"This is the first comprehensive treatment of the biology of the Monstersauria in nearly 50 years, during which time our knowledge has increased dramatically. It gives the reader an unprecedented opportunity to understand the evolution, ecology, and behavior of gila monsters and beaded lizards, as well as insights into folklore, venom, and threats to the existence of these fabled animals."--William Cooper, Indiana University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne "Beck is the foremost authority on these animals and has published extensively on them. He provides a highly readable and fascinating summary of their biology."--Jonathan Campbell, author of Venomous Reptiles of Latin America
"This is the first comprehensive treatment of the biology of the Monstersauria in nearly 50 years, during which time our knowledge has increased dramatically. It gives the reader an unprecedented opportunity to understand the evolution, ecology, and behavior of gila monsters and beaded lizards, as well as insights into folklore, venom, and threats to the existence of these fabled animals."--William Cooper, Indiana University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne "Beck is the foremost authority on these animals and has published extensively on them. He provides a highly readable and fascinating summary of their biology."--Jonathan Campbell, author of "Venomous Reptiles of Latin America"
Venom research and technology has advanced greatly, rapidly transforming our knowledge of reptile venoms. Research advances, like the development of molecular systematics, provide the framework necessary to reconstruct the evolutionary history of glands and fangs. Such research developments have expanded our understanding of venom's evolution and its usefulness in therapeutic development. The results of this punctuated toxin molecular evolutionary expansion include protein neofunctionalization. While these changes may impact antivenom efficacy, this molecular diversity also facilitates their usefulness in the development of novel drug therapies. Venomous Reptiles And Their Toxins brings together the world's leading toxinologists in this comprehensive study of the entire scope of reptile venoms, from clinical effects to evolution to drug design and development. The book contains detailed applied chapters on clinical care of the envenomed patient, ineffective traditional or modern remedies, occupational considerations involved in the maintenance of institutional venomous reptile collections, veterinary care for venomous reptiles and research methods used in venom research. This book also devotes a chapter to each toxin class found in reptile venoms, detailing the full trajectory of research on the peptide or protein in question. These chapters discuss each toxin's respective role in the envenomation process through to how each has been explored for their biomedical potential. This book is a unique resource for anyone working with venomous reptiles.
The first volume contains species accounts of the venomous lizards and elapid and viperid snakes found north of Mexico's twenty-fifth parallel. Volume two covers the twenty-one species of rattlesnakes found in the United States, Canada, and northern Mexico.
The Teeth of Non-Mammalian Vertebrates is the first comprehensive publication devoted to the teeth and dentitions of living fishes, amphibians and reptiles. The book presents a comprehensive survey of the amazing variety of tooth forms among non-mammalian vertebrates, based on descriptions of approximately 400 species belonging to about 160 families. The text is lavishly illustrated with more than 600 high-quality color and monochrome photographs of specimens gathered from top museums and research workers from around the world, supplemented by radiographs and micro-CT images. This stimulating work discusses the functional morphology of feeding, the attachment of teeth, and the relationship of tooth form to function, with each chapter accompanied by a comprehensive, up-to-date reference list. Following the descriptions of the teeth and dentitions in each class, four chapters review current topics with considerable research activity: tooth development; tooth replacement; and the structure, formation and evolution of the dental hard tissues. This timely book, authored by internationally recognized teachers and researchers in the field, also reflects the resurgence of interest in the dentitions of non-mammalian vertebrates as experimental systems to help understand genetic changes in evolution of teeth and jaws. Features more than 600 images, including numerous high-quality photographs from internationally-recognized researchers and world class collections Offers guidance on tooth morphology for classification and evolution of vertebrates Provides detailed coverage of the dentition of all living groups of non-mammalian vertebrates
This Special Issue of Marine Drugs gathers recent investigations on the proteomes, metabolomes, transcriptomes, and the associated microbiomes of marine jellyfish and polyps, including bioactivity studies of their compounds and more generally, on their biotechnological potential, witnessing the increasingly recognized importance of Cnidaria as a largely untapped Blue Growth resource for new drug discovery. These researches evoke the outstanding ecological importance of cnidarians in marine ecosystems worldwide, calling for a global monitoring and conservation of marine biodiversity, so that the biotechnological exploitation of marine living resources will be carried out to conserve and sustainably use the natural capital of the oceans.
This book of photography represents National Geographic's Photo Ark, a major cross-platform initiative and lifelong project by photographer Joel Sartore to make portraits of the world's animals -- especially those that are endangered. His message: to know these animals is to save them. Sartore intends to photograph every animal in captivity in the world. He is circling the globe, visiting zoos and wildlife rescue centers to create studio portraits of 12,000 species, with an emphasis on those facing extinction. He has photographed more than 6,000 already and now, thanks to a multi-year partnership with National Geographic, he may reach his goal. This book showcases his animal portraits: from tiny to mammoth, from the Florida grasshopper sparrow to the greater one-horned rhinoceros. Paired with the prose of veteran wildlife writer Douglas Chadwick, this book presents an argument for saving all the species of our planet.
"The book celebrates the intrinsic worth of all plants and animals in order to motivate people in a unified effort to preserve the Earth's rich array of life forms."--Cover.
