Let’s face it – the popular understanding of the cognitive abilities of reptiles isn’t particularly complimentary. And for that matter, even some areas of the scientific world have borrowed the name to represent aspects of biology that are considered primitive or base – the “reptilian brain,” for example. However to Drs. J. Sean Doody, Vladimir Dinets, and Gordon M. Burghardt, modern reptiles are certainly not primitive, including in their up until recently little understood social lives.
In their new book The Secret Social Lives of Reptiles, this trio of world-renowned authorities on the subject present to their readers a wealth of recently discovered aspects of the lives of turtles, lizards, snakes, crocodilians, and the tuatara that will likely surprise even those with a long-standing interest in these often enigmatic creatures. From parental care, to territoriality and bonding, to rebutting the default “solitary reptile” assumption about them, this is indeed a book about which both professional and amateur herpetologists alike should take note.
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