Field Guide to the Wetlands

Maine Amphibians and Reptiles
edited by Malcolm L. Hunter, Jr., Aram J. K. Calhoun,
& Mark McCollough
272 pages (including a 16-page gallery of photographs),
with 56 drawings, 36 color photographs, 109 maps,
and a compact disc of field recordings
7 x 10 inches, 1999 Paperback
ISBN 0-89101-096-3 $19.95

Frogs and toads, salamanders and newts, turtles and snakes...this may sound like a recipe for a witches’ brew, but in truth these are fascinating creatures. Some of them number in the thousands per acre and form deafening choruses of songsters; others are rare ocean wanderers that are seldom seen; some weigh a fraction of an ounce; others weigh several hundred pounds. This book will introduce you to 38 species of reptiles and amphibians, all of the species that occur in Maine and Atlantic Canada and all of the common species that occur in the rest of New England.

Maine Amphibians and Reptiles describes each species in prose that is substantial and authoritative, yet clear and engaging. Where does each species live? What do they eat and what eats them? When, where, and how do they reproduce? These and scores of other questions are covered in accounts for each species, along with detailed drawings showing them in their natural setting and range-maps based on the latest data from throughout the region. Tips for finding these species, conservation issues, exotic species, and other topics are covered in additional chapters.

Of particular note is the enclosed compact disc, narrated and produced by well-known naturalist Lang Elliott, that will make it easy to learn to identify all the frogs and toads by their songs. The CD also includes a long unnarrated series of frog choruses that are a wonderful way to evoke a summer night.

Royalties from the sale of this book will be used for reptile and amphibian conservation work in Maine. This book is available at major bookstores or through the publisher, University of Maine Press, 5717 Corbett Hall, Orono, ME 04469.

Click on the links at right to view some of the entries in Maine Amphibians and Reptiles.

Malcolm Hunter is a Professor of Wildlife Ecology at the University of Maine. He is the author of Wildlife, Forests, and Forestry and Fundamentals of Conservation Biology. Aram J. K. Calhoun, an Assistant Professor of Wetland Ecology at the University of Maine, coordinates the Maine Amphibian Monitoring Program for the Maine Audubon Society, and is active in vernal pool conservation. Mark McCollough, Ph.D., is the leader of the Endangered Species Group, Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Since 1990 he has served as the State’s herpetologist, overseeing endangered species studies, vernal pool conservation, and amphibian monitoring programs.