Frogs : A Chorus of Colors

Frogs--those tailless, hopping amphibians with which most of us are familiar. But what makes a frog a frog? The Behlers, writing team and conservationists, have written an homage to the close to 5,000 species of frogs. They range in size from Africa's goliath frog (a seven-pound, foot-long giant) to the Brazilian flea frog (a mere one-half-inch long) and come in almost every color imaginable. Written to accompany a popular traveling museum exhibit, the book showcases the wonder and beauty of frogs. The first chapter examines what makes a frog and provides a nice primer to frog biology. Three chapters survey courtship and the metamorphosis of tadpole to frog, feeding and physiology, and camouflage and predator avoidance. The bulk of the book is a nice look at the frog families of the world, with descriptions of each family and representative species. The final two chapters discuss the problems of declining amphibian populations worldwide and why frogs are important. Sidebars throughout the text provide more information, and "frogfacts" in each section furnish fun trivia. Lavishly illustrated. Nancy Bent
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