Ulteriori informazioni
Frogs are extraordinary creatures. Unlike most other animals, they have mastered both land and water, and are capable of breathing through their skins and their lungs. Some of them are so poisonous that just one tiny frog harbours enough toxins to kill ten people stone dead, while others have held the key to lifesaving medicines and treatments, including the world's first pregnancy tests and cures for skin cancer. Cultures have loved and loathed frogs in equal measure, hailing them both as symbols of fertility and evil witches' familiars.
Packed with beautiful illustrations and brimming with interesting facts, Sally Coulthard presents how frogs have successfully colonised some of the most challenging terrains on the planet. From the frozen Arctic to the parched South African desert, adopting bizarre and miraculous breeding strategies in the process: gastric-brooding frogs raise offspring in their stomachs, while in another species the froglets erupt from their mother's skin rather than growing from tadpoles.
In
The Book of the Frog, Sally Coulthard leaps into the cultural and natural history of frogs. Covering both familiar native British species and exotic rarities, she shares her fascination for these much-admired but often little understood creatures, many of which face threats and conservation challenges. From frogspawn and froglets to eating habits and hibernation,
The Book of the Frog serves as the perfect jumping off point for anyone who loves amphibians.
Info autore
Sally Coulthard is a bestselling author of books about natural history and rural life including The Barn, A Short History of the World According to Sheep, The Book of the Earthworm, The Hedgehog Handbook and over twenty more titles. She lives on a Yorkshire smallholding which she shares with her husband, three girls and an assortment of unruly animals.
Riassunto
Frogs are remarkable creatures. They have mastered both land and water, and can breathe through their skins and their lungs. Some of them are so poisonous that just one tiny frog harbours enough toxins to kill ten people, while others hold the key to lifesaving medicines. Frogs have colonised some of the most challenging terrains on the planet, from the Arctic to the South African desert, adopting miraculous breeding strategies in the process.
Sally Coulthard explores both familiar native British species of frogs and toads and exotic rarities - many of which are under threat - and offers plenty of helpful advice on how to make your garden more frog-friendly.
Brimful of extraordinary facts - from frogspawn and froglets to eating habits and hibernation - The Book of the Frog is the ideal jumping-off point for anyone with a fascination for amphibians.
Prefazione
Sally Coulthard dives into a fascinating exploration of the cultural and natural history of the frog.
