Overview for The Book of Indian Reptiles and Amphibians
In 1983, during the Centenary year of the Bombay Natural History Society, the Society published, with financial assistance from the Govt. of India, my book on the Reptiles of India. This is not revised reprint but a new presentation, in which the earlier text on reptiles has been revised in the light of currently available information and an entirely new section added on the amphibian fauna of the Subcontinent, particularly of India. The book remains focused on the natural history of the species described, and is an introductory volume meant for the amateur and beginner in the study of Herpetology. The book is based largely on data available in Society's Journal, fleshed out with personal observations. The numbers in parenthesis following any particular observation in the body of the text refer to the source reference listed at the end of the volume. The section on snakes is an updated and condensed version of the excellent series on Common Indian Snakes by Col. Frank Wall, serialized in the early issues of the Society's Journal.
J.C. Daniel (Author)
J.C. Daniel was the Curator/Director of the Bombay Natural History Society for over thirty years and continues to be the Executive Editor of the Society's Journal. He was a member of the Steering Committee and Regional Representative of the Indian Board for Wildlife, Govt. of India; a Vice-Chairman of the Species Survival Commission of the World Conservation Union; Chairman of the Asian Elephant Specialist Group and member of the Marine Turtle and Crocodile Specialist groups (SSC-WCU). He was a member of the Governing Council of the Wildlife Institute of India and of the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History. He is an Honorary Member and a member of the Executive Committee of the Bombay Natural History Society (and is presently its Honorary Secretary). He was given the Peter Scott Award for Conservation Merit by the IUCN in 1988, Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puruskar for 1997 by Govt. of India and the ABN Amro Millennium Sanctuary Award for Lifetime Service to Conservation. He has compiled books on the natural history of the Leopard, Elephant and the Tiger.
Bagchee
