Southern African Field Guide Recommendations...

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Andy Avram
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Southern African Field Guide Recommendations...

Post by Andy Avram »

Been awhile since I was on this website.

I am going to be in Namibia and South Africa this summer. Looking for field guide recommendations for herps. Hopefully all-inclusive. Seems there are a lot of books out there that partially cover things.

Thanks,

Andy
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intermedius
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Re: Southern African Field Guide Recommendations...

Post by intermedius »

"Field Guide to the Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa" by Bill Branch

"A Complete Guide to Snakes of Southern Africa" by Johan Marais

"A Complete Guide to the Frogs of Southern Africa" by Louis du Preez and Vincent Carruthers

"Amphibians of Central and Southern Africa" by Alan Channing

I would recommend the first one the most, since it is the most comprehensive as far as I know.

- Justin
Kfen
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Re: Southern African Field Guide Recommendations...

Post by Kfen »

I will second number 1 above, as well as number 3 to cover all bases.
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Andy Avram
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Re: Southern African Field Guide Recommendations...

Post by Andy Avram »

Thanks for the recommendations. Too bad they couldn't contain everything in one nice guide like the US has.
Jacob
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Re: Southern African Field Guide Recommendations...

Post by Jacob »

I used all four of those, which was cumbersome. Branch's book was definitely more worn than the others, with the Complete Frog guide coming in second, at the end of three months.
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Paul Freed
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Re: Southern African Field Guide Recommendations...

Post by Paul Freed »

Andy,
When you say: "This summer", do you mean our summer here in the U.S. or their summer in South Africa/Namibia? Since the seasons are reversed there our summer months are their winter months and having herped there in both seasons I can tell you that herping is much better during their summer months. (Granted, it's much hotter during their summer but that's when so many of the interesting herps can be found.) Of course you'll still find some amazing herps in either season but it's just much better being there from December - April. Also, keep in mind that Namibia is extremely protective of their herps and they do not permit collecting or export of any of their wildlife (without appropriate permits). This is especially true in protected areas.

As was already mentioned, the best guide is Branch's: Field Guide to the Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa. If you're there during the dry months (June-August) you won't find too many amphibians so if space is an issue you could eliminate bringing any amphibian books. However, you should be able to find some good field guides in some of the larger book stores in both countries.

Good luck!

Paul
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Martti Niskanen
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Re: Southern African Field Guide Recommendations...

Post by Martti Niskanen »

As already mentioned by others. The Bill bible is a great field guide and represents good value. It's a bit dated, but then again the latest print is 18 years old.

If you want the most up-to date reptile info for your library, check out Atlas and Red List of the Reptiles of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland (2014) by Michael F. Bates, William R. Branch, Aaron M. Bauer, Marius Burger, Johan Marais, Graham J. Alexander & Marienne S. de Villiers. It's good and still affordable, but not really for the field due to its size.
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Andy Avram
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Re: Southern African Field Guide Recommendations...

Post by Andy Avram »

Thanks everyone. I will be in Namibia August 1-11 for a study aboard class in my master's program. I plan on staying late to hit up Kruger after the class (or possibly before). So maybe not the best herping time, but it is what it is. I'll mostly be mammaling/birding, but want to be able to ID any herps I come across too. With a few target herps in mind too!

Andy
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