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Cover

Amphibians: A Very Short Introduction

T. S. Kemp

July 2021

ISBN: 9780198842989

160 pages
Paperback
174x111mm

Very Short Introductions

Price: £8.99

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Description

From frogs, toads, newts, and salamanders, to the lesser-known caecilians, there are over 8,000 species of amphibians alive today. T. S. Kemp explores their evolution, adaptations, and biology, as well as the threat humans represent to their survival.

  • Explores the extraordinary diversity of amphibians, from the history of early tetrapods to the 8,000 species of amphibians alive today
  • Discusses the evolutionary history of amphibians, and the adaptations which have equipped them to occupy their interphase habitat between freshwater and land
  • Analyses the fascinating courtship and parental behaviour of various species
  • Contemplates the threats to amphibians which humans pose, and their possible risk of extinction
  • Part of the Very Short Introductions series - over ten million copies sold worldwide

About the Author(s)

T. S. Kemp, Emeritus Fellow, St John's College, University of Oxford

T. S. Kemp was appointed Tutor in Zoology at St John's College, Oxford in 1975, where he conducted undergraduate teaching courses on vertebrate evolution and biology, and on palaeobiology. He was also Senior Dean for several years before his retirement in 2009, when he was elected Emeritus Research Fellow, and appointed Honorary Research Associate of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. T. S. Kemp's published titles include, among others, Reptiles: A Very Short Introduction (OUP, 2019), Mammals: A Very Short Introduction (OUP 2017), and The Origins and Evolution of Mammals (OUP, 2005). His research and field collecting have taken him on expeditions to Zambia, South Africa, Australia, and India, and since 2013, he and his wife have travelled extensively in southern Africa, observing and photographing wildlife.

Table of Contents

    List of figures
    1:What is an amphibian?
    2:The evolution of amphibian
    3:Reproduction and life histories
    4:How amphibians move
    5:How amphibians feed
    6:The amphibians' world: sense organs and communication
    7:Amphibians and humans
    8:Conservation and the future of amphibians
    Further reading
    Index

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