The Princeton Field Guide to Prehistoric Mammals / / Donald R. Prothero.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter EBOOK PACKAGE COMPLETE 2016
• VerfasserIn: Prothero, Donald R.,
• TeilnehmendeR: Williams, Mary Persis.
• Place / Publishing House: Princeton, NJ : : Princeton University Press, , [2016]; ©2017
• Year of Publication: 2016
• Language: English
• Series: Princeton Field Guides ; 112
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (240 p.) :; 303 color & b&w illus.

After the mass extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, mammals became the dominant terrestrial life form on our planet. Roaming the earth were spectacular beasts such as saber-toothed cats, giant mastodonts, immense ground sloths, and gigantic giraffe-like rhinoceroses. Here is the ultimate illustrated field guide to the lost world of these weird and wonderful prehistoric creatures.A woolly mammoth probably won't come thundering through your vegetable garden any time soon. But if one did, this would be the book to keep on your windowsill next to the binoculars. It covers all the main groups of fossil mammals, discussing taxonomy and evolutionary history, and providing concise accounts of the better-known genera and species as well as an up-to-date family tree for each group. No other book presents such a wealth of new information about these animals-what they looked like, how they behaved, and how they were interrelated. In addition, this unique guide is stunningly illustrated throughout with full-color reconstructions of these beasts-many never before depicted-along with photographs of amazing fossils from around the world.Provides an up-to-date guidebook to hundreds of extinct species, from saber-toothed cats to giant mammoths Features a wealth of color illustrations, including new reconstructions of many animals never before depictedDemonstrates evolution in action-such as how whales evolved from hoofed mammals and how giraffes evolved from creatures with short necksExplains how mass extinctions and climate change affected mammals, including why some mammals grew so huge

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- DEDICATION -- PREFACE -- 1. The Age of Mammals -- 2. The Origin and Early Evolution of Mammals -- 3. Marsupials: Pouched Mammals -- 4. Placental Mammals (Eutheria) -- 5. Xenarthra -- 6. Afrotheria -- 7. Euarchontoglires -- 8. Euarchontoglires -- 9. Laurasiatheria -- 10. Laurasiatheria: Chiroptera -- 11. Laurasiatheria -- 12. Laurasiatheria -- 13. Laurasiatheria: Ungulata -- 14. Laurasiatheria: Artiodactyla -- 15. Laurasiatheria: Perissodactyla -- 16. Laurasiatheria: Meridiungulata -- 17. Uintatheres, Pantodonts, Taeniodonts, and Tillodonts -- 18. Mammalian Evolution and Extinction -- Illustration Credits -- Further Reading -- Index