The Big Cats and Their Fossil Relatives (Paperback)

by Mauricio Anton (Author), Professor Alan Turner (Author), Professor F. Clark. Howell (Foreword) "THE EARTH IS ROUGHLY 4,500 MILLION YEARS OLD..." (more)
Key Phrases: fossil cats, elongated upper canines, extinct cats, North America, Rancho La Brea, Friesenhahn Cave (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Here's a book for cat lovers, but those who prefer good hard science to the warm and fuzzy feline tomes. While very readable, not to mention beautifully and lavishly illustrated, The Big Cats and Their Fossil Relatives is a serious and intelligent look at how today's lions, tigers, and other cat species are linked to their ancient and extinct ancestors. The way cats have evolved over 25 million years, and the descriptions of feline behavior, both ancient and present, will intrigue animal lovers in general, and not just cat people. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
Paleontologist Turner and scientific illustrator Anton provide a unique and eye-catching account of living and extinct big cats. Following the introduction discussing their evolution, Turner offers detailed descriptions and differentiation of individual species. A close look at anatomy and its expression in the behavior of living big cats is used to make inferences about functions and behaviors in extinct species. Finally, Turner sets the evolutionary history of the big cats in a global context, discussing factors influencing their evolution and extinction. Although the author does not footnote his information, he does provide a lengthy list of sources for further reading in each chapter. The excellent illustrations illuminate and expand on many of Turner's points. The book remains fairly technical, especially regarding taxonomy and anatomy. Recommended for larger public and academic libraries.?Jeanne Davidson, Oregon State Univ. Lib., Corvallis
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Columbia University Press (June 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0231102291
• ISBN-13: 978-0231102292
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #139,565 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good reference work, March 19, 2002

By	Atheen M. Wilson "Atheen" (Mpls, MN United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The Big Cats by Alan Turner is a very thorough discussion of the cat family, past and present. It also sports illustrator Mauricio Anton's splendid sketches and paintings of various members of the family. Those of extinct cats bring them to life in a way that the usual drawings of the skull and skeletal remains cannot. There is a thorough discussion of taxonomy in general and of classification of cats in particular. Unfortunately while the drawings are wonderful and the information dense, the book is not light reading. It might be useful to the professional paleontologist or zooarchaeologist looking for a good overview of cat remains or possibly appeal to the dedicated cat lover, but I can't imagine settling in by the fire on a quiet evening with the book. Its most appropriate place might be in a school library for reference use by students doing classroom projects on cats, paleontology, biology, ecology, etc.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not a "Light Read" but GREAT insight into paleontology, December 1, 1999

By	Zoological Engineer (Gnaw Bone, IN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Big Cats and Their Fossil Relatives (Hardcover)

My 12 year old son, who is fascinated by the large cats, saw this book in a bookstore and wanted it. I waited for a year or so before I bought it because it IS college level reading. We thoroughly enjoyed it. There are great drawings of fossil skeletons & extant animal skeletons. Once you have waded past the first 2 chapters and their latin terms are familiar, the rest was terrific. The authors do a fine job of telling the reader what a scholar is looking for in understanding an organism's capabilities and how to see in a living mammal the same capabilities expressed. The bio-mechanics are explained non-mathematically. The extinct species are discussed in terms of their relationship to the probable biosphere in which they lived. The book could use some more graphics to illustrate the "family-tree" of the large cats and where & when they lived in terms of geography, likely environment, & timeline. This material is in the text and in some graphics, but because we all have been sensitized by the great graphics in "National Geographic" & on TV we expect them to be in all books. I am an engineer and found this a fascinating journey into another arena of scholarship, without it being overwhelming.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At last! First class paleo-mammal illustrations!, September 11, 2000

By	The Sanity Inspector (USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Big Cats and Their Fossil Relatives (Hardcover)

In
the current dino-mania, fossil mammals are overshadowed. Too bad;
there are many curious and wonderful creatures in the mammalian
lineage. Yet, few well-illustrated popular books on the subject
exist. Bjorn Kurten's _Before the Indians_ had blurry charcoal
drawings. The late George Gaylord Simpson was an authority on
prehistoric South American mammals, but little more than a doodler
with a brush. And Colin Tudge's wonderful _The Time Before History_
had no pictures at all.

So this book is most welcome. Mauricio
Anton is a gifted artist. Cats and catlike creatures such as
nimravids, homotheriums, saber-tooths, dirk-tooths, all seem to live
again in these color and b/w pictures. The only beastie which is
unconvincingly rendered is the poorly-known _Thylacoleo_, the
marsupial lion.

Through the reproductions and discussions of these
and other animals, one gets a lesson in how different animals adopt
similar body plans, based on their ecological niche. Large top
predators are robust, while middle niche hunters are more
gracile. Thus, we are told, _Thylacoleo_, the largest nimravids, and
the largest saber-tooths resemble lions, while smaller predators
resemble cheetahs and leopards. All in all, a must for big cat- and
paleontology- lovers, the latter who may be getting tired of
dinosaurs!