A Bestiary—Annotated Taxonomic Accounts

This chapter consists of annotated taxonomic accounts of Pleistocene amphibians and reptiles recorded from the study area (see Fig. 1). General external characters, habits, and distributional patterns of modern taxa of amphibians and reptiles that occur in the British and European Pleistocene in this and following chapters are from the author's unpublished field notes and photographs as well as the following sources: Arnold and Burton (1978), Ballasina (1984), Beebee (1983), Berger et al. (1969), Duellman (1993), Duellman and Trueb (1986), Engelmann et al. (1986), Ernst and Barbour (1989), Escriva (1987), Estes (1981, 1983), Frazer (1983), Frost (1985), Gunther (1996), Halliday and Adler (1986), Hellmich (1962), Hvass (1972), King and Burke (1989), Matz (1983), Noble (1931), Smith (1964), Sparreboom (1981), and Zug (1993). The reader is cautioned not to attempt to identify Pleistocene amphibian and reptile fossils solely on the basis of skeletal characters discussed or skeletal figures presented in this book—or in other publications. To identify Pleistocene amphibian and reptile fossils accurately, it is necessary to compare them with adequate modern and fossil skeletal material. Pleistocene locality numbers below correspond with locality numbers in Chapter 5. Pleistocene caudate amphibians are usually identified on the basis of individual trunk vertebrae (see Holman, 1995c, p. 83). Figure 3 illustrates the important features of a trunk vertebra of Triturus cristatus from the Middle Pleistocene of Cudmore Grove, Essex, England.