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The Rise of the Mammals
The modern world is dominated by mammals, the most advanced form of animal life.
How has this come about? Why do mammals overshadow every form of animal life on the planet? What evolutionary traits led to the modern mammalian faunas?
This book answers these and many other questions in an entertaining yet authoritative way. Taking advantage of the latest research and excavations, the text traces the ancestry of the mammals from the earliest reptile ancestors to the dawn of the present era, covering the grotesque giants of the past together with the ancestors of modern animals. It offers a uniquely comprehensive and enjoyable background to the modern world of wildlife, explaining how modern mammal families have evolved and come into being.
How has this come about? Why do mammals overshadow every form of animal life on the planet? What evolutionary traits led to the modern mammalian faunas?
This book answers these and many other questions in an entertaining yet authoritative way. Taking advantage of the latest research and excavations, the text traces the ancestry of the mammals from the earliest reptile ancestors to the dawn of the present era, covering the grotesque giants of the past together with the ancestors of modern animals. It offers a uniquely comprehensive and enjoyable background to the modern world of wildlife, explaining how modern mammal families have evolved and come into being.
- GenresNature
144 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1991
About the author
Michael J. Benton
135 books134 followersMichael J. Benton FRS is Professor of Vertebrate Palaeontology at the University of Bristol. He is particularly interested in early reptiles, Triassic dinosaurs, and macroevolution, and has published over 50 books and 300 scientific articles. He leads one of the most successful palaeontology research groups at the University of Bristol, and has supervised over 60 PhD students.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 25, 2013
This book covers some very fascinating and interesting material and shows how evolution has worked on particular species over millions of years. I was tempted to give it three stars because the author plasters his pages with far too many latin names, taxonomies and descriptions that detract from the overall story that he is trying to tell. However, in the end, the animals he describes are so incredible that I relented!
I particularly like the coverage of the evolution of elephants and sabretooths but the extinct animals from South America and Australia have a distinct fascination of their own. The first chapter describes how reptiles evolved into mammals in general and then the origin of placental and marsupial mammals in particular. Chapter Two covers the mass extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs and the species that subsequently benefited as a result - including our remote ancestors.
Chapter Three describes the evolution of modern mammals including those that eventually evolved into whales and cetaceans. Chapter Four describes the island continents of Australia and in South America and the indigenously life that evolved in these two places. The author points out that, despite common belief, marsupials did as well as placental mammals and that they were not 'inferior' to mammals that lacked pouches.
Chapter Five explains how climate change led to the spread of grasslands across the world and how new animals evolved to take advantage of prairies, savannah, the pampas and the steppes. Our own ancestry was particularly affected when the land in East Africa gradually changed from dense forest to more open savannah. Without that change humans would probably not have evolved at all.
In Chapter Six the Ice Ages are explained and some of the fantastic creatures associated with them - like the mammoth and the woolly rhino - are described. Benton discusses the role early humans played in the extinction of the megafuana and notes the connection between the arrival of humans in an area and the subsequent demise of large animals in those very same places. However, climate change and the varying power of the sun could also have affected the megafauna. As the ice retreated, for example, there was far less room for mammoths and wholly rhinos to continue with their established way of life.
I personally feel that humans are extremely likely to have been the last straw that pushed many species over the edge into oblivion and Benton himself mentions some of the animals we have driven to extinction even more recently such as the thylacine or Tasmanian wolf, the quagga - a type of zebra- and the black chested Barbary lion that used to live in Morocco and was once widespread throughout North Africa.
He concludes with the following sobering thought: "At this increasing rate, we shall kill off another five species of mammals by the year 2000, and another 20 by 2100, until all wild species - except perhaps rats and mice - have gone by the year 2500. This is evidence for the impressive success of Homo Sapiens, but also a stark warning of the folly of the so-called "wise human". Amen to that!
I particularly like the coverage of the evolution of elephants and sabretooths but the extinct animals from South America and Australia have a distinct fascination of their own. The first chapter describes how reptiles evolved into mammals in general and then the origin of placental and marsupial mammals in particular. Chapter Two covers the mass extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs and the species that subsequently benefited as a result - including our remote ancestors.
Chapter Three describes the evolution of modern mammals including those that eventually evolved into whales and cetaceans. Chapter Four describes the island continents of Australia and in South America and the indigenously life that evolved in these two places. The author points out that, despite common belief, marsupials did as well as placental mammals and that they were not 'inferior' to mammals that lacked pouches.
Chapter Five explains how climate change led to the spread of grasslands across the world and how new animals evolved to take advantage of prairies, savannah, the pampas and the steppes. Our own ancestry was particularly affected when the land in East Africa gradually changed from dense forest to more open savannah. Without that change humans would probably not have evolved at all.
In Chapter Six the Ice Ages are explained and some of the fantastic creatures associated with them - like the mammoth and the woolly rhino - are described. Benton discusses the role early humans played in the extinction of the megafuana and notes the connection between the arrival of humans in an area and the subsequent demise of large animals in those very same places. However, climate change and the varying power of the sun could also have affected the megafauna. As the ice retreated, for example, there was far less room for mammoths and wholly rhinos to continue with their established way of life.
I personally feel that humans are extremely likely to have been the last straw that pushed many species over the edge into oblivion and Benton himself mentions some of the animals we have driven to extinction even more recently such as the thylacine or Tasmanian wolf, the quagga - a type of zebra- and the black chested Barbary lion that used to live in Morocco and was once widespread throughout North Africa.
He concludes with the following sobering thought: "At this increasing rate, we shall kill off another five species of mammals by the year 2000, and another 20 by 2100, until all wild species - except perhaps rats and mice - have gone by the year 2500. This is evidence for the impressive success of Homo Sapiens, but also a stark warning of the folly of the so-called "wise human". Amen to that!
January 2, 2016
Dated.... some of the information is not what we know today. Overall, not bad though. Illustrations are good and pertinent.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews