Book Reviews

Corti,C., Lo Cascio, P . (2002): Thelizards of Italyand adjacent areas. EditionChimaira, Frankfurt am Main, 165pp. ISBN 3-930612-68-2 (hardcover). Price 34.80 .

Thelizard fauna of Italy is certainlyone of the most rich and interesting of Europe, and includes also some endemic species. Thepresent book is the rst accurate contributionto the knowledge of thelizards ofItaly and ofsome neighbouringareas (Corsica,Maltese Archipelago,Istria) writtenin the English language. This book originatedfrom a previousone devoted to the Italian lacertid lizards (1999:I Lacertidiitaliani, L’ Epos, Palermo, 87pp.), also written by the same herpetologists.However, the latter bookdeals withlacertid lizards only(17 species) andwas writtenin Italian, and thus its accessibility for non-Italian herpetologists was verylimited. On theother hand, the present book includes 27 saurian species, occurringin Italy, Maltese Archipelago,Corsica andIstria, belonging to vefamilies: Anguidae(2 species), Chamaeleonidae (1species), Gekkonidae(4 species), Lacertidae (17species) andScincidae (3 species). Thefamily Lacertidae iscertainly the best represented, as it includesthe highest number of Italian sauria as well as thehighest number of endemic andsub-endemic Italian lizardspecies, andas itis thespecialization subject of the two authors. Thisbook is subdivided into three principalsections. The rst partprovides general zoogeographic and vegetationaloutlines of Italy, giving particular emphasis tothe chorology and endemicity of the Italian sauria. Thesecond part describes systematically thevarious species occurringin Italy and adjacent territories,so that adetailedaccount of all lizards ofthe study area was produced.For each species, theauthors summarize morphologicaland chromatic characteristics, worldwideand local distribution, taxonomy, biology, habitat and ecology,always givingsound and accurate informationbased on a longand updated list of references. The authorsprovide at least twocolour photos for each species, andsome colourplates showingthe typical habitats ofseveral ofthedescribed species. Nearly all photosare ofgoodand several evenof excellent quality. Moreover, amap showingthe local distribution of thevarious species is alsoprovided. All maps are veryprecise andexactly documentthe present known distribution of each species inthe study area. Thethird part deals withconservation problemsand status of the lizard fauna of Italy, underlining the importance to adequately protect as soonas possiblesome threatenedand very rare endemic lizardspecies (e.g.,the Aeolian wall lizard, Podarcisraffonei ). Overall,the book is very attractive because ofitsrich illustrations and typographic dress. Pictures are valuable andthe book is beautied by some highquality drawings. In particular, photographs showing typical habitats of thespecies are usefulfor beginner herpetologists, as theyprovide an idea ofthehabitat more thanany description coulddo. The book does not suffer frommajor weak points.However, taking into account that one of the main goalof this kind of product should be tocontribute also to the conservation of localbiodiversity, I retainthat theconservation paragraph is tooshort and should have deserved more attention.For instance, when discussing conservationand protection of theItalian lizards andrelative habitats,the authors did not provide — apart from Podarcisraffonei —anylist or table indicating the precise conservationstatus of each species (e.g.,VU, E, CR,following IUCN abbreviation).Taking into account that the categorization of theconservation status of the Italianvertebrates accordingto the IUCN criteria is availablefrom 1998 (see, e.g.,Bulgarini, F., Calvario, E., Fraticelli,F., Petretti, F., Sarrocco, S. (Eds),1998: Libro Rosso degli Animali d’ Italia —Vertebrati.WWF Italia,

Roma,210 pp.), I thinkthat a littleimprovement of this point would be necessary tomake thisbook more useful toadvanced herpetologists. Of course,this shortcoming is notsevere ifyou consider that the present volume “ : : : is notan exhaustive treatise onall theaspects thatcharacterize theItalian Sauria fauna, but rather itis atoolthat tries tocatch theinterest for this group of animals : : :”as pointedout by the authors in the Introduction. Inconclusion, this is anice andinteresting book which contains a lotof useful and updated information, especially ontheecology, systematics andzoogeography of the Italian lizards, and many admirable andexcellent ilustrations.Thus, I recommend each herpetologistwith some interestin the biology and ecology of theItalian lizards tocarefully read thisbook.

Massimo Capula(Roma)

Gollmann,B., Gollmann, G. (2002): Die Gelbbauchunke. Laurenti-Verlag,Bielefeld. 135 pages. ISBN 3- 933066-10-7(soft cover). Price 20.00 .

Thisbook, which is publishedin the series ‘Beihefte derZeitschrift fü r Feldherpetologie’, givesan overview ofthe biological and ecological aspects ofthe yellow-bellied toad, Bombinavariegata ,aspecies whichwas oncecommon in Central and Southern Europe and is nowrunning the risk of extinction, at least insome regions.The destruction and alteration of thehabitat by man havedeeply contributed to its decrease andmany internationalconventions and laws, suchas theEuropean Union “ Habitat”Guideline and the Berne Convention, haverecognized the problem, inserting Bombinavariegata amongthe protected species. Theauthors focus their attention mainly to the populations of Central Europe ( Bombinavariegata variegata ) andmake acomparisonwith the original data gatheredduring a six-yearresearch studycarried outin the protectedarea inLainzer Tiergartennear Vienna(Austria). They provide a widerange of information which goes frommorphology, to embryonic development, prey-predator relationship, tadpoles, distribution, systematics, and ecology.The book is enrichedwith a thoroughliterature but, since scientic publicationsin the eldof ecology are notabundant, the authors deemed itappropriate to make use oftheso-called “ greyliterature” , thatis unpublished scientic works,such as PhDdissertations or environmentalimpact assessments. Themost interesting parts of thisbook are thoselinked with the ecological aspects characterizing theVienna forest where thetoad populations use aseries ofmoistenvironments different from those commonly used by theconspeci cs inCentral Europe. Indeed,while in Central Europe the most common places usedby Bombinavariegata tolay eggs are secondary habitatscreated byman (traces left bywheels onlandroads or puddlesoriginating from the spilling out of water near troughs,gravel and clay caves orsmall streams), inthe Vienna forest these anuransuse thepuddles recently created bywildboars ( Sus scrofa)tolay eggs. In practice, theyact as apioneeringspecies. Thisphenomenon givesrise toa series ofveryinteresting consequences such as thespeci c selectionof microhabitats (e.g. puddles surroundedby vegetation capable ofoffering shelter onthearrival of wild boars) or phenotypicplasticity (e.g. thecapability to carry outthe whole reproductive cycle ineutrophic puddles). The last partof thebook, which is dedicatedto the species conservationand management, is alsoworth mentioning. It analyses thecauses of thedecline in Bombinavariegata (disappearance anddegradation of moistenvironments, as well as population isolation)and suggests the potential management andconservation techniques. Thisbook is enrichedby 14blackand white illustrations, 7 drawings,4 maps and28 colourphotos, showing thedifferent growth phases fromeggs to adult individuals, including also habitats and behavioural displays. Three ofthe four subspecies presently recognized (i.e. Bombinavariegata variegata , B.v.pachypus , B. v. scabra) are illustratedin the book. Moreover, the authors present 14 graphs and 4 tables whichare veryinteresting for the professionalreader, thoughin a few cases thecaptions are notvery clear (see e.g.page 44, g.5.2 and page 50, g. 6.1). Theshortcomings of this excellent book are veryfew: thepresentation of data isoften not adequately lled withstatistical analysis,and, above all, it is pitythat such an interesting book is writtenentirely in German. Itwould have been necessary at least tohave English translations of guresand tables, as well as aEnglish summary,to satisfy the needs of the English-speaking international audience.