Salamanders of the Southeast

by Joe Mitchell, Whit Gibbons

Describing 102 species of salamanders occurring in the southeastern United States, ecologists Joe Mitchell and Whit Gibbons provide us with the most comprehensive and authoritative, yet accessible and fun-to-read, guide to these often secretive, always fascinating wonders of nature.

Mitchell and Gibbons enumerate the distinguishing characteristics of salamanders, including how they are different from other amphibians and from reptiles, especially lizards. Also discussed are distribution, habitat, behavior and activity, reproduction, food and feeding, predators and defense, conservation, and taxonomy. Accompanying each account are photographs illustrating typical adults and variations and distribution maps for the Southeast and the United States.

Given that 17 percent of the world’s species of salamanders live in the Southeast and the scientific and popular concern for the worldwide decline in amphibian populations in general, Salamanders of the Southeast will appeal to people of all ages and levels of knowledge interested in natural history and conservation. The guide will help foster the growing interest in salamanders as well as cultivate a desire to protect and conserve these fascinating amphibians and their habitats.


Conservation-oriented approach
More than 400 color photographs
77 distribution maps
Clear descriptions and photographs of each species
Sections on biology, worldwide diversity, identification, taxonomy, habitats, and conservation
Did You Know?” sidebars of interesting facts

Genres: Natural History, Wildlife

336 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2010

Reviews

[Trent Marv · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the Fourth Book in this series of guides to the Herptofauna of the american Southeast and it is by far the largest given the huge number of salamanders in the southeast which outnumber all other tetrapod groups by a factor of 10 or more in some habitats. 17 percent of all salamanders of the world are found in this region 102 species in 17 genera in 7 families. This book discusses their ecology, habitat, diets, size, mating methods, predators, and conservation issues. The ending of the book also discusses why they matter and how people study them All of these are represented by beautiful photos.
It should be said that not every species gets its own entry this is mostly due to a number of more terrestrial species that are largely the same outside of genetic differences or they are not really that different. Examples include the Slimy Salamander complex that consists of 10 species mostly identical and best distinguished by their geological location and genetics, The 3 waterdog species, the 3 amphiumas, the 2 dwarf sirens, the 2 two lined salamander species, the 2 flatwood Salamander species, the two ravine salamander species, and the two zig zag salamander species.
I wouldn't say those are negatives and indeed it'd be silly to give all of these very similar species their own entries. With that being said there is one sorta mistake possibly depending on some recent findings. It mentions one extinct salamander species The Bay Springs Salamander (Plethodon ainsworthi) which may well not even have been a separate species instead just a pair of Slimy Salamander specimens malformed due to poor preservation techniques. So yeah that keeps it from being absolutely perfect. There's also the decision to split the group into several chapters based on habitats which I don't usually like but for salamanders it fits well here for some reason. Overall of all of the herpatology books in the Wormsloe series it's the best well worth a buy!

[Warreni · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent overview of various aspects of salamander biology, along with the standard species accounts with distribution maps, life history notes, and color photographs. The book includes information about a single species that was recently extirpated, but I have a bad feeling that the limited ranges of many of these animals, particularly ones that exist only in montane forests, face a much more significant threat from anthropogenic climate change and wholesale habitat destruction than Mitchell and Gibbons suggest in this work.

[William Ternes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic reference except for the information on the junaluska salamander. Eurycea junaluska should be merged with another species or some shit.