Description

There are more than 6,000 mammalian species, among them our own. Research on our evolutionary cousins has a long history, but the last two decades have seen particularly rapid progress in disentangling the interrelationships and evolutionary history of mammals.

The present volume, Mammalian Evolution, Diversity and Systematics (PDF) combines up-to-date reviews on mammalian phylogenetics with taxonomic, paleontological, and evolutionary chapters and also summarizes the historical development of our insights in mammalian relationships, and thus our own place in the Tree of Life. This ebook places the present biodiversity crisis in context, with 1 out of 4 mammal species threatened by extinction, and reviews the distribution and conservation of mammalian diversity across the world. This volume is the introductory tome to the new Mammalia series of the Handbook of Zoology and will be essential reading for zoologists, mammalogists, and conservationists alike.