High Park, at Blenheim in Oxfordshire UK, is a SSSI of great significance for its numerous ancient oaks and the organisms associated with these trees. This book gives a detailed, lavishly illustrated and thoroughly researched description of the biodiversity and natural history of what is by several measures the most significant site for ancient oaks in Europe. It draws together the expertise of more 60 specialists, and reports on the results of in-depth surveys of High Park. Chapters cover different groups, including: flora (including bryophytes), fungi, lichens, molluscs, arachnids, flies, hymenoptera, butterflies, moths, beetles – with a special focus on saproxylic species, bugs, reptiles and amphibians, birds and mammals. Despite their undoubted importance, very few sites with ancient oaks in England, the most important European country for these magnificent trees, have seen a comprehensive published account, adding to the value of this study. Several of the contributing authors describe their survey techniques in some detail, some of which are not widely known. Records are analysed in the various chapters and often compared with data from other similar sites. Overall, the book gives encouraging evidence of the great biodiversity still to be found in England, and should help to stimulate similar efforts to uncover the biodiversity and describe the natural history of ancient parkland and woodland, so that conservation of these sites can be based on firm scientific data.

Beetles are the largest and most studied order of insects, some of which are beneficial as biological control agents. Alphabetically lists all species and subspecies of beetles known to Canada and Alaska under their respective genus-group names. Includes a brief introduction for every family treated and an index to all supraspecific names.

The present Catalogue comprises information on 48 genera and 1802 valid species of the coleopterous subfamily Scaphidiinae. Unlike previous catalogues of the group, it gives exact type localities, depositories and sexes of primary types whenever traceable. Genera are listed with their type species and grammatical gender. References are given to subsequent taxonomic and nomenclatural acts, records, and to all other relevant information. Distributional information is provided per country, for larger or insular countries per subunits. An overview of fungus and slime mould hosts is annexed. The references to all taxa have been checked by the author. Infrasubspecific entities and priorities are dealt to comply with the ICZN. Nomenclatural problems are highlighted, and several new records are given. Extinct taxa are listed separately.

A thorough update of Arnett's The Beetles of the United States, American Beetles, Volumes I and II cover the genera of beetles that occur in Alaska, Canada, and the contiguous United States. Built on the foundation of the original work and almost completely rewritten with contributions from more than 60 coleopterists, these volumes describe each fa

For most of us, the story of mammal evolution starts after the asteroid impact that killed the dinosaurs, but over the last 20 years scientists have uncovered new fossils and used new technologies that have upended this story. In Beasts Before Us, palaeontologist Elsa Panciroli charts the emergence of the mammal lineage, Synapsida, beginning at their murky split from the reptiles in the Carboniferous period, over three-hundred million years ago. They made the world theirs long before the rise of dinosaurs. Travelling forward into the Permian and then Triassic periods, we learn how our ancient mammal ancestors evolved from large hairy beasts with accelerating metabolisms to exploit miniaturisation, which was key to unlocking the traits that define mammals as we now know them. Elsa criss-crosses the globe to explore the sites where discoveries are being made and meet the people who make them. In Scotland, she traverses the desert dunes of prehistoric Moray, where quarry workers unearthed the footprints of Permian creatures from before the time of dinosaurs. In South Africa, she introduces us to animals, once called 'mammal-like reptiles', that gave scientists the first hints that our furry kin evolved from a lineage of egg-laying burrowers. In China, new, complete fossilised skeletons reveal mammals that were gliders, shovel-pawed Jurassic moles, and flat-tailed swimmers. This book radically reframes the narrative of our mammalian ancestors and provides a counterpoint to the stereotypes of mighty dinosaur overlords and cowering little mammals. It turns out the earliest mammals weren't just precursors, they were pioneers.

"Bibliographic references to works pertaining to the taxonomy of Coleoptera published between 1758 and 1900 in the non-periodical literature are listed. Each reference includes the full name of the author, the year or range of years of the publication, the title in full, the publisher and place of publication, the pagination with the number of plates, and the size of the work. This information is followed by the date of publication found in the work itself, the dates found from external sources, and the libraries consulted for the work. Overall, more than 990 works published by 622 primary authors are listed. For each of these authors, a biographic notice (if information was available) is given along with the references consulted"--[p. 1].

The first of two volumes, that describe the distribution, habitat and conservation requirements of 1043 species of beetle. This volume concentrates on 71 readily-identifiable and popular families of terrestrial beetle, plus a table of status of water beetles.

The Royal Entomological Society (RES) and Wiley-Blackwell are proud to present this landmark publication, celebrating the wonderful diversity of the insects of the British Isles, and the work of the RES (founded 1833). This book is the only modern systematic account of all 558 families of British insects, covering not just the large and familiar groups that are included in popular books, but even the smallest and least known. It is beautifully illustrated throughout in full colour with photographs by experienced wildlife photographers to show the range of diversity, both morphological and behavioural, among the 24,000 species. All of the 6,000 genera of British insects are listed and indexed, along with all the family names and higher groups. There is a summary of the classification, biology and economic importance of each family together with further references for detailed identification. All species currently subject to legal protection in the United Kingdom are also listed. The Royal Entomological Society is one of the oldest and most prestigious of its kind in the world. It is the leading organisation for professional entomologists and its main aim has always been the promotion of knowledge about insects. The RES began its famous Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects in 1949, and new works in that series continue to be published. The Royal Entomological Society Book of British Insects has been produced to demonstrate the on-going commitment of the RES to educate and encourage each generation to study these fascinating creatures. This is a key reference work for serious students of entomology and amateur entomologists, as well as for professionals who need a comprehensive source of information about the insect groups of the British Isles they may be less familiar with.