Extinct Madagascar: Picturing the Island's Past

Extinct Madagascar: Picturing the Island's Past
ISBN-10
022614397X
ISBN-13
9780226143972
Category
Nature
Pages
206
Language
English
Published
2014-09-04
Publisher
University of Chicago Press
Authors
Steven M. Goodman, William L. Jungers

Description

The forests of Madagascar are legendary for their incredible biodiversity, and the mammal fauna in particular is far more diverse, and largely endemic, than most places on earth. A new carnivorous mongoose was discovered recently, dubbed Durrell s vontsira (Salanoia durrelli) after the late British conservationist Gerald Durrell, and it is one of just many of this extraordinary group. But with each new find, so too is Madagascar experiencing alarming extinction rates, and the forests have lost in recent time hundreds of charismatic and ecologically and evolutionarily distinct species. "Extinct Madagascar "explores the recent past of Madagascar mammals, introducing readers to the geologic and ecological history of Madagascar, providing the context for mammalian evolution and diversification. Originally commissioned color plates depict species and entire communities, and reconstruct a recent past in part to remind us all what is at stake in current and future conservation of these incredible faunas."

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