Customer Reviews

Handbook of Mammals of the World, Vol. 1: Carnivores

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They started this series called Handbook of Birds of the World (HBBW). A mammoth project, originally envisaged as a certain number of volumes, I believe that it has gone onto a few extra volumes and is yet to be finished. HBW is the finest reference on birds if you have enough library space and can afford it. Perhaps a CD edition will be better but not as substantial or collectible. In any case HBBW is justified as birds are so popular, so visible, and so well known by amateurs and taxonomists. Not so for mammals. Most mammals are invisible, poorly known and taxonomists are still catching up on mammal diversity to the extent they think they know about birds. At least mammals may represent the group most worked on next to birds. Most mammals are not colorful enough. Here is Handbook of Mammals of the World in the same format as HBBW. Could it work? Possibly, but then again. I mean, they are planning 1 volume for even toed mammals, 1 volume for all the rodents and this first volume is for the carnivores. The carnivores are surely the most charismatic and some of the most colorful mammals around. Yes, almost all the species are illustrated in full color on the lavish plates. Even more photos and accounts. But when I tried to find out about the domestic dog and the domestic cat, probably the most important members of the order on the planet, the volume was strangely silent. There was no mention of the domestic cat as a subspecies under Felis sylvestris ... it even seemed to suggest that the domestic cat may be more allied to another species ... sorry nothing I can get my head around about the domestic cat - like it didn't exist. Similarly for the domestic dog. The nearest, as a subspecies of the wolf is something like Canis lupus dingo or was that ... no I didn't see Canis familiaris. It seems to me that you can't see the wood for the trees. A bad start to one of the best orders of mammals that are known. The order Carnivora probably has about 100-300 species warranting one volume. How do the publishers justify just one volume in the future that is to hold 40% of mammals, the rodents, some c.2000 species? That's to be volume 9. Perhaps they are dipping their toes in the water to see how well this goes down. This work will certainly represent first class reference for conservation purposes but to mount an HBMW in a similar guise to HBBW is the height of ambition. I'm still trying to believe it. It's all just too big to take in, I can't afford it, most mammals have such holes in their taxonomy ... I just hope it aids and abets global biodiversity conservation. Like I said, it is a start but please, don't let's pretend that we have the final word on mammals ... this is in every way too big to fully succeed at this time I fear. I wish them well.