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IGUANA  •  VOLUME 15, NUMBER 4  •  DECEMBER 2008 243BOOK REVIEW

Threatened Amphibians of the World. 2008. Edited by S.N.
Stuart, M. Hoffmann, J.S. Chanson, N.A. Cox, R. Berridge, P.
Ramani, and B.E. Young. Lynx Ediciones, with IUCN - The
World Conservation Union, Conservation International, and
NatureServe. Barcelona, Spain. xv + 758 pp. Hardback – ISBN:
84-96553-41-8. $124.00.

Declining amphibian populations have received considerable
attention in recent years, largely due to the unexplained

causes responsible for those declines. Increasing evidence sug-
gests that many species are already extinct and many others are
on the verge, leading to a growing concern that amphibians are
the canaries in the coal mine — indicators of problems that soon
will affect other, momentarily more resilient forms of life,
including us.

This massive, profusely illustrated tome provides a compre-
hensive assessment of the conservation status of the world’s
amphibians, with descriptions of distributions (with maps),
habitats, natural histories, threats, and current or needed con-
servation plans for the ~1,900 species known to be threatened
with extinction — and color photographs are provided for most
of them.

Forewords by noted conservationists Julia Marton-Lefèvre
(Director General of the IUCN), Russell A. Mittermeier
(President, Conservation International), Mary L. Klein
(President and CEO, NatureServe), and Holly T. Dublin (Chair,
IUCN Species Survival Commission) paint a gloomy picture,
with Mittermeier saying that we should “hope that a second edi-
tion of this book does not require two volumes….” Prefaces by
scientists Karen R. Lipps and Joseph R. Mendelson III and

Claude Gascon and James P. Collins (Co-Chairs, IUCN-SSC
Amphibian Specialist Group Secretariat) provide a bit more
detail, but the tone is equally dour. Acknowledgements to con-
tributors, donors, and conservation partners round out the
introductory section.

Following are “introductory” chapters on amphibians, why
we should save them, the history, objectives, and methods of the
Global Amphibians Assessment (GAA), the current state of
amphibians, and a series of chapters organized by zoogeograph-

B O O K  R E V I E W

Threatened Amphibians of the World

St. Vincent Frogs (Pristimantis shrevei) occur only at higher elevations
on St. Vincent in the Lesser Antilles. The species is listed as “endan-
gered” because of a limited extent of cccurrence, all individuals are in
fewer than five locations, and the extent and quality of the habitat con-
tinues to decline.

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Windward Ditch Frogs (Leptodactylus validus) are listed as being of
“least concern.” Although the extent of occurrence is limited, the
species is common and adaptable, the population is presumably large,
and it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a
more threatened category.

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244 IGUANA  •  VOLUME 15, NUMBER 4  •  DECEMBER 2008 BOOK REVIEW

ical realms (essentially corresponding to the continents), fol-
lowed by a concluding chapter summarizing the necessary
responses to the global declines of these animals. Chapters are
overflowing with data, maps, charts, graphs, tables, and photo-
graphs illustrating species representative of varying responses to
myriad concerns and a selection of people actively engaged in
their conservation. Most of the chapters are supplemented by
“essays” written by experts on more detailed aspects of the prob-
lems facing amphibians or on geographic areas of particular con-
cern within the broader regions addressed by the relevant chap-
ter (e.g., California within the Nearctic Realm). These, too, are
profusely illustrated.

Next comes the heart and soul of the volume, ten pages
devoted to accounts of species known to have gone extinct in
historical times, 464 pages to accounts of species threatened with
extinction (“critically endangered,” “endangered,” or “vulnera-
ble” in terms of IUCN Red List criteria), and another 36 pages
to species considered to be “near threatened.” Individual
accounts vary in length, but most provide only short statements
about geographic range, population, habitat and ecology, major
threats, conservation measures, a short bibliography, and the
names of the “experts” who provided the data. A few accounts
of species that have received considerable attention are much
longer — but the small number of such accounts speaks elo-
quently to the sad reality that very little is known about many
of these animals. Every account is accompanied by a distribu-
tion map and most by a color photograph (a very few by colored
illustrations) of the species in question.

A 48-page bibliography of cited references, a phenomenally
valuable tool for anyone seeking information on the current state
of the world’s threatened amphibians, precedes 15 appendices
that provide IUCN Red List categories, a summary of the crite-
ria used to evaluate the status of species, definitions of the
regions for which data were collected, a summary of IUCN Red
List status by genus, species listed by territory, the declaration of
an Amphibian Conservation Action Plan, the scale of conserva-
tion needs, the nature of required landscape-scale conservation
action, a list of critically endangered and endangered species for
which captive breeding is an essential need, lists of species in
each of the IUCN Red List categories (including “data defi-
cient”), differences in status listed for some Brazilian species, a
glossary, and a list of websites and related resources. An index to
species accounts completes the book.

This volume represents a critically important step in the
conservation of one group of animals that can and will serve as
a model for future volumes addressing other groups. I found lit-
tle to criticize. The inevitable time lag between the GAA, which
commenced in 2001, and the publication of the book resulted
in some instances of out-of-date taxonomy (changes published
during the period devoted to compilation, editing, and print-
ing). Although biologists working with amphibians will have no
difficulties tracking the species in which they are interested, con-
servationists less familiar with these animals might be confused
by generic or even familial assignments that differ from those in
the current literature. In the chapters and accounts dealing with
taxa with which I am conversant I found only one error in con-
tent (a statement that a species had not been encountered since
1991, although my students and I had studied a population of
that species in the late 1990s — the error undoubtedly attribut-

able to the difficulty in compiling information on so many taxa
and communicating with an almost equal number of biologists).
I noticed no typographical errors, which reflects the efforts and
expertise of the editors.

Testament to a biological catastrophe that may have pro-
gressed far enough to preclude preventative or even mitigating
efforts in many instances, this is not a happy book. However, it
is a phenomenally valuable and authoritative resource for her-
petologists and conservation biologists, but one so rich in infor-
mation that anyone with an interest in these animals and the
state of our world would benefit from reading it. Although the
large format (~9.5 x 12”) replete with color is suggestive of a cof-
fee-table volume, the depressing topic and plethora of data will
probably cause it to be relegated to the bookshelves of those con-
cerned about the future of amphibians and our world.

Robert Powell
Department of Biology

Avila University, Kansas City, Missouri

Cane Toads (Bufo marinus [Rhinella marina]) are of “least concern.”
Not only is the species extremely adaptable, it has been introduced
widely (ostensibly to control insect pests in sugarcane fields), where it
may threaten native species by competition or predation.

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Cuban Treefrogs (Osteopilus septentrionalis), like Cane Toads, are of
“least concern,” voracious predators, and have been widely introduced.
Unlike most amphibians, which are sensitive to environmental
changes, these two species may one day be part of a circumtropical 
herpetofauna composed of a few extremely adaptable species. 

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