The Amphibians of Java and Bali
THE AMPHIBIANS OF JAVA AND BALI. Djoko T. Iskandar. 1998. Research and Development Centre for Biology, Lipi, Indonesia. ISBN 979-579-014-5. 117 p. $25.00 (paperback).—This book, by one of Southeast Asia's foremost herpetologists, is an introduction and field guide to the amphibians of Java and Bali. It provides excellent coverage of all families and species that have ever been found there, including several recently arrived exotics. The book apparently was produced primarily for amateur herpetologists (hobbyists or ecotourists), but professionals undoubtedly will find it useful as well. The text is simple and straightforward but adheres carefully to the important details characterizing the species discussed.
The first four chapters are an introduction to the biology, classification and economic importance of the frogs and caecilians of Java and Bali, by family. Line drawings of adult amphibians and their larvae are used to illustrate characters or differences between families or genera. Chapters 5–13 provide species descriptions, including morphological and ecological notes, by family. The book closes with a list of references; a glossary of terms; a list of the scientific names (including synonyms) applied to the amphibians of Java; an index each for scientific, Indonesian, and English names; and color plates of several habitats and for most of the amphibian species described in the text.
As the first work on the subject in approximately 70 years, this book brings the herpetology of Java up to date and provides a young generation of would-be scientists, with a new opportunity to cultivate an interest in Javan amphibians. The content of this book has been enhanced not only by the considerable amount of recently published scientific information on amphibians of the region but by the author's own wealth of experience based on three decades of fieldwork in Java. Each species description covers etymology of the species name, the type locality (including the numbers of extant type specimens), a description of the species (size, skin texture, and color), reproduction, habitat, distribution (known localities within and outside Java), and other known names. In these species descriptions, the author helps to clarify some of the recently revised (and sometimes confusing) nomenclature of a number of genera and species, by including synonyms or former taxonomic names as part of each species account. Specimen numbers allow professional herpetologists to refer to precise individuals collected from specific localities. Habitats mentioned are sometimes sketchy (referring only to aquatic characteristics such as still or moving water) but are useful.
The style of the text is formal and scientific but generally lucid and to the point. The keys to the species are easier to follow than are those for the families, because characterizations in the latter are somewhat vague. The species descriptions would have been enhanced had the photographic plates been paired with the descriptions instead of being placed at the end of the book. The photos (by A. J. Whitten, D. Y. Setyanto, G. G. Hambali, R. F. Inger, and T. M. Raharjo) range from fair to excellent. Not all species mentioned in the text are shown, although several frog species have been collected only once and, thus, obviously could not be photographed. In the case of Ichthyophis hypocyaneus, a species from Sumatra (Ichthyophis elongatus) is shown, because a specimen of the former species was not available in Indonesia.
Several useful references apparently were not available to the author while he was working on the book, but except for a few recent ones, those cited demonstrate the considerable depth to which the information on the Javan Amphibia has been pursued. This book has collated and preserved valuable information on amphibian diversity and abundance that has undergone great changes since surveys of the Javan herpetofauna were first carried out in the 19th century. Java, of course, now has much less forest (most of it montane) and few undisturbed habitats remaining.
If this book has a weakness, it lies in the quality of the diagrams of adult frogs and tadpoles (ch. 3, 4). These diagrams are either sketchily drawn to give a rather rough impression of the adult frogs, or, in the case of tadpoles, fine details have been lost in cramped drawings with thick lines that sometimes do not clearly depict various structures (e.g., denticles on the oral discs of tadpoles). Nevertheless, this informative book, available both in English and Indonesian, is a most valuable contribution to the herpetology of Java and of the Indo-Malaysian Region. The author should be proud of his contribution, and all herpetologists with an interest in the Southeast Asian herpetofauna should be delighted to have this book.