Frogs and Reptiles of the Murray-Darling Basin: A Guide to Their Identification, Ecology and Conservation

Description

The Murray-Darling Basin spans more than 1 million square kilometres across most of New South Wales, northern Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory, the lower third of Queensland and the south-eastern corner of South Australia. Wildlife habitats range from the floodplains of the Basin to alpine areas, making the region of special ecological and environmental interest. This book is the first comprehensive guide to the 310 species of frogs and reptiles living in the Murray-Darling Basin. An overview of each of the 22 catchment areas introduces the unique and varied climates, topography, vegetation and fauna. Comprehensive species accounts include diagnostic features, conservation ratings, photographs and distribution maps for all frogs, freshwater turtles, lizards and snakes recorded in this important region.

Michael Swanwas previously a senior herpetofauna keeper with Melbourne Zoo and Healesville Sanctuary and was part of captive breeding programs for the Fijian Iguana, Broad-headed Snake, Corroboree Frog, Stuttering Frog, Philippine Crocodile and many other species. He is now the coordinator of the Lilydale High School reptile collection, the largest school collection of reptiles and frogs in Australia. He is also a keen photographer and has written numerous articles, papers and books about reptiles and frogs.