This volume traces the history of the vertebrate faunas of Gondwana. The authors begin with the origins of life before the Gondwanan landmass coalesced.

Looks at the wildlife of the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana.

Nicolette Scourse is an entertaining and marvellously perceptive guide to the wild places and creatures of southern seas. Reminiscent of Sir Peter Scott's famous travel diaries for its vivid descriptions, and deft illustrations of life in the wild, Nicolette's colourful story-telling draws you into her world so completely that you soon feel you are with her at the wild edges of the human world. Callum Roberts, Professor of Marine Conservation, Chief Scientific Advisor to Blue Planet ll, WWF UK Ambassador, author, scuba diver. A zoologist's personal encounters with living diversity, journeying into animal lives on beaches, cliffs, desert and forest shores; in cold oceans, warm seas and tropical coral reefs; and in skies above. Connections in life's incredible jigsaw are unravelled - from penguins to parrots, plankton to pelicans, whales to wallabies, whale sharks to wombats, butterflyfish to bioluminescence, dolphin-talk with dogs, and more. In these self-supporting webs of life, the mighty depend on the miniature, ancient meets modern, and mystery detective trails lead to the unexpected. Whilst the animals take the starring roles, human lives, past and present, intertwine with theirs as part of this living jigsaw whilst life affirming volunteers, park wardens and research scientists are now replacing the pieces to make a biodiverse and sustainable future.

This new guide is the ideal companion for trekkers or sightseers, providing concise coverage of the plants and animals they are most likely to encounter. A colorful and very readable guide, catering to the ardent wildlife enthusiast and the curious armchair traveler alike.

The rainforests of Australia cover only 4% of Australia's land mass but contain 50% of Australia's plant and animals life. This superb synthesis of these Heritage listed forests covers all aspects of conservation, plant and animal biology, and cultural significance. The World Heritage Gondwana Rainforests of Australia represent the major remaining areas of rainforest in south-east Queensland and north-east New South Wales. The property as described on the World Heritage List formally comprises parts of 27 national parks, 7 nature reserves and several other Crown reserves, located between Brisbane (in Queensland) and Newcastle (in New South Wales).

Experience the full force of nature with this stunning visual encyclopedia celebrating the world's most wonderful wildlife. With an inspiring foreword by leading naturalist and wildlife photographer Chris Packham, this epic adventure takes you across the continents to meet all creatures big and small. You'll visit the deserts of Australia, the grasslands of Africa, the rainforests of South America, the mountains of Asia, and the coral reefs of Australia on this mind-blowing tour to meet the incredibly diverse range of life on Earth. Breathtaking photography, animal profiles, accessible maps, and facts and stats combine to create this standout reference title. Revealing a wealth of species across hundreds of spectacular pages, Wildlife of the World introduces you to animals that roam, swim, and fly in each and every part of our planet. Calling all globe-trotters, nature enthusiasts, and biology students, this is your chance to experience the animal kingdom as never before and gain an absolutely essential addition to your home library. Produced in association with the Smithsonian Institution. Reviews: "[G]orgeous coffee table book of animal life across the planet...This book is a perfect reference guide, a delight to page through..." - Publishers Weekly "If there's a must-have coffee-table book, this is it." - The Sacramento Bee "Beautifully illustrated with handsome photographs." - Booklist (Starred Review) "[A] big book filled with great photography." - St. Louis Post-Dispatch "Like a classic children's treasury book, this lavish work is an ideal option for researchers and browsers alike." - School Library Journal (Starred Review)

A collection of distribution maps of wild animals, mainly mammals with a few amphibians, reptiles and birds included. Elementary text. A listing of wildlife parks by country is given. Location within country shown on map. No other informaion on the parks is given. Indexed. Published 1972.

“A valuable volume detailing an underexplored region of the world of dinosaurs . . . essential reading for any dino-devotee.” —ForeWord Dinosaurs of Darkness opens a doorway to a fascinating former world, between 100 million and 120 million years ago, when Australia was far south of its present location and joined to Antarctica. Dinosaurs lived in this polar region. How were the polar dinosaurs discovered? What do we now know about them? Thomas H. Rich and Patricia Vickers-Rich, who have played crucial roles in their discovery, describe how they and others collected the fossils indispensable to our knowledge of this realm and how painstaking laboratory work and analyses continue to unlock the secrets of the polar dinosaurs. This scientific adventure makes for a fascinating story: it begins with one destination in mind and ends at another, arrived at by a most roundabout route, down byways and back from dead ends. Dinosaurs of Darkness is a personal, absorbing account of the way scientific research is actually conducted and how hard—and rewarding—it is to mine the knowledge of this remarkable life of the past. The award-winning first edition has now been thoroughly updated with the latest discoveries and interpretations, along with over 100 new photographs and charts, many in color.

Have you ever wondered why New Zealand's plants and animals are so different from those in other countries? Why kakapo is the only parrot in the world that cannot fly, or why the kiwi lives here and nowhere else? New Zealand is an extraordinary place, unique on earth, and the remarkable story of how and why life evolved here is the subject of Ghosts of Gondwana. The challenge of explaining New Zealand's natural origins is picked up in this fully revised edition of the popular award-winning book. It presents the latest scientific research in highly readable form, highlighting studies that reveal the deep historical background of our landscapes, fauna and flora - from ancient frogs and moa to delicate insects and the magnificent southern beech forests. It introduces the latest discoveries and resolves past issues like the 'Oligocene drowning' hypothesis. Exciting fossil discoveries are revealed and new scientific technologies and approaches to the discipline of historical biogeography are discussed - approaches that range from undersea geology to molecular clocks - and it inevitably draws attention to the debates and conflicts that distinguish different schools of opinion in this holistic branch of theoretical science. This revision incorporates the results of 10 years of intensive scientific research and includes four entirely new chapters to: focus on 'yesterday's maps' to draw attention to the ephemeral islands in our history that have possibly acted as stepping stones for terrestrial animals and plants but today have sunk into the sea; incorporate the author's own special interest in an ancient group of 'jaw-moths', unknown and unnoticed by most people but with a strong message that New Zealand is part of the world when it comes to explaining where our fauna have come from; present recent research findings on our huge flightless birds, the ratites; and include New Zealand's terrestrial molluscs into the story. Ghosts of Gondwana identifies New Zealand as one of the most challenging places on earth to explain, but it's readable, engaging style and revised illustrations render this often-controversial discipline of science into a format that is accessible to any reader with an interest in natural history and the unique environment of New Zealand.