A Field Guide to the Mammals of Central America and Southeast Mexico [Hardcover]

Fiona A. Reid (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1997

This is the first comprehensive field guide to the mammals of Central America, one of the most diverse and species-rich regions in the world. Generously illustrated with 48 full-color plates and many drawings, the book is designed for use both by amateur naturalists and professional biologists. The guide provides accounts for all mammals native to the land and surrounding waters of Central America and southeast Mexico. Detailed accounts include complete descriptions, measurements, range maps, and comparisons with similar species. The entire distribution, habitat, endangered status, and behaviors are also described, with sources of scientific references. For travelers to the region, a guide to the major parks and preserves is provided, with lists of the animals likely to found in each.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book is an outstanding addition to the field guide genre for several reasons. First and foremost is that the author is an artist/naturalist who has personally captured and drawn or painted many of the small mammals described and illustrated in this book. Many of Reid's color plates sparkle with life because of her personal familiarity with dozens of species of bats and rodents. The illustrations are so realistic that one almost expects to see the ears of bats twitch and the vibrissae of rodents to wiggle! This book is worth purchasing for the 48 color plates alone. Other outstanding aspects include excellent advice about how and where to find shy, mostly nocturnal tropical mammals . . . and a 17-page bibliography that provides references to much of the literature on the ecology and behavior of neotropical mammals. . . . In summary, this book makes a fascinating and diverse fauna very accessible to both amateur and professional naturalists."--The Quarterly Review of Biology

"This book is the very best news for anyone who is going to Central America and southeast Mexico to view or work with mammals. As a field biologist I cannot imagine a more important part of my field equipment than a really good field guide. Well, Fiona Reid's book is not just a 'really good' field guide, it's excellent. . . . In February 1998 I was doing field work with bats in the northeastern corner of Costa Rica . . . [O]ne of our group brought along a copy of Fiona's book. Waiting for the flight to leave I was drawn to the illustrations . . . [T]he book provided invaluable text and illustrations which facilitated our field identifications. . . . There are 48 colour plates in the book . . . The range maps are very well done and more general maps show basic habitat types as well as political boundaries. . . . I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the mammals of Central America. The coverage is simply outstanding!"--Bat Research News

"This is the first comprehensive field guide to the mammals of Central America, one of the most diverse and species-rich regions in the world. The book is generously illustrated with 48 full-colour plates and numerous line drawings. The colour plates illustrate about 85% of the 349 species in the region. All large mammals are illustrated in colour, and different forms are included when a species varies with sex, age or geographic location. Particularly impressive are the portrayals of small mammals such as bats, rodents, and marsupials, most of which were painted directly from life by the author. Designed for use both by amateur naturalists and professional biologists, this guide provides accounts for all mammals native to the land and surrounding waters of Central America and Southeast Mexico (east of the Isthmus of Tehuantapec)."--Ethology Ecology and Evolution

"This field guide is a major contribution to Central American mammalogy, field biology, and conservation as well as an essential field reference for that part of the world...Highly recommended."--Donald S. Heintzelman, Wildlife Activist

"What the naturalists of the late 19th century would have made of today's field guides is anybody's guess. In the case of Fiona Reid's latest work, envious incredulity is a safe bet. In her Field Guide to the Mammals of Central America and Southeast Mexico . . . , she has not only produced masterful, elegant and accurate illustrations, but has written and researched a text which is concise, informative and scientifically precise. Covering the 346 mammals of the region, and with notes on habitat, diet, field signs and similar species, as well as clear distribution maps and good field keys, this guide is as good as they get."--New Scientist

About the Author

Fiona A. Reid, Departmental Associate in Mammalogy, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 456 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1st edition (1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195064003
• ISBN-13: 978-0195064001
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,966,211 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful companion for both amateurs and pros, August 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Field Guide to the Mammals of Central America and Southeast Mexico (Hardcover)

This field guide is a definitive yet handy guide that will surely be a classic of its type. It covers all the living species of native mammals from Mexico to Panama (including aquatic species such as whales and otters). For each species there is a careful description of its physical appearance along with notes on habitats, ranges (with maps) and behaviour, as well as other useful comments such as the best place to see a particular species, what the ground tracks look like and the status of threatened species. It is an absolute mine of fascinating information, much of it newly gathered or previously available only in obscure academic sources. There are excellent introductory sections on the main mammal groups, and good indexes and bibliographies -- in short , everything one needs to find and enjoy looking at mammals. But the most unique and useful feature (as well as the greatest delight -- and why this is a true classic), are the illustrations - hundreds of beautifully drawn colour plates painted from life (often in the most demanding of circumstances), that will allow you to settle important questions like "Is that a Woolly False Vampire Bat or a Great False Vampire Bat that just bit you" without flaming your travelling companions. (The book is especially strong on Bats.) Flying squirrels, monkeys, oppossums, sloths, deer mice, armadillos dolphins and skunks, they are all here. I would highly recommend this book both for amateurs and professionals (whether they are going to central america or not!). Every academic library should have a copy of it.

The care taken over detail throughout make the book both scientifically valuable and highly readable. It is a true labour of love - and just look at this quote from the author's preface! "Some species I painted while sitting in a truck, using the steering wheel as an easel, and some in a tent with a hadlamp at night, but most were done outside during the day, sitting on the ground or on a log. The white background of the plates suffered from a continuous onslaught of dust, sweat, and grime, and other indefinable debris. Carrying the plates throughout Central America involved some harrowing experiences, one of which was a short flight to Tortuguero in Costa Rica. The pilot had at length persuaded me to put my portfolio in the front baggage hold in the nose of the plane, and after we took off he realized that the door to this hold had come open. While the other four passengers agonized over the possibility of the plane going down if the luggage became tangled in the propellors, I was trying to follow our coordinates so I could search for my plates if they fell to the swampy ground below. Fortunately, we landed at a small airfield, corrected the problem, and lost nothing but peace of mind."

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely the best mammals guide for the region, August 1, 2003

By 

Jason Beck (Cedar City, UT United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Field Guide to the Mammals of Central America and Southeast Mexico (Hardcover)

I had the opportunity to participate in a research project in Nicaragua. A local Nicaraguan university library allowed me to check out and use any field guide I wanted. Within days, all other field guides were permanently stowed in the bottom of my bag until I could return them to the university.

Having never been to the tropics before, I was still able to identify every bat I caught using mist nets with only the aid of this book (my local guides were unfamiliar with the bats).
This book will be your best piece of equipment if you plan to study mammals in Central America.

One of the first things I did when I returned home was order my own copy of this wonderful book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent resource, March 29, 2007

By 

C. P. Lincoln (Cleveland, OH) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Field Guide to the Mammals of Central America and Southeast Mexico (Paperback)

We just returned from a trip to Panama and Costa Rica that I had purchased the book for. I had little time to consult books as we were so busy but it was helpful as background before the trip and as a resource during the trip. It is a beautiful book and I will keep it. As an all around resource and book to have along two other books were helpful. One, Watching Wildlife: Central America (Lonely Planet) and another Birds of Costa Rica (photographic volume) were very helpful and easy to carry along. Others brought Birds of Panama and used it alot - very heavy to carry. The guides used the laminated wildlife "brochures", two I got on amazon but there were others available down there. There doesn't seem to be one great resource for wildlife in the region but as we were traveling with naturalists and with the above two sources, we were pretty happy.