Excerpt from The Herpetology of Cuba No previous attempt has been made to produce a complete list of the amphibians and reptiles of Cuba with descriptions of the species. It should be expressly understood that the senior author is responsible for the actual writ ing of this paper, for the nomenclature, and taxonomic descriptions, and the junior author has contributed many details of distribution and notes upon habits and habitats; his work has been chie y in the Guantanamo Basin; and of this region he has the intimate knowledge which only long residence can give. The senior author besides having been privileged to collect with his associate upon Monte Libano, and elsewhere about Guantanamo, has visited various chosen localities in all of the other provinces, usually several times. Thus one or other of the writers has himself collected, with a few exceptions, every defi nitely known Cuban reptile or amphibian. In 1880 Gundlach published his classic Erpetologia Cubana in Havana and in the natural course of events many changes have taken place since that time which have affected the nomenclature and status of the species treated, while new forms have been discovered. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."

Many people fear snakes, and watersnakes in particular have one of the worst reputations of any snake found in North America. Some species are commonly mistaken for venomous cottonmouths, and a few may eat popular game fishes. Unfortunately, few people realize the important roles many watersnakes play in natural ecosystems and, consequently, they are still persecuted in many regions today. Seeking to overcome common misperceptions, J. Whitfield Gibbons and Michael E. Dorcas have compiled North American Watersnakes, the first comprehensive study of all fourteen species of watersnakes found in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Cuba. Individual species accounts explore all aspects of the natural history of watersnakes in North America, including their behavior, physiology, life history, ecology, and conservation. Almost 100 color photographs accompany the text, illustrating all 14 species and nearly all subspecies. Supplementing the species accounts are detailed color maps depicting each species distribution and stunning black-and-white drawings by Peri Mason. Easy-to-use keys help readers to identify specimens at hand.

Describes the different species of amphibians and reptiles which can be found on the Yucatan Peninsula.