About this Book
“To many people, boas and pythons conjure images of giant, aggressive snakes lying in wait to strangle women and children or wrestling with great cats such as jaguars. To those who have spent their careers studying boas and pythons, they serve as fascinating models for a remarkable diversity of conceptual areas in biological research. Biology of the Boas and Pythons brings together an impressive set of world experts covering topics from molecular evolution, ecomorphology, physiology, and digestion to natural history and landscape-level ecology to mention a few. The text is packed with spectacular photographs showing some of the diversity of these interesting animals along with creative graphics providing a wealth of accurate and current scientific data. Text in all chapters is engaging, and careful editing has created a flow that will hold the interest of all readers. Although this book is clearly aimed at a professional scientific audience, I believe that it will catch the attention of amateur herpetologists throughout the world as well because of the clever way in which topics, photographs, graphics, and text are assembled. Biology of the Boas and Pythons sets a new standard in snake biology and will remain the standard for many decades. I personally commend the editors for not following Rick Shine’s advice (see Foreword), and, like Rick, and, I suspect, the entire herpetological community, I am thrilled with the final product. We clearly are learning a lot about these snakes, and as many of the authors point out, a wealth of information remains to be discovered. This should spark what is already a flaming interest in the biology of these fascinating snakes.”
Laurie J. Vitt
George Lynn Cross Research Professor and Curator of Reptiles
Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History
and Zoology Department
University of Oklahoma
“With an impressive array of field and laboratory studies, this volume synthesizes a disparate literature on ‘giant’ snakes and brings together results of long-term research by a diverse and talented group of snake biologists. The result is a trove of new findings highlighting different aspects of the natural history of this important group of snakes. We learn how boas and pythons use habitats, the role thermoregulation plays in determining their distributions and activities, the functional importance of foraging and feeding behavior to their evolution, and some core issues in their conservation and management. Together with excellent colored photographs, this book is a significant contribution and a must-read for herpetologists, snake aficionados, and all persons interested in the natural history of a poorly understood group of organisms.”
Roy W. McDiarmid
USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History
“Boas and pythons have long captured the interest of explorers, amateur naturalists, and the public, yet until recently we knew very little about the biology of these fascinating snakes. Now this book brings together an impressive set of scholarly research on topics as diverse as evolutionary history, functional morphology, digestive physiology, and conservation; its subjects include some of largest and most colorful reptiles, from most major land masses. The writing is top notch, the illustrations are of outstanding quality, and the end result is a major contribution to our knowledge of snakes.”
Harry W. Greene
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Cornell University
“Reading Biology of the Boas and Pythons is a fulfilling experience for any biologist, with something there for everyone. More than 75 authors from around the world contributed chapters based on extensive field and laboratory work. Subjects range from molecular-based phylogenetic relationships and feeding mechanics to habitat selection, population dynamics, physiology of digestion and thermo-regulation, infrared vision, and conservation. Henderson and Powell are to be congratulated on assembling this fascinating book.”
William E. Duellman
Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research Center
University of Kansas
“This superbly illustrated book gives an authoritative and up-to-date documentation of the fascinating biology of boas and pythons. The study of snake biology, not to mention the biology of boas and pythons, often has been disparaged by many professional biologists. However, the content of this book unambiguously demonstrates that boas and pythons often are excellent models for conducting high-quality laboratory and field-based research. The book covers a wide range of topics and provides biologists, both amateurs and professionals, as well as conservation organizations, with an impressive source of novel and important scientific information.”
Thomas Madsen
School of Biological Sciences
University of Wollongong and
Department of Animal Ecology, University of Lund