A reference to mammals, providing an account of every genus of mammal in all of historical time. This sixth edition has increased the number of specific genera by 75 - among these, there are three remarkable, large ungulates discovered in the forests of Indochina. There is also a new account of the woolly mammoth, now thought to have survived until less than 4000 years ago. Each section of the book describes one genus and includes facts such as scientific and common names, the number and distribution of species, measurements and physical traits, habitat, locomotion, daily and seasonal activity, population dynamics, home range, social life, reproduction and longevity. As in the last two editions, the names and distributions of every species of every genus are listed in systematic order. There is also new information on fur harvests, numbers in the wild and in captivity, and conservation status. This edition records all official classifications of every mammal species and subspecies in the 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. There are illustrations of virtually every genus of mammal.
Among them are pictures by wildlife photographers such as Leonard Lee Rue III, David Pye and Warren T. Houck. Mammals pictured include the just-discovered giant muntjac deer of Vietnam, a rodent known only from the Solomon Islands, a large fruit bat whose male suckles the young, and a rare web-footed tenrec of Madagascar.
