Hong Kong Amphibians and Reptiles - Second Edition by Stephen Karsen,Michael Lau and Anthony Bogadek, 1998. Provisional Urban Council, Hong Kong, 186 pp., softcover, HK$165.
Here at last is the long-awaited update of Karsen, Lau and Bogadek's 1986 volume which was a classic of its time. Back then, no reasonably comprehensive, well-illustrated guide to the herpetofauna of any portion of China (except Taiwan) existed. Because of Hong Kong's tropical position, relatively high peaks, and many islands, the territory has a very rich herpetofauna that not only represents South China well, but also contains a suite of unique endemics and isolated disjunct populations.
The new edition provides accounts of 111 species, a more than ten percent increase from 1986 that reflects several additions to the known, native fauna including a new species (in 1992) of a bizarre burrowing lizard (Dibamus bogadeki), two unfortunate but established introductions, and ten "problematic" species that might or might not really live here. There are several remarkable 'mystery" species like the tree gecko (Hemiphyllodactylus sp.), the jade vine snake (Ahaetulla ...) and the painted bronze-back (Dendrelaphis ...). None of these quite fits anything with a species name. Dr. Van Wallach, at Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology, informs me that what we are calling "white-headed blind snake" is actually two distinct species, one perhaps a new endemic. And there is that red-striped bamboo viper (see p.20).
For me, the success of the first edition is revealed by the fact that it inspired such a frenzy of work that it went quickly out of date. It is exciting to think that the authors will have to update their new edition even sooner than the last. Almost half of the references cited (28 of 62) in this new edition were published after the first edition, and there are at least 15 more that immediately come to mind but are not cited, including at least three coauthored by Dr. Lau.
Indeed, although it is still true that this book remains the only thorough illustrated guide to an entire Chinese regional herpetofauna, literature coverage is perhaps its weakest point. This is reflected in some of the species accounts; for example, the slender forest skink (Scincella modesta) is one of the few reptiles for which we really have quite a lot of life history data (Lazell et al., 1997. Asiatic Herpetological Research 7: 80-84). Compared to many other more common species (like the Chinese skink, Eumeces chinensis), it is far from 'unknown".
But that is nit-picking. A great strength of this book is its 46 pages of introductory material covering everything from the laws relating to amphibians and reptiles, commerce in them, history of their study, and husbandry, to the basic biology of the major groups. The section "Hong Kong as a Herpetological Conservation Area" is extremely cogent and germane. The points made therein apply equally to birds, butterflies, beetles and botany -in fact, to just about every group that has been subject to study. Hong Kong is extraordinary, special and unique. Like New York, it suffers from a worldwide misconception that it is just an island covered by a city. Of course, we all know better, but it will pay to advertise.
Included in the introductory material is sound advice on snake bite and how to avoid it, with a remarkable paragraph carried over from the first edition. On page 16, this begins "Although snakes are very much feared ..." Every year, I endeavour to bring over a group of students and amateur naturalists from the US; for about the first three evenings, at dinner, I read them this paragraph aloud, until I am sure they are recovered enough from jet-lag to remember it. It is one of the great passages in the literature of natural history.
A final word about the color photographs, most of which are excellent, and many unique in that they are the only ones published anywhere of their species. Sadly, at least in my copy, there is considerable distortion in reproduction. A number are severely red-shifted (newt, both grass frogs, Bowring's gecko, house gecko, the head inset of the Indo-Chinese rat snake), the worst being the buff-striped keelback; mine has no buff stripes, none of the lovely blue tones standardly present, and none of the rich yellow of the head - it is rendered wholly uniform rust-red. Several more are grossly yellow-shifted (short-legged toad, checkered keelback, banded sea snake, and the head of the jade vine snake). The worst is the green cascade frog: quite reasonably green on the front cover, but ghastly phlegm inside.
When one adds poor to highly variable photo reproduction to the fact that the first edition was so popular it sold out in the early 1990s but was not replaced for nearly a decade, one might suggest that the authors seek a better publisher.
I shall do everything in my power to make this book out of date as quickly as possible and thus precipitate another crisis of supply and demand.
JAMES (SKIP) LAZELL
P.31-32
This book is the second volume published on reptiles in the Fauna Sinica series. Volume 1, covering chelonians, crocodiles and alligators, was out earlier in 1998 while Volume 2, presumably on lizards, has not yet been published. This book provides comprehensive accounts of the 203 Chinese snake species known. The previous such attempt was Atlas of Chinese Snakes published in 1980 (by Hu Buqing, Huang Meihua, Xie Zhantai, Zhao Ermi, Jiang Yaoming, Huang Qingyun, Zong Yu and Ma Jifan, Shanghai Press of Science and Technology) and covered 165 species only. A more than 20 % increase in the number of snake species reflects the large amount of research carried out by herpetologists in the past two decades. The book provides identification keys, local names, detailed descriptions, diagnostic features, biological information, geographic distribution and subspecific classification (where appropriate) of all the species. Line drawings of the head, notes on economic importance, and suggestions for conservation are also given for some of the species. A small number of species are also illustrated by black and white pictures and/or colour photographs. The introduction cites much old Chinese literature on snakes and provides an interesting insight on past knowledge.
Many researchers contributed to the book and, as explained in the preface, no editing was carried out by the compiler, to respect the viewpoints and styles of various authors. Hence, the level of comprehensiveness varies. For most species, counties/places within a province are listed in the distribution. However, for a small number of species (e.g. Yellow-chained Snake Dinodon flavozonatum) only the provinces are given. In a few species, the distribution given is incomplete. For instance, Guangdong and Hong Kong were left out in the distribution of Burmese Python Python molurus bivittatus and Greater Green Snake Cyclophiops major. Another drawback is that the descriptions of some species are based on adult material only. Juveniles with different colour markings to the adults may not be described and this actually affects the keys to at least one species (Rufous Burrowing Snake Achalinus rufescens).
Although much literature is listed in the references, publications on snake fauna in Guangdong and Hong Kong are under-represented. This has probably led to the omission of Guangdong in the distribution of some species and the inclusion of Chrysopelea ornata in the Hong Kong fauna despite the doubt raised by Romer in the paper Revised Annotated Checklist with Keys to the Snakes of Hong Kong (1970, Memoirs of the Hong Kong Natural History Society 8). Also the habitat of Anderson's Stream Snake Opisthotropis andersoni should be hill streams rather than upland marshes.
The economic importance of species, when given, tends to focus on direct commercial benefits or economic harm (e.g. Chinese Water Snake Enhydris chinensis is considered harmful because it feeds on fish and is mildly venomous). A wider perspective, taking into account the ecological role of snakes in nature, would be timely in making a case for their conservation in light of the threats and persecution these animals face in China. Indeed, conservation is the weakest point in the book, and is only actually recommended for a single species, Mangshan Pit Viper Ermia mangshanensis.
No doubt this is a very important publication on Chinese snakes, with comprehensive and up-to-date information on taxonomy and distribution. A large number of specimens were examined (e.g. measurements and scale counts of 103 specimens of Buff-striped Keelback Amphiesma stolata were given) and extensive literature, both Chinese and Western, has been referenced. It is a must for anyone who studies Chinese snakes, and it is worth the effort to have the relevant sections translated if you do not know Chinese.
MICHAEL LAU
P.32
To begin with, a couple of confessions: (i) your humble reviewer has not read this book in its entirety, and (ii) the author of it used to be his boss. To which one might add the obvious point that the author knows rather more about Asian streams than the tropical reviewer does. Hardly likely, then, that such a hefty book, of such sweeping scope, will be done full justice by the following review. But here goes, anyway.
"This book is concerned particularly with the zoobenthic invertebrate communities of tropical Asian streams", says Dudgeon. And indeed, the core of the book, more than 400 pages, comprises a systematic review of Asian aquatic macroinvertebrates. Stream biologists working in tropical Asia are likely to find this voluminous chunk of text invaluable. Certainly, when I was working in this field, I had only North American texts to rely on and was frequently frustrated in attempts at identifying the aquatic invertebrates which turned up in samples. The need for a text focussing on the Asian stream fauna was obvious. After more than twenty years working on Hong Kong streams in particular, and Asian running waters in general, Professor Dudgeon was certainly in a position to attempt to fill this void.
Perhaps inevitably, however, the treatment of different invertebrate groups is uneven. The strongest sections are those dealing with Mayflies (Ephemeroptera) and Caddisflies (Trichoptera), where Dudgeon is able to draw most profitably on his own research. Keys down to genera are provided, and larvae of a number of genera and species are capably illustrated by the author. Elsewhere, the lack of basic systematic studies of aquatic macroinvertebrates in the region has rendered such a high level of resolution impossible to sustain, although practical, usable keys to Family level are invariably given.
The systematic review is preceded by an absorbing, lengthy 'Ecological Overview', covering geomorphology, climatology and hydrology of Asian running waters, as well as providing an account of the functional aspects of aquatic faunal groups (with the exception of amphibians, which are mystifyingly absent from the discussion). An interesting point which emerges from this discourse is that zoobenthos communities in streams are broadly similar the world over, but stoneflies (Plecoptera) are curiously underrepresented in the Asian tropics. Disappointingly, Dudgeon is too cautious (or too wise) to speculate as to reasons for this phenomenon.
Dudgeon writes in a style which is usually very clear, if somewhat verbose ("The climates of Asian lands between the latitudes of 0¢X and approximately 30¢X are dominated by high inputs of solar energy" seems an unnecessarily long-winded and technical way of saying that the Asian tropics are warm and sunny), but scientists love their jargon, and ecologists are certainly no exception. The author's liberal, non-defining use of it in this text makes it clear that the book is not intended for beginners. This can at times be a hindrance to understanding. For example, many readers may be bewildered by the section on transported organic load (pp. 42-45), where DOM, FPOM and CPOM are discussed but never defined (respectively: dissolved organic matter, fine particulate organic matter and coarse particulate organic matter). Incidentally, the whole body of the text is littered with typographical errors which are a pervasive irritant to the reader, and must be particularly infuriating for the author. This is presumably due to a failure of proof-reading at HKU Press. The author is also a prodigious reader: an enormous effort has been put into compiling a list, more than 150 pages long, of the literature relevant to tropical Asian streams. Surprisingly, however, there are some glaring omissions, such as several papers by Keith Wilson.
The original text of the book rounds off with two chapters that are of particular significance to those involved in the study, conservation and environmental impact assessment of Asian streams. The author explains the pit-falls commonly encountered in trying to determine the effects of human activities on stream communities, emphasizing the variability (longitudinal, seasonal and annual) which such communities display in nature, and the need for appropriately replicated sampling strategies to eradicate this "noise" when assessing impacts. Dudgeon also makes the important point that, at least in environmental impact assessment, statistical testing for adverse effects of human activities should lay greater emphasis on minimizing the risk of committing Type-II errors (failing to detect an effect when one has occurred), by raising the probability of committing a Type-I error (falsely detecting an effect) from the commonly-used 0.05 to 0.10 or even higher. This, Dudgeon argues, should be combined with a shift in the 'burden of proof': developers should be expected to prove that their activities will not harm the environment, rather than biologists having to prove that they will.
This is a major, and very timely, work. The author ruefully calls it his "personal folly". We should be grateful that he has indulged it.
GRAHAM REELS
P.32-33
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