the tailed amphibians of europe

[phil]

this is a book which i have had for some years now. it was printed in 1969 and cost42 shillings or £2.10. it gives an in depth description of all the european species and sub-species, as well as habits, habitats and distribution. it's well illustrated and there are quite a few photographs although these are in black and white.it's only fault in my mind is(as willj quite rightly reminded me of) is the many differences in taxonomy between 1969 and the present day, especially in the splitting up of the triturus brigade and also the raising of the crested newt clan to full species status. however pushing those few out of date names aside it is a very informative read and well worth having. it was written by j.w.steward

[Pollywog]

Hi Phil,
I own a copy of this book and it is quite good, it's now been somewhat superseded by The Newts and Salamanders of Europe by Richard Griffiths. This is a good book and the most upto date on the subject although also written before the taxonomical changes of the Triturus group.

[phil]

thanks andrew, i'll try to get acopy of it. although usefull to know about, i think changes of latin names, and reclassifying amphibians and reptiles is less important to a book than vivid descriptions and insights into behaviour and geographical locations of colonies etc. although as willj pointed out it may have more serious implications for certain species eg. cristatus and carnifex hybridising.

[Pollywog]

The split between cristatus, carnifex, karelinii & dobrogicus was long before this book was written so they are covered in it’s text.
It is the more recent splits placing helveticus, vulgaris, montandoni, boscai & italicus as Lissotriton - alpestris as Mesotriton - & the vittatus group as Ommatotriton including the designation of ophryticus as a full species rather than a subspecies of vittatus.
If memory serves me correctly it also counts pygmaeus as a subspecies of marmoratus, which has since been split to full species status.