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The structure, development and evolution of reptiles
roeco~. vot. ~. No. b. ov~ toty-ten_ ". Ives . Printed iu Grat ariwo.
oo4t-ototies ss.oo" .oo Peraamon Preis Ltd.
REVIEWS MAaErtC, Z. Discrimination between the terms araneism, araneidism and arachnidism. Newsl. Br. arachrt . Soc. 40, S (1984) . THETERM 'aranrism' has slowly ban gaining favor over the terms 'araneidism' and `arachnidism' during recent years, when the bites of all spiders, and only spiders, are being considered . This has become particularly true since the publication of the book Aranetsm . With Spaial Reference to Europe (Maretié and Lebez) . Maretié considers the use of the three terms in the light of our present understanding . FINDLAY E. RUSSELL FERGUSON, M. W. J. (Ed.) The Structure, Ihvelopmertt and Evo(utiort of Reptiles. London : Academic Press (1984). Tats ttoott contains a compilation of papers in honor of Professor A. d'A . Bellairs presented at a symposium of the Zoological Society of London on the occasion of his retirement . The mating was organized by M. W. J . Ferguson under the auspices of the Zoological Society of London, the Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland, and the British Herpetological Society. More than 30 scientists rcpresrnting approximately ten countries read papers, which fell into four general categories : morphology, development, physiological ecology, and evolution. The single paper on snake vrnoms, presented by Prof . F. E. Russell of the U.S .A ., attempted to correlate the structure of the vrnom apparatus with the function of the snake venom. The session was a considerable testimony to Professor Bellairs, not only as a leader in reptile biology but in testimony to his person, for almost all of the contributors were not only outstanding experts in their own fields but most were former students, collaborators, or close friends of this distinguished professor. Anyone interested in the structure, development and evolution of reptiles will find this a very practical addition to their library. FINDLAY E. RUSSELL JOGER, U. The Venomous Snakes ojthe Near and Middle East . Wiesbaden: Dr . Ludwig Reichert Verlag (1984) . As oNE of the multivolume publications of the Tûbinger Atlas des Vordercrt Orients (Beiheft No . 12, Reihe A), the present book will close an information gap on venomous snakes of the Near and Middle East . Although regional monographies already exist covering some of the respective areas, the need for a more complete review including recent data is obvious. Chaklists published by HARDtNG and WELCH (Vetrorrtous Snakes ojthe Wortd, Oxford, 1980) proved not to be very helpful and are misleading in many respects . Joger has collected all information available from the literature, museum collections and personal communications from various sources and mapped all records for each species . Following Underwood's classification, a key for the identification of the venomous snakes of this area is presented. The spidrs are described (taxonomy, diagnostic characters, habitat, distribution) in systematical order. The bibliography seems to be complete . In the appendix, data on the diet of each snake species in nature, of their reproduction, vrnom characteristic (less helpful, too superficial), of their danger to man and a list of antivenom producers are included . The distributional maps of the venomous snakes summarize the present state of knowledge, but also demonstrate lack of informations for various areas. A very fine four coloured map from the atlas gives an excellent overview . We regret to note that language, style and even spelling are of a poor standard and could have ban considerably improved by careful editing of the manuscript by an English-speaking person . Nevertheless, this is a very important publication, which clearly shows where further research is necessary and which is helpful for those working with snake venoms from this area . D. MP-ss LYERLY, D. M., SAUM, K. E., MACDONALD, D. K. and WILKINS, T. D. (Department of Anaerobic Microbiology, Virginia Polytahnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, U.S .A.) Effects of Clastridiurtt djjJ7clle toxins given intragastrically to animals. fgJbrt . Irttmun. 47, 349 (198s). THE Acrrvtrtes of Clostridium d(jficile toxin preparations given intragastrically to hamsters, mitx, and rats were eatamined. The culture filtrate from a highly toxigenic strain of C. djffrcfle caused hemorrhage and aaumulation lOl9
oo4t-ototies ss.oo" .oo Peraamon Preis Ltd.
REVIEWS MAaErtC, Z. Discrimination between the terms araneism, araneidism and arachnidism. Newsl. Br. arachrt . Soc. 40, S (1984) . THETERM 'aranrism' has slowly ban gaining favor over the terms 'araneidism' and `arachnidism' during recent years, when the bites of all spiders, and only spiders, are being considered . This has become particularly true since the publication of the book Aranetsm . With Spaial Reference to Europe (Maretié and Lebez) . Maretié considers the use of the three terms in the light of our present understanding . FINDLAY E. RUSSELL FERGUSON, M. W. J. (Ed.) The Structure, Ihvelopmertt and Evo(utiort of Reptiles. London : Academic Press (1984). Tats ttoott contains a compilation of papers in honor of Professor A. d'A . Bellairs presented at a symposium of the Zoological Society of London on the occasion of his retirement . The mating was organized by M. W. J . Ferguson under the auspices of the Zoological Society of London, the Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland, and the British Herpetological Society. More than 30 scientists rcpresrnting approximately ten countries read papers, which fell into four general categories : morphology, development, physiological ecology, and evolution. The single paper on snake vrnoms, presented by Prof . F. E. Russell of the U.S .A ., attempted to correlate the structure of the vrnom apparatus with the function of the snake venom. The session was a considerable testimony to Professor Bellairs, not only as a leader in reptile biology but in testimony to his person, for almost all of the contributors were not only outstanding experts in their own fields but most were former students, collaborators, or close friends of this distinguished professor. Anyone interested in the structure, development and evolution of reptiles will find this a very practical addition to their library. FINDLAY E. RUSSELL JOGER, U. The Venomous Snakes ojthe Near and Middle East . Wiesbaden: Dr . Ludwig Reichert Verlag (1984) . As oNE of the multivolume publications of the Tûbinger Atlas des Vordercrt Orients (Beiheft No . 12, Reihe A), the present book will close an information gap on venomous snakes of the Near and Middle East . Although regional monographies already exist covering some of the respective areas, the need for a more complete review including recent data is obvious. Chaklists published by HARDtNG and WELCH (Vetrorrtous Snakes ojthe Wortd, Oxford, 1980) proved not to be very helpful and are misleading in many respects . Joger has collected all information available from the literature, museum collections and personal communications from various sources and mapped all records for each species . Following Underwood's classification, a key for the identification of the venomous snakes of this area is presented. The spidrs are described (taxonomy, diagnostic characters, habitat, distribution) in systematical order. The bibliography seems to be complete . In the appendix, data on the diet of each snake species in nature, of their reproduction, vrnom characteristic (less helpful, too superficial), of their danger to man and a list of antivenom producers are included . The distributional maps of the venomous snakes summarize the present state of knowledge, but also demonstrate lack of informations for various areas. A very fine four coloured map from the atlas gives an excellent overview . We regret to note that language, style and even spelling are of a poor standard and could have ban considerably improved by careful editing of the manuscript by an English-speaking person . Nevertheless, this is a very important publication, which clearly shows where further research is necessary and which is helpful for those working with snake venoms from this area . D. MP-ss LYERLY, D. M., SAUM, K. E., MACDONALD, D. K. and WILKINS, T. D. (Department of Anaerobic Microbiology, Virginia Polytahnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, U.S .A.) Effects of Clastridiurtt djjJ7clle toxins given intragastrically to animals. fgJbrt . Irttmun. 47, 349 (198s). THE Acrrvtrtes of Clostridium d(jficile toxin preparations given intragastrically to hamsters, mitx, and rats were eatamined. The culture filtrate from a highly toxigenic strain of C. djffrcfle caused hemorrhage and aaumulation lOl9