This book is essentially an updated edition of a previous work published in 1993 by Frederic Frye and a coauthor, Wendy Townsend, entitled Iguanas: A Guide to Their Biology and Captive Care [reviewed by Rodda, 19941. Although the new edition focuses specifically on the green iguana (Iguana iguana) and has been improved and expanded in several areas, many sections of the book, including the majority of figures and tables, are reprinted verbatim from the first edition. Unfortunately, the use of a new title and the change in authorship preclude immediate identification of this book by prospective readers as an updated reprinting of the earlier book. The extensive overlap in content between the two books may be a disappointment to those readers who purchase this book under the impression that it differs substantially in content from Frye and Townsend's previous work.
The opening paragraphs of the book represent an attempt to place the material on green iguanas into a broader context by providing background information on the other genera of large, herbivorous iguanids. Good intentions notwithstanding, this information is valuable only to the extent that it is accurate. Given current taxonomy, the listing of species is incomplete and contains some inconsistencies and misinformation. The text (although not the accompanying table) implies that the Fijian iguanas Brachylophusfasciatus and B . vitiensis are synonymous, when in fact it is well documented on the basis of their geographic ranges, morphology, and behavioral ecology that they are separate species [Gibbons, 19811. Their unique status as the only members of the family to be found in the Old World is not thought to result from plate tectonic movements as suggested, but rather from more recent dispersal via natural rafting [Cogger, 19741. Of the 10 extant species of Ctenosaura, only four are listed (missing are C . bakeri and C . oedirhinu from Honduras, C . palearis from Guatemala, and C. acanthura, C. clarki, and C . quinquecarinata from Mexico). Ground and rock iguanas are referred to as if they represent different groups, when in fact they are simply alternative common names for the West Indian iguanas, genus Cyclura. These iguanas are restricted to the Greater Antilles and the Bahamas [Schwartz and Henderson, 19911 and are not found anywhere on the Latin American mainland. Absent is any mention of the green iguana's only congener, the Antillean iguana, Iguana delicatissirna.
The remainder of the opening chapter appears to be directed more toward pet owners than zoo managers or other professional herpetologists. Valuable, though very