Publication Identification

Field	Information
Country	Canada
Publisher	Wise and Wright Publishers
Publisher address	100, 1039 17th Ave SW, Suite 214, Calgary, Alberta T2T 0B2
Magazine title	Reptile Life
Publication status	Unknown; documented as an active Canadian magazine through at least 2009
Publication run	August/September 1996 through at least 2009; began as The OphidioFile / Canadian Journal of Reptiles and Amphibians and continued as Reptile Life
Editor	Jonathan Wright
Printer	Central Web Colorpress, Edmonton, Alberta (Issues 5 and 6; other issues pending research update)
ISSN	1205-8378 (printed in the mastheads for Issues 4, 5, and 6)
Language	English
Publication type	Reptiles and amphibians, natural history, field herpetology, conservation, captive care, and husbandry
Publication frequency	Bimonthly; six issues per subscription year (Issue 6 subscription form)

Preservation Significance

This short run has unusual preservation value because the surviving physical issues document a visible change in publication identity within the first volume.  Volume 1, Issue 3 is presented as Canadian Journal of Reptiles and Amphibians with The OphidioFile prominently displayed on the cover.  Volume 1, Issue 4 introduces Reptile Life as the dominant title while still retaining “The OphidioFile” and “Canadian Journal of Reptiles and Amphibians” at the bottom of the cover.  By Issues 5 and 6, Reptile Life stands alone as the principal publication title.  Preserving the issues together therefore documents the title transition directly through the magazines themselves rather than requiring the change to be reconstructed later from secondary references.

The collection also preserves two physically different copies of Volume 1, Issue 5.  One copy is identified in the collection as a mailed copy and carries an added Gordon & Gotch Canada distribution label and separate pricing sticker.  The other is identified as a newsstand copy and has a different barcode presentation without the added distributor label.  The paired copies preserve evidence of how the same issue circulated through different distribution channels.  That makes the duplicate issue useful as publication history rather than simple duplication.

The covers and contents also preserve a broad picture of Canadian reptile and amphibian interests during the publication period.  The represented issues include material on Eastern fox snakes, house snakes, leopard geckos, northern prairie skinks, green iguanas, mantellas, Blanding’s turtle, emerald boas, green pythons, long toed salamanders, Russian tortoises, snapping turtles, snakebite, herping in Canada and abroad, and the world’s largest snake dens.  Together, the issues preserve both specialist information and a physical record of how reptile and amphibian subjects were presented to Canadian readers.