North America is the third largest continent and, as such, guides to the faunas and floras that inhabit the continent are typically fragmented in a non-natural biogeographical manner. In the USA, a traditional and manageable way to compile faunal guides is by state, and this volume follows that tradition. New Mexico is the fourth largest state in the lower 48 and hosts at least 123 species of amphibians and reptiles. This volume contains accounts and colour plates of all the species. There is enough detail to make the book useful for the scientist, but it is also broad enough for any person interested in identifying amphibians or reptiles found in New Mexico.
The species accounts are extremely complete. They start with the scientific and English names, the location of the colour plate, and follow with discussion sections that include those entitled Type, Distribution, Description, Similar Species, Systematics, Habitat, Behavior (sic), Reproduction, Food Habits and Remarks. The authors did not skimp on the citations, giving the accounts a solid scholarly feel. Each account is accompanied by a distribution (dot) map framed with latitude and longitude.
Besides the distribution maps, there are a number of other illustrations scattered throughout the book. Clumped in the centre are 122 colour plates of physiography, habitat types and living specimens. In general, the photos are of high quality and a welcome addition. At the beginning of each major section (for example frogs, lizards, etc.) there is a key to the species and these keys are heavily illustrated with line drawings. With these illustrations even a novice could use the keys to identify what animal was hanging from their friend's finger. Once past the key, the major sections are divided by family and each introductory page has what looks like a pencil sketch of a species representative of the family. These sketches are a nice touch, but appear to vary in quality.
The keys mentioned above are straightforward and simple to use, especially with the aid of the accompanying illustrations. In addition to the detailed keys are simple at-a-glance tables for quicker identification of species in species rich genera like Rana or Cnemidophorus (as used in this volume). These tables are handy, especially if bookmarked for rapid reference. The volume even has conversion tables between metric (International) and English measuring systems.
In general, this is a top quality guide to the herpetofauna of New Mexico. It is the match of any state amphibian and reptile guide and will be an important reference volume for years.
