Mammals of the Neotropics satisfies the need for a comprehensive, up-to-date survey of existing knowledge of South America's terrestrial and marine mammals. No comparable account of South American mammals has ever been published in any language, and this timely work will help encourage the research vital to conservation efforts. This second of a projected three volumes covers southern South America. The authors discuss the historical biogeography and contemporary habitats of the region and then provide individual accounts for nearly 360 indigenous species, including information on size, appearance, ecology, behavior, and life history. Range maps, line drawings, and color plates supplement the text. To place the species accounts in a broader context, the authors consider the diversity of animals within each taxonomic group, examine the Neotropical species from a worldwide geographical perspective, and review taxonomic questions and controversies. Two final chapters deal with the community ecology of mammals and the effects humans have had on the mammalian fauna of the southern cone.

This volume provides a survey and synthesis of current knowledge of the more than 650 species of land and marine mammals found in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil, as well as information on the mammalian fossil record, current biodiversity, and biogeography of this region. Chapters present up-to-date taxonomic information, ecological and behavioral characteristics, conservation status, and distribution maps for most species. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

"Bones, clones and biomes offers an exploration of the development and relationships of the modern mammal fauna through a series of studies that encompass the last 100 million years and all of Latin America and the Carribean." -- Inside dust jacket.

The second installment in a planned three-volume series, this book provides the first substantive review of South American rodents published in over fifty years. Increases in the reach of field research and the variety of field survey methods, the introduction of bioinformatics, and the explosion of molecular-based genetic methodologies have all contributed to the revision of many phylogenetic relationships and to a doubling of the recognized diversity of South American rodents. The largest and most diverse mammalian order on Earth—and an increasingly threatened one—Rodentia is also of great ecological importance, and Rodents is both a timely and exhaustive reference on these ubiquitous creatures. From spiny mice and guinea pigs to the oversized capybara, this book covers all native rodents of South America, the continental islands of Trinidad and Tobago, and the Caribbean Netherlands off the Venezuelan coast. It includes identification keys and descriptions of all genera and species; comments on distribution; maps of localities; discussions of subspecies; and summaries of natural, taxonomic, and nomenclatural history. Rodents also contains a detailed list of cited literature and a separate gazetteer based on confirmed identifications from museum vouchers and the published literature.

Neotropical Rainforest Mammals is the first color-illustrated field guide to the marvelously diverse fauna of Central and South American rainforests. It is an ideal introduction for people living or working in the tropical rainforests or for tourists visiting there. For scientists, it combines standard knowledge with invaluable new data in a well-organized format, contributing to efforts to understand and conserve this rich and elusive fauna.

This is the only comprehensive guide to mammals in Central America and Southeast Mexico. Unlike most field guides, it covers smaller mammals in depth and also provides an extensive bibliography. In addition to detailed species accounts and range maps for all species, the book has 52 full-color plates. The 49 animal plates cover almost all the species in the region. 4 color maps are new to the second edition, detailing parks, elevations and biomes in the region.

"First published 2002 as The natural history of Costa Rican mammals by Zona Tropical"--T.p. verso.

The vast terrain between Panama and Tierra del Fuego contains some of the worlds richest mammalian fauna, but until now it has lacked a comprehensive systematic reference to the identification, distribution, and taxonomy of its mammals. The first such book of its kind, Mammals of South America both summarizes existing information and encourages further research of the mammals indigenous to the region. It includes identification keys and brief descriptions of each order, family, and genus. Species accounts include taxonomic descriptions, synonymies, keys to identification, distributions with maps and a gazetteer of marginal localities, lists of recognized subspecies, brief summaries of natural history information, and discussions of issues related to taxonomic interpretations.

Widely praised, "A Neotropical Companion" is an extraordinarily readable introduction to the American tropics, the lands of Central and South America, their rainforests and other ecosystems, and the creatures that live there. 177 color illustrations.

We hear routinely about dinosaurs unearthed in the Gobi Desert, about new marsupials found in the forests of Madagascar, about darling deep sea squid in the polar regions. These discoveries tend to be accompanied by wondrous feats of adventuring scientists. But just as one can experience the world in a backyard, or farther reaches of the world with a good book and a comfy armchair, scientists themselves know that the natural history museums of the world contain some of the best terrain for discovering new species. In recent years scientists have found in museum drawers and cabinets a new rove beetle collected by Darwin, a tiny lungless salamander thinner than a matchstick, a monkey from the Brazilian rainforest, and a 40 million year old beardog. The Lost Species shares the thrill of spelunking in museum basements, digging in museum trays, and breathing new life in taxidermied beings--a in a days' adventure for the scientists in this book. These discoveries help tell the story of life, and the priceless collections of natural history museums.