Neotropical Rainforest Mammals: A Field Guide

by Louise H. Emmons, François Feer

Neotropical Rainforest Mammals is the first color-illustrated field guide to the marvelously diverse fauna of Central and South American rainforests. It is an ideal introduction for people living or working in the tropical rainforests or for tourists visiting there. For scientists, it combines standard knowledge with invaluable new data in a well-organized format, contributing to efforts to understand and conserve this rich and elusive fauna.

Genres: Nature, Reference

295 pages, Hardcover

First published May 15, 1990

About the author

Louise H. Emmons is an American zoologist known for her extensive research on tropical rainforest mammals, especially rodents. She has conducted fieldwork in Gabon, Borneo, Peru, and Bolivia. Emmons earned her PhD from Cornell University, focusing on African rainforest squirrels. She is the author of Neotropical Rainforest Mammals: A Field Guide, a widely used reference. Emmons has described several new taxa, including genera and species of spiny rats, marsupials, and oryzomyine rodents. In recognition of her contributions, two species have been named after her, including Euryoryzomys emmonsae, also known as Emmons’s rice rat.

Reviews

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came to know the author through her scientific publications on ecology, in particular her research on carnivore co-existence in Peru. Dr Emmons is also an authority on mammals in general and a rodent expert. This field guide was an unexpected find, how it escaped my attention all these years is rather puzzling. Anyway the book's focus on rainforest is quite unique, as most wildlife guides are merely geographically delimited, and not by type of biome.

Richly illustrated with drawings and densely packed with details on each species not just on basics like physical description, but also behavior, habitats and ecological niche. If there is one detraction for me it is the lack of total counts for each mammalian order and classification in the checklist. Otherwise this is as perfect a reference guide as they come, with even a nice discussion on taxonomy and biogeography at the end to round things off.