The Fate of the World's Hugest, Fiercest, and Strangest Animals
This book has the modest aim of bringing together methodological, theo- retical, and empirical studies that bear on the phylogenetic placement of primates and their relatives, and continues a tradition started by Phylogeny of the Primates: A Multi...
"Near time" -an interval that spans the last 100,000 years or so of earth history-qualifies as a remarkable period for many reasons. From an anthropocentric point of view, the out standing feature of near time is the fact that the evolut...
"Ross McPhee's End of the Megafauna is a marvellous survey of what we know about the magnificent creatures who shared our world just 12,000 years ago, and he is brilliantly served by the superb illustrations of Australian artist Peter Schouten. There are also excellent maps and diagrams, helping you remember the difference between your Pleistocene and Holocene. The book is also a compelling, sometimes demanding and scientifically rigorous detective story." -- The Sunday Times "Palaeomammalogist Ross MacPhee examines the theories, such as human over-hunting, climate change, emergent infections and food-web disruption; articulates the ongoing debate around them and what that might tell us about todays biodiversity crisis; and takes a look at de-extinction. Packed with evocative artwork by Peter Schouten." -- Nature "In End of the Megafauna, palaeontologist Ross MacPhee explores the current hypotheses, weighing up the evidence with academic rigour and delivering it with pop-science clarity." -- BBC Wildlife "Delving far deeper into the subject matter than anything you would have likely experienced before, this is a fascinating examination of a long-forgotten past and proof that giant life didn't end with the dinosaurs. A great gift for those who like their history with bite." -- How It Works "... highly readable book..." -- The British Association of Nature Conservationists Magazine
Ross D. E. MacPhee is a paleomammalogist with the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, where he has worked since 1988. He has conducted more than fifty expeditions in many parts of the world, including both polar regions. In addition to numerous scientific papers, he is the author of Race to the End: Amundsen, Scott, and the Attainment of the South Pole (2010) and the editor of Extinctions in Near Time: Causes, Contexts, and Consequences (1999). Peter Schouten is a self-taught and trained artist who works primarily in the field of natural history illustration. He has illustrated many award-winning books and his artworks have been collected by museums and galleries around the globe. In 2015 he was awarded the title Member of the Order of Australia, in recognition of his contributions to the development of Australian arts and sciences.