Biology and Evolution of Crocodylians

(Hardback)

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Description

Acomprehensive review of current knowledgeabout the world's largest and most famous livingreptiles.Gordon Grigg's authoritative and accessibletext and David Kirshner's stunning interpretiveartwork and colour photographs combineexpertly in this contemporary celebration ofcrocodiles, alligators, caimans and gharials.This book showcases the skills and capabilitiesthat allow crocodylians to live how and wherethey do. It covers the biology and ecology of theextant species, conservation issues, crocodylianhumaninteraction and the evolutionary historyof the group, and includes a vast amount ofnew information; 25 per cent of 1100 citedpublications have appeared since 2007.Richly illustrated with more than 500 colourphotographs and black and white illustrations,this book will be a benchmark reference workfor crocodylian biologists, herpetologists andvertebrate biologists for years to come.

Author Bio

Gordon Grigg enjoyed a career as an academic zoologist who managed to spend a lot of time working in the field. After education in Queensland, Australia and at the University of Oregon, USA he had 20 years at the University of Sydney, Australia and then 20 years at the University of Queensland, Australia where he is now an Emeritus Professor. His primary research interests are in vertebrate zoology, particularly the thermal, respiratory, cardiovascular and salt and water balance physiology and ecology of reptiles and, through work on echidnas, the evolution of endothermy. He has authored or co-authored nearly 200 peer-reviewed publications of which more than a quarter are on crocodylians.

David Kirshner developed a fascination with crocodylians at a very young age, despite growing up in Canada. Consequently, after completing an honours degree in zoology he undertook a PhD on crocodylian buoyancy control in Australia, where he still resides. He later combined his interest in zoology with a passion for drawing, painting and photographing wildlife, working as a wildlife illustrator for several years before settling into his current career in zoo and aquarium interpretation. He has illustrated several books on wildlife.