Reptiles of Costa Rica: A Field Guide

by Twan Leenders (Author)

Reptiles of Costa Rica, the long-awaited companion to Amphibians of Costa Rica, is the first ever comprehensive field guide to the crocodilians, turtles, lizards, and snakes of Costa Rica. A popular destination for tourists and biologists because of its biodiversity, the country is particularly rich in reptile fauna, boasting 245 species. The sheer diversity in shapes, sizes, colors, and natural history traits of these animals is beautifully displayed in this book. Lizards range from minuscule dwarf geckos to dinosaur-like iguanids, and everything in between, while the country's snakes include tiny eyeless wormsnakes, massive boas, as well as twenty-three dangerously venomous species, which include the largest vipers in the world.

Author, photographer, and conservation biologist Twan Leenders has been researching and documenting the herpetofauna of Costa Rica for nearly twenty-five years. His explorations have taken him to remote parts of Costa Rica that few people ever visit, journeys that usually find him hauling an array of photographic equipment to document his finds. In addition to including more than 1,000 photographs, detailed black and white scientific illustrations, and range maps, this book also features paintings of anole dewlaps, a key identification feature for that very complex group of lizards. This new field guide will enable the reader to identify all species, while also providing a wealth of information about natural history, predation, breeding strategies, habitat preferences, and conservation of Costa Rica's reptile fauna.

About the Author
Twan Leenders is President of the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History in Jamestown, New York

Review
"With sumptuous photos and informative text this brilliant book has everything you need to identify all of Costa Rica's reptiles. Twan Leenders' elegant prose summarizes up to date information on the conservation status and natural history of the country's crocodilians, turtles, lizards and snakes. This guide should be in everyone's suitcase on any visit to Costa Rica, it will definitely be in mine."

(Nigel Marven, Wildlife TV host and filmmaker)