Pleistocene Amphibians and Reptiles in Britain and Europe

"The fossil record of amphibians and reptiles, most of whose close relatives are alive today and known from specific habitats, are especially useful indicators. Holman has made a career of studying these vertebrates, collecting and carrying out the difficult task of identifying their skeletal remains. . . . More than 400 references, plus general, taxonomic, and site indexes. For students of climate change, paleohistory, and faunal studies. Graduates throughprofessionals."--Choice"This compilation is going to be of considerable value to palaeontologists and zoologists interested in the recent history of the European fauna. Alan Holman . . . examines in turn all the species which have been reported from Pleistocene sites in an area extending from Ireland and Portugal to Poland and Greece, discussing their diagnostic features and listing all the sites in these countries from which they have been reported. The fossil faunas from eachcountry are then discussed in turn . . . The book ends with four short review chapters, considering the value of these species as climatological indicators, the range changes documented by these fossilfaunas, and the contrast between American and European faunas. The collation of the European record in this manner is going to make this an invaluable volume. . . . Any decent library with a coverage of reptiles, amphibians and the Pleistocene will need this book . . ."--Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society"To date, the primary information on Pleistocene amphibians and reptiles from Europe has been widely scattered through the paleontological and zooarchaeological literature. Thus, these data have received little attention in paleoclimatological and paleoecological studies, which tend to focus on mammals or plants. Holman's book fills a major gap in the literature. This book will be a valuable reference for any student of Pleistocene vertebrate assemblages fromEurope and their paleoecology." - New Biological Books, March 2000"The fossil record of amphibians and reptiles, most of whose close relatives are alive today and known from specific habitats, are especially useful indicators. Holman has made a career of studying these vertebrates, collecting and carrying out the difficult task of identifying their skeletal remains. . . . More than 400 references, plus general, taxonomic, and site indexes. For students of climate change, paleohistory, and faunal studies. Graduates throughprofessionals."--Choice"This compilation is going to be of considerable value to palaeontologists and zoologists interested in the recent history of the European fauna. Alan Holman . . . examines in turn all the species which have been reported from Pleistocene sites in an area extending from Ireland and Portugal to Poland and Greece, discussing their diagnostic features and listing all the sites in these countries from which they have been reported. The fossil faunas from eachcountry are then discussed in turn . . . The book ends with four short review chapters, considering the value of these species as climatological indicators, the range changes documented by these fossilfaunas, and the contrast between American and European faunas. The collation of the European record in this manner is going to make this an invaluable volume. . . . Any decent library with a coverage of reptiles, amphibians and the Pleistocene will need this book . . ."--Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society"To date, the primary information on Pleistocene amphibians and reptiles from Europe has been widely scattered through the paleontological and zooarchaeological literature. Thus, these data have received little attention in paleoclimatological and paleoecological studies, which tend to focus on mammals or plants. Holman's book fills a major gap in the literature. This book will be a valuable reference for any student of Pleistocene vertebrate assemblages fromEurope and their paleoecology." - New Biological Books, March 2000

• 1. Introduction ; 2. The Pleistocene in Britain and Europe ; 3. The European herpetofauna, Paleocene through Pleistocene ; 4. A bestiary: annotated taxonomic accounts ; 5. Pleistocene herpetological localities ; 6. Herpetological species as paleoenvironmental indicators ; 7. Herpetological population adjustments in the Pleistocene of Britain and Europe ; 8. Extinction patterns in the herpetofaunas of Britain and Europe and North America compared ; 9. Pleistocene events in the herpetofaunas of Britain and Europe and North American compared