Puff Adders: The Venomous Landmines of Africa
By Thomas Dorner
Africa's largest venomous snake genus, the puff adders, has always had a huge fan base among venomous snake enthusiasts and exactly for all these interested people this book is intended. This book is therefore aimed to serve as a compendium to provide both a biological insight into the genus and information on the effect and treatment of snakebites, as well as the keeping and breeding of puff adders. On 300 pages with more than 220 pictures, the reader gets a deep insight into the biology of the puff adders and a detailed description of all species. Didactically, the book is divided into two major parts: The general part deals intensively in six chapters with the biology of vipers in general and puff adders in particular. Topics include systematic and evolution, habitats and distribution, risks and endangerment, anatomy of the puff adders, snake venoms and their mode of action. Another chapter is dedicated to the husbandry and breeding of this special group of animals. The special part is dedicated to the description of all 18 Bitis species. The start of this part is made by an identification key, which helps to identify a present puff adder species exactly. The description of the species provides an overview of the name, origin, size and danger followed by the characteristics of the species. A differential diagnosis describes how to recognize the snakes quickly. Continued topics are confusability, behavior, diet, husbandry conditions, breeding, and notes on toxicity. This structure makes it easy for the reader to navigate the books and compare species quickly. The scientific claim of this book also does justice to the interested layman, and the reference list with more than 200 entries invites to deepen into the topic.
