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Year: 2019

Author: Hans-Dieter Sues

Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press ISBN: 9781421428673

Pages: 385 pages

Price: $84.95 (hardcover)

Don’t be fooled by the appearance of this book: although it is oversized and looks like it belongs on your coffee table, it is a meticulously detailed look into the current understanding of the evolution of reptiles largely based on the fossil record. Extensive photographs and diagrams facilitate the reader’s understanding of the various concepts, and Sues takes particular care to highlight linkages between ancient and modern reptiles. For example, on page 118, a photo of a fossil of Geiseltaliellus maarius from the Eocene is presented above a photo of a modern plumed basilisk, and allows the reader to see how anatomically similar the two species are, despite being separated by at least 30 million years.

The first two chapters anchor the rest of the book by reviewing key concepts in anatomy, fossilized bones and their relation to phylogeny. Readers of the Marine Turtle Newsletter are likely to be drawn to chapter five, which focuses on the phylogeny of turtles. The chapter has an excellent summary describing the changing phylogenetic position of turtles relative to other reptiles, based on various anatomical features, and Sues is careful to note as new data and analyses are published, the position of turtles relative to other reptiles will also change. In this and other chapters, I greatly appreciated the succinct style of expressing information that, in the hands of others, can be made overly complex or difficult to understand. For example, on page 43, to describe the difference between turtles and tortoises, Sues deftly writes “The vernacular ‘turtle’ is used here for Testudines and ‘tortoise’ specifically refers to members of Testudinidae.” It can’t be simpler than that!

The book ends with a short chapter on the conservation status of turtles, and the various threats they currently face, including habitat degradation, climate change, invasive species, pollutants, disease and parasites, and collection for consumption and the pet trade. Sues clearly states his position as skeptical of sustainable use of reptiles, although he does acknowledge that ranching and farming of some crocodilian species has improved their conservation status. It seems likely that Sues kept the chapter short, to avoid delving into complicated matters such as global vs. regional classification of sea turtles in the IUCN Red List, but it might have been better to add a few more references that highlight some of the more complicated conservation issues surrounding (sea) turtles. However, this does not detract from the overall excellence of this book, and it is highly recommended to anyone studying reptiles, with or without a background in phylogeny.

Reviewed by Matthew H. Godfrey, NC Wildlife Resources Commission, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA (email: mgodfrey@seaturtle.org)