The Cambridge natural history, Vol. 08 (of 10)

A comprehensive survey of amphibians and reptiles that combines comparative anatomy, life history, classification, and fossil background. The text examines skin, skeleton, respiratory and urinary systems, poison glands, reproduction, development and metamorphosis, neoteny, regeneration, and geographic distribution, and provides diagnostic accounts of recent genera. Reptilian treatment spans turtles, crocodilians, dinosaurs, plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, pterosaurs, lizards, and snakes, with emphasis on morphological detail and systematic relationships. Aimed at both field naturalists and morphologists, the work integrates anatomical description with observations on behavior and habit and is supported by numerous illustrations and an explicit taxonomic scheme.