Books about Taxonomic from Amazon.com

At the biological crossroads of the Americas, Costa Rica hosts one of the widest varieties of plants in the wold, with habitats ranging from tidal mangrove swamps, and lowland rainforests, to dry tropical evergreen and deciduous forests.
Field Guide to Plants of Costa Rica is a must-have reference guide for beginner and expert naturalists alike. It provides a thorough survey of more than 850 plant species, each entry accompanied by color photos and a concise yet detailed narrative description. Plants are conveniently grouped by the different types of vegetation: palms, tall trees, shrubs, woody vines, herbaceous vines, herbs, grasses and ferns. Along with 1400 color photographs, the guide also includes an illustrated glossary of plant parts, five maps of Costa Rica, and laminated covers for durability in the field. With so much readily accessible information, this book is essential for exploring Costa Rica's common and conspicuous flora from the plants growing along the roadside to the best natural parks..
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The first complete treatment of the sedges of North America in more than half a century, this volume tackles the notoriously difficult to identify Cyperaceae with illustrations of all species in the group, emphasizing its great ecological importance. With extensive information on the more than 460 species of Carex, this third volume out of five covering the monocots of North America also includes 96 species of Cyperus, 68 species of Rhynchospora, 66 species of Eleocharis, and the monotypic, North American endemic Cymophyllus.
The treatments--written and reviewed by experts--all contain identification keys, summaries of habitats and geographic ranges, distribution maps, pertinent synonymies, descriptions, chromosome numbers, and phenological information. Over 100 illustrations and 945 individual species distribution maps provide ecologists, applied biologists, and other readers with an authoritative account of the Cyperaceae..
Price: $77.10 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Originally published in 1988 as the first truly comprehensive review of one of the largest and most popular plant families, Aroids was enthusiastically welcomed by botanists and horticulturists alike for its attention to scientific detail and delightful writing style. Now in this completely updated second edition, we learn of discoveries made in the last decade as the family has grown from about 2500 species to nearer 3200. The latest taxonomic and nomenclatural revisions are noted in the checklist of genera, and all the original drawings are included plus twice as many color photos. A new guide to the cultivation of ornamental aroids completes this well-rounded introduction to a remarkable family..
Price: $16.98 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Wilson and Reeder's Mammal Species of the World is the classic reference book on the taxonomic classification and distribution of the more than 5400 species of mammals that exist today. The third edition includes detailed information on nomenclature and, for the first time, common names. Each concise entry covers type locality, distribution, synonyms, and major reference sources. The systematic arrangement of information indicates evolutionary relationships at both the ordinal and the family level. This indispensable reference work belongs in public and academic libraries throughout the world and on the shelf of every biologist who works with mammals.

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Price: $86.01 [Notify me when price goes down.]

In Volume 2, over 50 contributors exhaustively describe and classify the ferns, fern allies, and gymnosperms of North America Covering over two dozen fern and half a dozen gymnosperm families, they survey fern species of both ecological and horticultural importance and review such gymnosperm taxa as the conifers--the dominant trees in many forests as well as important timber plants--and cycads, which display significant evolutionary features. In all, the volume assembles 509 species of ferns and fern allies and infraspecific taxa in 70 genera. The editors have revised nearly 80 of these taxa to reflect classification changes since publication of the last standard work on ferns in North America. The gymnosperm treatments encompass 118 species in 22 genera. Identification keys, summaries of habitats and geographic ranges, pertinent synonymies, descriptions, chromosome numbers, and all other significant details are provided. More than 600 distribution maps and 65 illustration plates appear throughout..
Price: $86.74 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Precise naming of plants is essential to be able to identify them accurately and most gardeners have at least some knowledge of botanical Latin. But a plant's full botanical name does much more than give it a unique label. The name can often tell you where the plant originated, who discovered it, what color it is, and much else besides. What's more, the name is recognizable, and can be used and understood anywhere in the world. So wherever you are you can identify specific plants.

Plant Names Explained is an essential and fascinating guide to the subject. What may seem at first a dry but necessary convention is revealed to be a way of opening up the intriguing world of plants and plantsmen. Based on William T Stearn's Botanical Latin, the classic work on the subject, Plant Names Explained is much more than an indispensable practical guide and superb reference book--it is an engrossing read. Published in partnership with Horticulture, America's most respected gardening magazine.
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This book reexamines patterns of relationship among plant life history traits in phylogenetic perspective. The reexamination first recognizes that because evolution is a branching process, traits are not randomly distributed across taxa and that therefore analysis of trait correlations cannot treat species as independent data points. It then discusses the use of phylogeny to reconstruct the evolutionary pathways of traits. Part 1 looks at the use of the phylogenetic perspective on trait correlation. Parts 2-4 examine traits from the reproductive phase from seed production and dispersal to recruitment and growth. The final section looks at interactions between plants and competitors, herbivores and microbial symbionts, recognizing that these interactions may have an ancient evolutionary history..
Price: $57.43 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The name "snapping turtle" conjures up images of powerful, prehistoric-looking beasts that lurk in the dark waters of local swimming holes. Beyond its status as childhood legend, Chelydra serpentina is one of the most interesting reptiles of the New World. One of our largest turtles, this animal weighs up to thirty-five pounds, lays as many as one hundred eggs and can deliver a nasty bite. Due to its wide distribution, abundance, and large reproductive output, the snapping turtle has become one of the most extensively studied species of reptiles.

This volume synthesizes all that is known about the common snapping turtle to provide an up-to-date and comprehensive resource on the species' evolution, physiology, behavior, and life history. Anthony C. Steyermark, Michael S. Finkler, Ronald J. Brooks, and a team of experts detail the systematics, energetics, growth patterns, sex determination, and population genetics of snapping turtles and devote special attention to the fossil record of the snapping turtle family Chelydridae.

The first broad biological treatment of the common snapping turtle, this is the definitive reference for anyone working with or interested in this fascinating reptile.

Contributors: Ralph A. Ackerman, Iowa State University; Abdulaziz Y. A. AlKindi, Sultan Qaboos University; Barbara A. Bell, Drexel University; Ronald J. Brooks, University of Guelph; Justin D. Congdon, Savannah River Ecology Lab; Carl H. Ernst, George Mason University; Michael A. Ewert, Indiana University Bloomington; Michael S. Finkler, Indiana University Kokomo; Matthew K. Fujita, University of California, Davis; Eugene S. Gaffney, American Museum of Natural History; David A. Galbraith, Royal Botanical Gardens; Robert E. Gatten, Jr., University of North Carolina at Greensboro; Judith L. Greene, Savannah River Ecology Lab; J. Howard Hutchison, University of California, Berkeley; John B. Iverson, Earlham College; Fredric J. Janzen, Iowa State University; Jason J. Kolbe, Washington University; David B. Lott, Clarion University of Pennsylvania; Ibrahim Y. Mahmoud, Sultan Qaboos University; Don Moll, Southwest Missouri State University; Scott A. Reese, Kennesaw State University; Todd A. Rimkus, Marymount University; H. Bradley Shaffer, University of California Davis; James R. Spotila, Drexel University; David E. Starkey, University of Central Arkansas; Anthony C. Steyermark, University of St. Thomas; Gordon R. Ultsch, University of Alabama; Nigel H. West, University of Saskatchewan

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Price: $36.99 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Walking a forest trail in Costa Rica, a visitor might be struck by the sight of an iridescent blue morpho butterfly fluttering ahead in the filtered daylight, or an enormous silk moth, as magnificently patterned and subtly colored as a Persian carpet, only emerging to fly at night. Elsewhere, vivid yellow and orange sulphur butterflies flock to puddles to sip the concentrated minerals. Such is the dazzling variety of the butterflies and moths unique to this region.

Gathered by biologists Daniel Janzen and Winifred Hallwachs in the forests of northwestern Costa Rica, 100 tropical butterflies and moths represent the diversity in large-format photographs by Jeffrey Miller that document the dizzying variety of shapes, colors, and markings. The photographs are accompanied by species accounts and images of the corresponding caterpillar. The authors recount these insects' feats of mimicry and migration, lift the veil on their courtship, and show how the new technology of DNA barcoding is changing the picture of Lepidopteran biodiversity.

The authors also tell the success story of Area de Conservacion Guanacaste, where the long-term work of Janzen and Hallwachs, a team of caterpillar collectors, and the participation of neighboring farming communities has deepened understanding of Costa Rica's Lepidoptera and has brought about advances in restoration ecology of tropical habitats, biodiversity prospecting, biotechnology, and ecotourism development.

(20070531).
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