leonard cronin – Aussie Reviews

Cronin's Key Guide Australian Reptiles and Frogs

Australia is home to some 760 species of reptiles and 200 frogs. Among them are the largest and most fearsome predator on earth – the estuarine crocodile; the world’s deadliest snake – the mainland taipan; a lizard that walks on water – the beaded gecko; and an amphibian from the harshest deserts – the water-holding frog.

The Cronin’s’ Key Guide series provides an accessible guide to identifying the wildlife of Australia. In the fifth title of the series, Australian Reptiles and Frogs , biologist Leonard Cronin provides detailed species identification notes, including a coloured drawing, distribution maps and notes on appearance, behaviour, development, habitat and any threats to the species.

A useful field guide for a traveller or bushwalker, this would also make an excellent family reference.

Cronin’s Key Guide to Australian Reptiles and Frogs (Cronin’s Key Guide), by Leonard Cronin
Allen & Unwin, 2009

This book can be purchased online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

Key Guide to Australian Mammals, by Leonard Cronin

Australian mammals are some of the world’s most intriguing wildlife, being such a diverse and unusual range of animals. From the spiky echidna, to the bizarre platypus, from the koala to the kangaroo, Australian and international observers alike cannot help but be fascinated by our fauna.

In the Key Guide to Australian Mammals, natural history author Leonard Cronin provides a detailed guide to all of Australia’s mammal life which will be useful to readers from a range of backgrounds and interests. Useful for students and scientists, it will also be informative to amateur animal watchers or to anyone who loves Australian animals.

Each entry includes a coloured illustration of the animal, a map showing distribution and information about physiology, behaviour, development, diet, habitat, traces and status. A visual key at the front of the book gives readers an overview of the different species, with page references to detailed entries.

A handy reference.

Key Guide to Australian Mammals, by Leonard Cronin
Allen & Unwin, 2008

Cronin's Key Guide to Australian Trees

Lovers of native flora, gardeners and travellers will be grateful for this, the second in Cronin’s Key Guideseries, focussing on the over 325 species of tree to be found around Australia. The author, Leonard Cronin, has been studying and writing about Australian flora and fauna for thirty years, and his aim here is to share some of his knowledge with the general reader.

Each tree species is illustrated in colour and described in detail, to enable readers to identify specimens, and accompanied by a distribution map to show where it can be found in Australia. At the front of the book there are visual classification keys, allowing readers to use leaf shapes or eucalypt fruit shapes to find possible page matches.

This handy guide is small enough to take along in the car, caravan or even a daypack, and would make an excellent addition to the home reference library. It uses straight forward language which will be accessible to average readers with no scientific or botanical background.

Cronin’s Key Guide to Australian Trees, by Leonard Cronin
Allen & Unwin, 2007

This book can be purchased online at Fishpond. Buying through this link helps to support Aussiereviews.