The Amphibians and Reptiles of Oman and the UAE

About this book

The Amphibians and Reptiles of Oman and the UAE work covers all the reptiles and amphibians of Oman and the United Arab Emirates and contains distribution maps for each species.

From the preface by Max Kasparek.

"South-eastern Arabia is a region of diverse natural beauties, with a fascinating human history and a colourful cultural heritage. It also has much to offer to herpetologists: Oman and the United Arab Emirates support a diverse reptile fauna with several species which are endemic at both regional and national levels. For a long time our knowledge of the herpetofauna of this part of the world has remained very fragmentary, but it has greatly increased in the last two to three decades since the opening up of these countries. The time is now ripe for summarising all this information in a comprehensive account.

Andrew Gardner is the right person to do this. He has been working for more than 20 years in the region, has lived there for many years, has extensive field experience with Arabian ecology, and has been teaching at Zayed University in Dubai and at Sultan Qaboos University in Muscat. He was also chairman for several years of the Emirates Natural History Group, the UAE's oldest environmental NGO. Three species of geckos occurring in the region have been described by Andrew Gardner, partly together with other specialists.

The Amphibians and Reptiles of Oman and the UAE covers all 89 species of terrestrial reptiles, five species of sea turtles, and nine species of sea snakes, plus two species of amphibians. For all these species, information on identification, distribution (detailed dot maps), biology and habitat is given. The text is extremely useful for specialists, interested laymen and conservationists. The photographs are more than just illustrations: they form an invaluable documentation and an aid for species identification, and also a feast for the eyes."

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