ABSTRACT
Herpetology, the study of amphibians and reptiles, is attracting more and more interest throughout Europe but, unfortunately, the animals themselves are generally perceived as unattractive. In contrast, furred, and especially feathered, vertebrate animals are more popular so that they encourage their own specialised societies such as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).The unhelpful attitude of many people towards amphibians and reptiles can be attributed to many fallacies down the ages, but more education and information about them is slowly changing the picture. The world’s amphibians and reptiles are part of a diverse and remarkable group of animals, and the comparatively few species found in Europe have been considered sufficiently beautiful to depict on postage stamps (Fig 1). Much has certainly been written about them.
