Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species-the first catalogue of its kind-covers all living and fossil snakes described between 1758 and 2012, comprising 3,509 living and 274 extinct species allocated to 539 living and 112 extinct genera. Also included are 54 genera and 302 species that are dubious or invalid, resulting in recognition of 705 genera and 4,085 species.

Features:

• Alphabetical listings by genus and species
• Individual accounts for each genus and species
• Detailed data on type specimens and type localities
• All subspecies, synonyms, and proposed snake names
• Distribution of species by country, province, and elevation
• Distribution of fossils by country and geological periods
• Major taxonomic references for each genus and species
• Appendix with major references for each country
• Complete bibliography of all references cited in text and appendix
• Index of 12,500 primary snake names

The data on type specimens includes museum and catalog number, length and sex, and collector and date. The listed type localities include restrictions and corrections. The bibliography provides complete citations of all references cited in the text and appendix, and taxonomic comments are given in the remarks sections. This standard reference supplies a scientific, academic, and professional treatment of snakes-appealing to conservationists and herpetologists as well as zoologists, naturalists, hobbyists, researchers, and teachers.

This book is the first to catalogue all living snakes and fossil ophidians. It supplies a scientific, academic, and professional treatment of snakes-appealing to conservationists and herpetologists as well as zoologists, naturalists, hobbyists, researchers, and teachers. The text includes 651 valid genera and nearly 3,800 valid species. The inclusion of synonyms, dubious names, and invalid names totals some 12,500 primary snake names.

" ? would be appropriate for professional herpetologists ? a key reference in a comprehensive herpetology collection ? Recommended."-CHOICE "? a specialized resource focusing on the history and documentation of naming conventions ? comprehensive, comprising over 1,200 pages, and including almost 400 pages of references. ? key reference source for any professional herpetologist interested in naming nomenclature. Recommended for academic libraries."-By Kevin McDonough for ARBAonline "You want to own this book for the wealth of information in the genus and species accounts, the literature cited, and the beautiful simplicity of using it. Oh, and the cover has an impressive photograph of a cobra head."-Brian I. Crother, Biological Sciences, Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, USA in The Quarterly Review of Biology, Volume 90