Mammoths, Sabertooths, and Hominids (Hardcover)

~ Jordi Agusti (Author), Mauricio Anton (Author) "A COMMON SCENARIO TENDS TO POSIT THE EARLY EVOLUTIONary radiation of placental mammals as occurring only after the extinction of the dinosaurs at the end..." (more)
Key Phrases: reconstructed shoulder height, true hyaenids, archaic perissodactyls, North America, Greek-Iranian Province, Vallesian Crisis (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An exceptionally valuable, scholarly, yet widely accessible broad outline of the dazzling evolutionary history of the mammalian faunas and selected lineages during the Age of Mammals, the Cenozoic....an important contribution for those paleontologists and zoologists who are not mammal specialists, yet have wide-ranging interests in macroevolution. Very highly recommended." -- Choice

"A rich paleontological panorama....What struck me most forceably about the work is the magnitude of chance experienced by the region over this period." -- Times Literary Supplement

"An excellent balance of coverage between different lineages--and impressive achievement in and of itself.... This is a very successful study, which tackles a difficult task with admirable deftness." -- Journal of Mammology

"Full of interesting matter...a vital aid in assisting the nonexpert reader to see the big picture." -- Tim Flannery, Science

"An important resource for specialists who wish to know the latest about European mammal evolution, because so much has changed since [Bjorn] Kurten (1971)... Agusti has done an excellent job of bringing these latest developements into the text and integrating them with the great increase in our understanding of European tectonics as well." -- Earth Science History

"A fine book for all who have an interest in mammals, whether extant species or fossil species. Nicely done." -- Northeastern Naturalist

"It is always a pleasure to review a book that is accurate, easy to read and beautifully illustrated." -- Peter Andrews, Journal of Mammalian Evolution

Review

"Gets to grips with the stunning diversity and succession of wildlife that inhabited the great European game park... The illustrations by Spanish artist Mauricio Anton are brilliant." -- New Scientist

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 328 pages
• Publisher: Columbia University Press (April 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0231116403
• ISBN-13: 978-0231116404
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,332,723 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tough to Read, September 17, 2005

By	David Mcconville - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"Mammoths, Sabertooths, and Hominids" describes the evolution of mammals in Europe over the past 65 million years, an immense stretch of time that this humble reader still struggles to comprehend. The author describes in detail the creatures that once lived in Europe, from the small and archaic, e.g. multituberculates, to the large and more modern, e.g. mammoths. Some mention is also made of non-mammals such as the killer birds and crocodiles. The book is lavishly illustrated with several full color plates in the center and numerous black-and-white sketches throughout the text. Mauricio Anton's pictures alone make the book worth owning for any prehistoric mammal enthusiast. The downside to this work, and why I only rate the book 4 stars, is that it's rather tough to read for someone who's not well-versed in the jargon of biology and paleontology. A glossary would have been really helpful. A hefty bibliography is supplied for those who wish to immerse themselves in the scholarly literature. I must admit that I had to start over a couple of times to grasp the material. This book isn't quite the readable account of mammalian evolution I was hoping for, having just recently been inspired to learn more about the subject by "Walking with Prehistoric Beasts". Students and grad-students in the field will certainly enjoy it, however.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best single guide on Cenozoic Mammals for general reader, March 14, 2003

By A Customer

This is a fantastic book. There is nothing else like it currently available. The best, most informative, guide to post-Cretaceous European mammals out there for the general reader. Beautiful pictures and detail-filled text will provide any lover of paleontology or indeed zoology with all the information they could possibly want. If you are student the book will also provide a valauble entree to 150 years of scholarship. Buy this while it is still available!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Challenging but worth the time and effort, November 17, 2008

By	Dr. Lee D. Carlson (Baltimore, Maryland USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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Written for the specialist or student in evolutionary biology and paleontology this book can nevertheless be studied by anyone who has an interest in these topics. For this reviewer, the main interest in this book was in the effect of climate on mammalian extinctions, with the hopes of shedding light on the current debate on climate change/global warming. Since the book is directed towards the specialist, the non-specialist will have to deal with a large amount of terminology, this arising mostly from the classification schemes used in paleontology and zoology. This reviewer found it helpful to use a few note sheets along the way to assist in remembering some of the scientific names of the major fauna that did exist in the time frame over which the book covers. Having some background in biology and geophysics will also help in the assimilation of the material in the book, particularly in cases where the authors are discussing dating techniques.

There is no part of this book that is uninteresting, and the excellent plates and drawings in the book add to the pleasure in its perusal. And the book went beyond this reviewer's expectations regarding the effects of climate change on mammalian extinctions: there are many examples discussed in the book and a few surprises, such as the assertion that the Mediterranean was completely desiccated around 6,000,000 years ago (the late Miocene). Early on though the authors caution the reader that even though much is known now regarding the time series of temperatures and oceanic changes throughout the last 65,000,000 years, one cannot conclude that there is an exact correlation between changes in climate and changes in mammalian ecosystems.

Very interesting also is how the authors deduce the dietary habits of extinct mammals by examining their fossilized teeth and jawbones. This "comparative" paleontology allows one to ascertain what flora were more prevalent in ages past by comparing the dental arrangements of modern mammals with those that are extinct. The variability in dental morphology it seems does have a direct correlation with the floral that were present during the time frame that the mammal was alive. An excellent example of this, which the authors discuss in the book, is the presence of `hypsodonty', which is dental morphology wherein the teeth have high crowns and enamel that extends beyond the gum line. The authors explain this as an adaptation to the silica grains that would be present in the grasses of the Pliocene age. Mammals without this adaptation would face extinction pressures due to the quick abrasion of the teeth due to these grains.

Another interesting discussion in the book concerns the `Monterey hypothesis', which is an attempt to understand the "climate crisis" in the middle Miocene in terms of the sequestering of large quantities of organic carbon. This resulted in accelerated global cooling because of the drawdown of atmospheric CO2 and the end of certain warm-water circulations. The authors discuss the experimental evidence for this hypothesis.

Mammalian extinctions can therefore be caused by climate change as well as genetics. The authors however point to another cause of these extinctions, namely the rise of the homo sapiens species, which the authors characterize as being "unique" in "its ability to exterminate other species." They give evidence to support this, but also note that that modern humans also fall prey to the very mammals that benefit from human expansion, such as the rats in the Middle Ages. But as they also note, H. sapiens is a wandering species. They moved into Australia as well as North America, and of course now dominate the planet. But this species, which on rare occasions decimates its own, is insatiably curious and has shown absolute brilliance throughout its sojourn on Earth...and on other worlds where it is just getting started.