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Title: Key To The Snakes of Joshua Tree National Monument.
Author: David E. Spiteri.
Publisher: Joshua Tree Natural History Association in cooperation with the National Park Service, United States.
Format: Vintage illustrated chapbook / pamphlet printed on light card stock with staple binding.
Genre and topic: Zoology, herpetology, field identification, natural history, and environmental education focused on desert snakes of Joshua Tree National Monument.
Subject: Compact nonfiction field key designed to help visitors identify the various snake species found within Joshua Tree National Monument using external characteristics and a simple step-by-step system.
Introductory sections: Opens with background information on the snakes of Joshua Tree, their diversity of habits and adaptations, guidance on the best times and conditions for observing them, and reminders about desert safety and wildlife protection laws.
About the key: Explains how to use a dichotomous key, where the reader chooses between two contrasting characteristics at each step to arrive at a single species identification.
Contents: Provides a numbered identification key covering non-venomous and venomous snakes of the monument, including blind snakes, boas, racers, king snakes, long-nosed snakes, lyre snakes, and several rattlesnake species.
Additional material: Concludes with a section titled \"Rattlesnake Venom\" that describes the circulatory and nervous system effects of venom and highlights species such as the Mojave green rattlesnake and red diamond rattlesnake.
Illustrations and design: Features black-and-white line drawings of snake heads, body patterns, and full-body outlines placed alongside the text of the key to aid visual identification.
Narrative type: Nonfiction reference and field guide intended for on-site use by visitors, naturalists, and students interested in desert reptiles.
Language and audience: English-language publication aimed at adult readers and park visitors with an interest in snakes, herpetology, and national park natural history.
Country of origin: United States; produced as an educational publication for Joshua Tree National Monument.
Special notes: Vintage National Park visitor-center field pamphlet with original printed 15¢ price on the front cover; suitable for collectors of Joshua Tree, National Park Service, and herpetology ephemera.