Acta Herpetologica 10(2): 161-162, 2015 ISSN 1827-9635 (print) © Firenze University Press ISSN 1827-9643 (online) www.fupress.com/ah DOI: 10.13128/Acta_Herpetol-17181 Book Review: Pietro Giovacchini, Valentina Falchi, Sergio Vignali, Giacomo Radi, Luca Passalacqua, Fausto Corsi, Marco Porciani, Fabrizio Farsi. Atlante degli anfibi della Provincia di Grosseto (2003- 2013) Edoardo Razzetti Museo di Storia Naturale, Università di Pavia, Piazza Botta 9, I-27100 Pavia, Italy. E-mail: razzetti@unipv.it In the past twenty years there has been a great inter- est in the geographic distribution of amphibians and reptiles and considerable efforts have been spent to col- lect, analyze and publish these records. A careful evalua- tion of distribution data is of fundamental importance to establish the conservation priorities (e.g., Rondinini et al., 2013) and to develop correct conservation programs. For the Italian territory, herpetological atlases are available for most of the regions and a complete national atlas was published few years ago with a synthesis of records col- lected over two decades (Sindaco et al., 2006). Tuscany has not been left behind and was the subject of specific herpetological researches that led to the pub- lication of a regional atlas (Vanni and Nistri, 2006) and two provincial ones: Prato (Fancelli et al., 2005) and Sie- na (Piazzini et al., 2005, 2010). Tuscany is generally con- sidered well-studied since there are several local research- ers, but few gaps in the distribution maps still exist as it is proved by the publication of this atlas of amphibians of the Province of Grosseto. The book has been realized by a group of zoolo- gists coordinated by Pietro Giovacchini of the Provin- cial Office for Protected Areas and Biodiversity with the cooperation of a local ornithological group (Gruppo Ornitologico Maremmano - Studi Naturalistici “A. Ade- mollo”). The colophon sports the patronage of Societas Herpetologica Italica. The atlas is completely written in Italian, consists of 113 pages and is a nice paperback edition in octavo (24×17 cm). The volume is hosted in the “Quaderni delle Aree Protette” series which includes books that deal about mon- umental trees, protected areas and archeology. It opens up with general chapters about geology, hydrography, climate and vegetation which are covered in good detail. Next is the section about material and methods which describe how data have been collected and analyzed. The grid used for the maps in this study is the widely adopted UTM 10×10 km. With such large grid map there is the risk of overestimating the presence of the species also in a large Province like Grosseto (4504 km2): a 5×5 km grid would probably be better even if research efforts required to ensure adequate coverage would be much higher (Sindaco et al., 2015). It is interesting the approach used to collect data that is quite unusual (but is rather common on the ornithologi- cal ones), the maps have been based on a completely inde- pendent dataset (collected between 2003 and 2013) this is the reason why the distribution maps presented for some species are slightly different (e.g., Rana italica) or, some- times, striking different (e.g., Bombina pachypus) from the atlas of Tuscany (Vanni and Nistri, 2006). I feel that this makes the book even more valuable and original as there is no risk to confirm old doubtful data that cannot be veri- fied. At the same time, this approach has a few potential drawbacks. For example I am wondering why the common salamander (Salamandra salamandra) was not discussed at all in the book even if three bibliographic data are available for the Province (cf. Vanni and Nistri, 2006). Maybe those data are questionable, maybe they are just very old, I have no idea why and I will have to discover it by my own. 162 Edoardo Razzetti Each species account (12 species are listed) opens with a “General description” particularly useful for field identification which includes also few taxonomic remarks. Next is “Distribution in Italy” and “Ecological and biological notes” both well-written and supported by the essential citations. The “Distribution in the Province of Grosseto” is the core subject of this book and is a com- prehensive evaluation of all the record collected by the authors together with altitudinal distribution and habitat types (for which maps and histograms are detailed in the opposite page). All in all the coverage of the data is excel- lent and apparently no areas have been overlooked. Sec- tions about the “Status and conservation measures” and “Museum’s specimens” close each account. The final chapters are dedicated to the “Conclusive insights” including wide area analyses, conservation sta- tus, laws protecting local amphibians and the action plans. Since in Italy the Provinces have legislative pow- ers on the protection of biodiversity and the protection of the territory, these chapters have been written with care and competence. Finally one special mention goes to the pictures of the book that, despite the fact that are quite small, are some of the best I have ever seen. They usually include a full picture, larval stages and a portrait for most of the species. Giacomo Radi, that realized them, not only is able to capture the essence of amphibians in their habi- tat, but also to create pleasing images that show the most important aspects of their biology. The printed version of the book can be requested at the Province of Grosseto, whereas the e-book is avail- able at no cost from several websites including the one of Societas Herpetologica Italica. REFERENCES Fancelli E., Nistri A., Vanni S. (2005): Anfibi e Rettili, Biodiversità in provincia di Prato, vol. 1. Amministra- zione provinciale di Prato, Arcidosso (GR). Piazzini S., Favilli L., Manganelli G. (2005): Atlante degli Anfibi della Provincia di Siena (1999-2004). Quaderni Naturalistici 1, Amministrazione provinciale di Siena, Siena. Piazzini S., Favilli L., Manganelli G. (2010): Atlante dei Rettili della Provincia di Siena (2000-2009). Quaderni Naturalistici 2, Amministrazione provinciale di Siena, Siena. Sindaco R., Doria G., Razzetti E., Bernini F. (2006): Atlante degli anfibi e dei Rettili d’Italia / Atlas of Ita- lian Amphibians and Reptiles. Societas Herpetologica Italica, Edizioni Polistampa, Firenze. Sindaco R., Razzetti E., Liuzzi C. (2015): Il nuovo proget- to atlante della Societas Herpetologica Italica. In: Atti X Congresso Nazionale della Societas Herpetologica Italica (Genova, 15-18 ottobre 2014), pp. 21-30. Doria G., Poggi R., Salvidio S., Tavano M., Eds, Ianieri Edi- zioni, Pescara. Rondinini, C., Battistoni, A., Peronace, V., Teofili, C. (2013): Lista Rossa IUCN dei Vertebrati Italiani. Comitato Italiano IUCN e Ministero dell’Ambiente e della Tutela del Territorio e del Mare, Roma. Vanni, S., Nistri A. (2006): Atlante degli Anfibi e dei Ret- tili della Toscana. Università degli Studi di Firenze, Museo di Storia Naturale, Sezione Zoologica “La Spe- cola”, Regione Toscana, Firenze. Acta Herpetologica Vol. 10, n. 1 - June 2015 Firenze University Press ACTA HERPETOLOGICA Journal of the Societas Herpetologica Italica