Handbook of Larval Amphibians of the United States and Canada

Ronald Altig is Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences at Mississippi State University. Roy W. McDiarmid is a research zoologist and Curator of North American Amphibians and Reptiles at the National Museum of Natural History. He is the coauthor of books including Snake Species of the World and coeditor most recently of Reptile Biodiversity. Altig and McDiarmid are coeditors of Tadpoles: The Biology of Anuran Larvae. Aaron M. Bauer is Professor of Biology and Gerald M. Lemole Endowed Chair in Integrative Biology at Villanova University. He is the author of Geckos: The Animal Answer Guide.

• Foreword by Aaron BauerPrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroductionBackground and Scope1. The Amphibian FaunaSalamanders, Newts, and WaterdogsFrogs and Toads2. The Amphibian Life CycleDevelopmental CategoriesEggsKey to EggsEmbryos and HatchlingsKey to Embryos and HatchlingsLarvae3. Order Caudata: Salamanders and RelativesKey to Larval and Larviform SalamandersTaxonomic AccountsAmbystomatidae (Mole and Giant Salamanders)Amphiumidae (Amphiumas)Cryptobranchidae (Hellbenders)Plethodontidae (Lungless Salamanders)Proteidae (Mudpuppy and Waterdogs)Rhyacotritonidae (Torrent Salamanders)Salamandridae (Newts)Sirenidae (Dwarf Sirens and Sirens)4. Order Anura: Frogs and ToadsKey to TadpolesTaxonomic AccountsBufonidae (Toads)Dendrobatidae (Dart-poison Frogs)Hylidae (Treefrogs and relatives)Leiopelmatidae (Tailed Frogs)Leptodactylidae (White-lipped Frogs)Microhylidae (Small-mouthed Toads and Sheep Frog)Pipidae (Tongueless Frogs)Ranidae (True Frogs)Rhinophrynidae (Burrowing Toad)Scaphiopodidae (Spadefoots)GlossaryLiterature CitedIndex of Common NamesIndex of Scientific Names

Altig and McDiarmid's Handbook of Larval Amphibians ... synthesizes the scattered literature on the eggs and larval forms of frogs and salamanders in the United States and Canada. In addition to providing an informative key organized into geographic sectorsthe authors present technical advice for how to properly prepare eggs for identification as well as descriptions and illustrations of the structures necessary for identification... With a bit of scanning and searching accounts of related speciesreaders with limited expertise in amphibian larvae should be able to correctly identify many of the larvae with the photographs and illustrations provided.- Matthew D. Venesky (University of Chicago Press)