Hanke, W., (ed.). (1990): Biology and Physiology of Amphibians. ISBN 3-437-30622-7. Progress in Zoology vol. 38. Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart. 413 pp., 215 figs, 35 tables

224 Book reviews Hanke, W., (ed.). (1990): Biology and Physiology of Amphibians. ISBN 3-437-30622-7. Progress in Zoology vol. 38. Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart. 413 pp., 215 figs, 35 tables. This volume contains papers read at a satellite symposium of the 14th Conference of European Endocrinolo- gists at the University of Karlsruhe in 1988. Although the aim of the symposium was to "establish a forum for discussion of amphibian biology within a wider framework", the book has a strong physiological flavour. In fact only four out of the thirty papers do not have some aspect of amphibian physiology as their main theme. However, many amphibian biologists from other fields will find the book worth dipping into. The volume is well-organised with the papers being divided into four sections, covering reproduction, metamorphosis, neural and endocrine control, and osmoregulation and adaptation. All but three of the con- tributors to the symposium are from Europe or the Middle-East, and this geographical bias is reflected in the species coverage. The contents range from comprehensive, thought-provoking reviews to descriptions of rather specialist experiments which are of marginal general interest. In particular I liked Sinsch's fascina- ting account of orientation in Bufo, Rosenkilde and Ussing's concise update on the physiology of metamor- phosi"t and Böhmer and Rahmann's useful review of the effects of surface water acidification. The regula- tion of metamorphosis remains one of the classic stories in animal physiology, and every biology student learns about the role of the thyroid in amphibian development. However, many questions remain to be answered. Some aspects of larval development are independent of thyroid hormone altogether, and the role of prolactin, a hormone once thought to act in a simple antagonistic way with thyroid hormone, is now unclear. This is probably the first synthesis of amphibian physiology to appear since the third volume of Physiology of the Amphibia was published by Academic Press in 1976. Biology and Physiology of Amphibians will not have the same broad appeal of the Academic Press trilogy, but it is, nevertheless, long-overdue. Sometimes sym- posium papers can be frustratingly difficult to obtain simply because a large proportion of such volumes fail to reach the library shelves. I hope that Biology and Physiology of Amphibians is not one of these. Richard A. Griffiths (Kent) Book reviews Castanet, J., Guyetant, R. (Coordinateurs nationaux): Atlas de Repartition des Amphibiens et Reptiles de France: 1-191, 71 maps. Société Herpetologique de France, Université de Paris VII, Laboratoire d'Anatomie comparée, 2 Place Jussieu, 75251 Paris Cedex 05, France. When the history of biological sciences in the twentieth century comes to be written, the 1980s will be seen (amongst other things) as the time when computer technology became sufficiently available and powerful that mapping the detailed distributions of large numbers of plant and animal species was a feasible proposi- tion, because huge numbers of individual records could be handled rapidly and efficiently. There are now many such schemes in operation. Many of them are national: this is biologically absurd, but organisationally almost inevitable. The present volume is almost certainly the most comprehensive compilation for reptiles and amphibians to date. Distributions are based on presence or absence of species in rectangles of a grid defined by the 1 :50.000 maps of the Institut G6ographique National de France. Each element is a rectangle with an area of approximately 530 kml; there are slightly more than 1100 for mainland France, and a further 31 for Cor- sica. Such an ambitious programme, giving comparatively "finegrained" details about distributions, can only succeed if the geographical coverage is thorough - distribution maps should convey information about the target species, not about the distribution (or vacations) of observers! The present compilation is most impressive in this respect: it is derived from 44,200 records gathered between 1950-89, and the maps for abundant species with wide ranges, such as Podarcis muralis, suggest that there are not too many areas which are under- or unrecorded. The work sets a very high standard which others will strive to emulate. I have referred to the comprehen- sive geographical coverage. The actual production is good, too. The maps are clearly printed with bold sym- bols (large blue spots) denoting presence in a rectangle. Each species does, of course, have its own map, which is on the left-hand side of a double spread. The right-hand side is a commentary by the person respon- sible for coordinating the compilation for that particular species. The editorial team (led by Jacques Castanet and Robert Guyetant), the publishers (the Société Herpetologique de France) and all the many other people concerned with the production of this volume are to be congratulated. The labour must have been pro- digious, but it has been worth it. Every serious herpetologist whose work involves the French herpetofauna will need to own a copy: I cannot think of a much stronger recommendation than that. Roger Avery (Bristol)