledge levels...Perhaps the reason [the author] is so successfuland why this is such a terrific bookis because the author is an insider, a professional research scientist who has studied how snakes work for his entire career...I like the encouraging, upbeat style of writing that gets the reader excited about the topics. * Brian I. Crother, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation *
Original and pleasant, filling a vacuum, this book is to recommend in all the libraries. We learned a great deal and our admiration for the serpents and their perfection increases with the reading of each of its chapters. * Ivan Ineich, Bulletin de la Soci^'et^'e Herp^'etologique de France *
There is a particular satisfaction in reading a wellcrafted, richly detailed scientific textbook written by an expert with an obvious passion for his or her subject -- a person who has clearly spent a lifetime immersed in an arcane field, and has the fortuitous ability to draw others in with skillful prose. Harvey B. Lillywhite has produced an exemplar of such a volume. * Rulon W. Clark, The Quarterly Review of Biology *
Table of ContentsTable of Contents ; Chapter 1: Evolutionary History and Classification of the World's Snakes ; Chapter 2: Feeding, Digestion and Water Balance ; Chapter 3: Locomotion: How Snakes Move ; Chapter 4: Temperature and Ectothermy ; Chapter 5: Structure and Function of Skin ; Chapter 6: Internal Transport: Circulation and Respiration ; Chapter 7: Perceiving the Snake's World: Structure and Function of Sense Organs ; Chapter 8: Sound Production ; Chapter 9: Courtship and Reproduction ; Glossary of Terms
