The Origin and Evolution of Mammals (Oxford Biology) (Paperback)

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Key Phrases: presacral body length, fossil placentals, anterior pterygoideus muscle, North America, South America, Late Cretaceous (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

a splendid work ... it seems the indispensable source of knowlegde on mammalian evolution' Acta, Palaeontol, Pol. 50, 50(2): 208, 2005

Product Description

Mammals are the dominant large animals of today, occurring in virtually every environment. This book is an account of the remarkable fossil records that document their origin since the extinction of the dinosaurs. Tracing their evolution over the last 35 million years. For the first time presented in one single volume Kemp unveils the exciting DNA sequence evidence which coupled with fossil evidence challenges current thinking on the relationships amongst mammal and their inferred history.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 342 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (January 27, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198507615
• ISBN-13: 978-0198507611
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #523,268 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A staid performance, July 1, 2008

By	Sarakani (Harrow United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This is a major reference book, presumably essential for a specialist but I found that it assumed too much prior knowledge and was totally wedded to the dogma of cladism making it difficult to work out the status of the groups described. I also found that in the references, giants like Alfred Sherwood Romer or for that matter, authors on mammal evolution like Derek Yalden scarecely get a mention.

It should perhaps be retitled the origin and evolution of amniotes leading to the mammals given that about half the book deals with mammal like reptiles. Some of this treatment would be essential but there was far too much on basal tetrapods. When it came to even these, there was no real fire about really interesting organisms like Dimetrodon, or any particular story to light the mind given that as a scientist Kemp is cautious.

The weak classification provided is my main problem with the book. Given that so many of the taxa are unranked in classical cladistic fashion, you don't really know what you are dealing with - whereas the traditional orders of mammals are described as such, supraordinal and subordinal taxa are difficult to make out in the context of rank or major grouping. You end up with hierarchical lists and have to try and work out a great deal of it yourself. I'd find the classification of Benton from Bristol (another major author in the field) far more useful and user friendly.

There is no great enthusiasm shown for any of the scenarios or organisms/taxa in question (except some early amphibians and amniotes) and the illustrations could have been more informative. Kemp argues that the collision of India with Asia could have happened earlier than the Eocene but offers little justification. The contribution of Indian mammals if any from the Cretaceous period is alleged but the discussion is uncritical in the light of violent vulcanism on the subcontinent during the KT boundary.

Sorry, but I would have preferred Romer (VP and evolution) or Carroll's update of Romer. I'd really like a similar book on slightly more traditional lines and hope it turns up. In the meantime, this remains a reference for citing purposes.

5.0 out of 5 stars Mammals and their kin, August 20, 2009

By	Hubert Cumberdale (USA) - See all my reviews

Tom Kemp's book provides a superb, well-written overview of the diversity and evolutionary history of synapsids, the group including mammals. The origin of mammals is now one of the best-documented evolutionary transitions in the fossil record. A leading investigator on this subject, Kemp reviews the numerous changes in features of the skull and postcranial skeleton during this major transition and interprets these changes in functional terms. This is a particularly valuable aspect of Kemp's book. His review of mammalian diversity is an excellent synopsis of the many new data gathered in recent years and is presented within the framework of a phylogenetically based classification. It thus supercedes earlier, outdated treatments of this subject. I definitely recommend Kemp's book for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses. The book also includes an excellent, comprehensive bibliography, which will allow the reader to pursue topics of interest in greater depth. My only criticism is the quality of a number of illustrations; on quite a few figures, lines have faded or vanished during reproduction, and, in a few instances, illustration scans have been greatly distorted during printing. However, these are minor quibbles that do not distract from the overall quality of this book.