Mammals of the Neotropics, Volume 3: Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil

Front Cover
University of Chicago Press, 1989 - Medical - 639 pages
Despite intense interest in this biologically diverse and ecologically important region, the mammals of South America are still not well known. Filling a large gap in the literature, 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.

Third in a series that reviewers have described as "state of the art" (Journal of Biogeography) and "invaluable to anyone interested in the mammalian fauna of the Neotropics" (Quarterly Review of Biology), this volume follows the format of its acclaimed predecessors. Chapters present not only up-to-date taxonomic information but also ecological and behavioral characteristics, conservation status, and distribution maps for most species. Numerous illustrations are provided to assist in field and laboratory identification, including exquisite color and black-and-white plates by Fiona Reid. New to this volume are chapters contributed by experts on the mammalian fossil record of this region and on its current biodiversity and biogeography. An appendix summarizes changes to the nomenclature that have altered the scientific names used in the first two volumes.

Volumes 1 and 2 of Mammals of the Neotropics, which are also available, describe the mammals of Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana (volume 1) and Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay (volume 2). The fourth and final volume of this series will cover the mammals of Mexico and Central America.

From inside the book

Contents

Plates Follow Page 278
1
Mammalian Faunas in the PlioPleistocene of Brazil
11
A Deep History of South American Mammals S David Webb
13
Pleistocene Mammals of the Cerrado and Caatinga of Brazil Castor Cartelle
27
The Contemporary Mammalian Fauna
47
The New World Marsupials Didelphimorpha Paucituberculata and Microbiotheria
49
Order Xenarthra Edentata
90
Order Insectivora
113
Order Perissodactyla Oddtoed Ungulates
327
Order Artiodactyla Eventoed Ungulates
332
Order Rodentia Rodents Roedores
356
Order Lagomorpha
518
Biogeography of Land Mammal Faunas
521
The Galápagos and Other South American Islands
523
Biodiversity Reconsidered John F Eisenberg
527
Macrogeography of Brazilian Mammals Gustavo A B da Fonseca Gisela Herrmann and Yuri L R Leite
549

Order Chiroptera Bats Murciélagos Morcegos
117
Order Primates
230
Order Carnivora Fissipedia
279
Seals Sea Lions and Walruses
312
Baleias Botos and Golfinhos
318
Order Sirenia Sea Cows
324
The Structure of Nonvolant Mammal Communities in Different Amazonian Forest Types
564
The Contemporary Mammalian Fauna of South America John F Eisenberg
582
Appendix
593
Index of Scientific Names
599
Index of Common Names
606
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About the author (1989)

John F. Eisenberg is the Katharine Ordway Professor of Ecosystem Conservation at the Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida. He is the author of The Mammalian Radiations, also published by the University of Chicago Press, and a contributing editor of several books on animal behavior and ecology.