The Princeton field guide to prehistoric mammals
By: Donald R. Prothero ; with illustrations by Mary Persis Williams
Contributors: Williams, Mary Persis, illustrator
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 2017
Language: eng
Number of pages: 240
ISBN-13: 9780691156828
Copyright date: 2017
Subjects: Fossil Mammals; Phylogeny; Evolution; Extinct mammals; Paleontology; Mammals; Pictorial works
Other titles: Field guide to prehistoric mammals; Prehistoric mammals
Description: After the mass extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, mammals became the dominant terrestrial life form on our planet. Roaming the earth were spectacular beasts such as saber-toothed cats, giant mastodonts, immense ground sloths, and gigantic giraffe-like rhinoceroses. This book is an illustrated field guide to the lost world of these prehistoric creatures. It covers all the main groups of fossil mammals, discussing taxonomy and evolutionary history, and providing concise accounts of the better-known genera and species as well as an up-to-date family tree for each group. Illustrated throughout with full-color reconstructions and photographs of  fossils from around the world.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 232-233) and index.
Table of contents: title: 1. The age of mammals; title: 2. The origin and early evolution of mammals; title: 3. Marsupials : pouched mammals; title: 4. Placental mammals (Eutheria); title: 5. Xenarthra : sloths, anteaters, and armadillos; title: 6. Afrotheria : elephants, hyraxes, sea cows, aardvarks, and their relatives; title: 7. Euarchontoglires : Euarchonta. Primates, tree shrews, and colugos; title: 8. Euarchontoglires : Glires. Rodents and lagomorphs; title: 9. Laurasiatheria : insectivores. Order Eulipotyphla and other insectivorous mammals; title: 10. Laurasiatheria : Chiroptera. Bats; title: 11. Laurasiatheria : Pholidota. Pangolins, or "scaly anteaters"; title: 12. Laurasiatheria : Carnivora and Creodonta. Predatory mammals; title: 13. Laurasiatheria : Ungulata. Hoofed mammals and their relatives; title: 14. Laurasiatheria : Artiodactyla. "Even-toed" hoofed mammals : pigs, hippos, whales, camels, ruminants, and their extinct relatives; title: 15. Laurasiatheria : Perissodactyla. "Odd-toed" hoofed mammals : horses, rhinos, tapirs, and their extinct relatives; title: 16. Laurasiatheria : Meridiungulata. South American hoofed mammals; title: 17. Uintatheres, pantodonts, taeniodonts, and tillodonts; title: 18. Mammalian evolution and extinction.