| Description |
xiii, 345 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm |
| Contents |
Dinosaurs and other vanished giants -- Introducing the crocodilians. Crocodiles : alligators and caimans -- Crocodilian life patterns. Breeding and nesting ; Food and feeding habits ; Dens and burrows ; Natural enemies and friends -- Crocodilians and man. Attacks on man ; Crocodile hunting ; Utilization by man ; Conservation -- Myths about crocodilians. Mister Peacock ; Fatima's favorite toy; Ancient Egypt and contemporary Africa ; Damsels and dragons ; The Wani and the Son of Heaven ; Other crocodile-human kingships ; Crocodiles remembered ; Dragons of the Far East -- Turtles around the world. Turtles of the sea ; Migration ; Nesting and breeding ; Turtles in trouble ; Disposition -- The big freshwater turtles. The softshells ; Snapping turtles ; Batagurs and other river turtles -- Giant land tortoises -- Legendary turtles. The Mediterranean basin ; India and the Far East ; North America -- The great lizards. Monitors ; Iguanas -- Snakes : the big five and their relatives. The anaconda ; The reticulated python ; The African python ; The Indian python ; The amethystine python ; The boa constrictor and the smaller pythons -- Biology and behavior of boas and pythons. Reproduction ; Food, feeding, and growth ; Attacks on man ; Natural enemies -- Other large snakes. Shamans and their kin ; Venomous giants -- Snakes as leather, food, and medicine -- Snake mythology. Cosmic and Earth serpents ; The python of the sun ; Living gods ; Pythons from the dreaming ; East across the Pacific ; Nagas and Jogis ; How the python lost its venom ; Honorable-lords-serpents ; The phallic camudi -- Final reflections -- App. Geologic time chart of the evolution of reptiles ; Scientific names of reptiles mentioned in the text |
| Summary |
Describes the giant reptiles that have intrigued man throughout the ages and examines their role in mythology |
| Bibliography |
Bibliography: pages 327-329 |
| Subject |
Reptiles.
|
|
Serpents -- Folklore.
|
| Author |
Minton, Madge Rutherford, author
|
| LC no. |
72009770 |
| ISBN |
0684132672 |
|
