Mammoths, Sabertooths, and Hominids: 65 Million Years of Mammalian Evolution in Europe

by Jordi Agustí, Mauricio Antón

Overview

Mammoths, Sabertooths, and Hominids takes us on a journey through 65 million years, from the aftermath of the extinction of the dinosaurs to the glacial climax of the Pleistocene epoch; from the rain forests of the Paleocene and the Eocene, with their lemur-like primates, to the harsh landscape of the Pleistocene Steppes, home to the woolly mammoth. It is also a journey through space, following the migrations of mammal species that evolved on other continents and eventually met to compete or coexist in Cenozoic Europe. Finally, it is a journey through the complexity of mammalian evolution, a review of the changes and adaptations that have allowed mammals to flourish and become the dominant land vertebrates on Earth.

With the benefit of recent advances in geological and geophysical techniques, Jordi Agustí and Mauricio Antón are able to trace the processes of mammalian evolution as never before; events that hitherto appeared synchronous or at least closely related can now be distinguished on a scale of hundreds or even dozens of thousands of years, revealing the dramatic importance of climactic changes both major and minor. Evolutionary developments are rendered in magnificent illustrations of the many extraordinary species that once inhabited Europe, detailing their osteology, functional anatomy, and inferred patterns of locomotion and behavior. Based on the latest research and field work, Mammoths, Sabertooths, and Hominids transforms our understanding of how mammals evolved and changed the face of the planet.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780231116411
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	10/26/2005
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	328
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Jordi Agustí is ICREA Research Professor at the Institut de Paleoecologia Humana in Tarragona, Spain. He is a prominent specialist in fossil mammalian faunas of Europe, having conducted a number of European projects as well as field campaigns in Spain, Georgia, and northern Africa. Mauricio Antón is a paleontological artist based at the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid. His work has appeared in National Geographic and Natural History. He has collaborated with the Discovery Channel and the BBC, most recently for the program "Sabretooth" and the series Walking with Prehistoric Beasts.

Table of Contents

Preface
The Paleocene: The Dark Epoch
The Eocene: Reaching the Climax
The Oligocene: A Time of Change
The Early to Middle Miocene: When the Continents Collide
The Late Miocene: The Beginning of the Crisis
The Pliocene: The End of a World
The Pleistocene: The Age of Humankind
Index

What People are Saying About This

New Scientist

Gets to grips with the stunning diversity and succession of wildlife that inhabited the great European game park... The illustrations by Spanish artist Mauricio Anton are brilliant.

Michael J. Benton

The stunning illustrations give a brilliant picture of the mammals of the past 65 million years in Europe. Climates and habitats changed enormously during this time, from humid, subtropical forests, through arid grasslands, to the freezing millennia of the great ice ages. Jordi Agusti's text gives the evidence in detail, and Mauricio Anton's drawings make you believe you are looking at the living animals.

— Michael J. Benton, University of Bristol and author of Walking with Dinosaurs: Fascinating Facts, Vertebrate Palaeontology and The Penguin Historical Atlas of Dinosaurs

Christine M. Janis

Following the recent success of the Discovery Channel showing of "Walking with (Prehistoric) Beasts," this volume provides a great resource into which people stimulated by this series can delve for further and more technical information.

— Christine M. Janis, Brown University and author of Vertebrate Life

Editorial Reviews

A fine book for all who have an interest in mammals, whether extant species or fossil species. Nicely done.

Northeastern Naturalist

An exceptionally valuable, scholarly, yet widely accessible broad outline of the dazzling evolutionary history of the mammalian faunas and selected lineages during the Age of Mammals, the Cenozoic....an important contribution for those paleontologists and zoologists who are not mammal specialists, yet have wide-ranging interests in macroevolution. Very highly recommended.

Choice

An important resource for specialists who wish to know the latest about European mammal evolution, because so much has changed since [Bjorn] Kurten (1971)... Agusti has done an excellent job of bringing these latest developements into the text and integrating them with the great increase in our understanding of European tectonics as well.

Earth Sciences History

A rich paleontological panorama....What struck me most forceably about the work is the magnitude of chance experienced by the region over this period.

Time Magazines Literary Supplement

It is always a pleasure to review a book that is accurate, easy to read and beautifully illustrated.

— Peter Andrews

Journal of Mammalian Evolution

Full of interesting matter...a vital aid in assisting the nonexpert reader to see the big picture.

— Tim Flannery

Science

Agustí (Institut de Paleontologia M. Crusafont, Barcelona) and Madrid-based artist and scientific illustrator Antón provide a broad view for geologists, anthropologists, students, and researchers who want an overall idea of the origins of European mammals without immersing themselves in the copious literature available. Their account integrates recent developments, such as the broadening of the chronological scale and the detail that can now distinguish between events that were previously thought to be virtually simultaneous. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Full of interesting matter...a vital aid in assisting the nonexpert reader to see the big picture.

Science - Tim Flannery

It is always a pleasure to review a book that is accurate, easy to read and beautifully illustrated.

Journal of Mammalian Evolution - Peter Andrews

An excellent balance of coverage between different lineages—and impressive achievement in and of itself.... This is a very successful study, which tackles a difficult task with admirable deftness.

Journal of Mammology

A rich paleontological panorama....What struck me most forceably about the work is the magnitude of chance experienced by the region over this period.

Times Literary Supplement

An important resource for specialists who wish to know the latest about European mammal evolution, because so much has changed since [Bjorn] Kurten (1971)... Agusti has done an excellent job of bringing these latest developements into the text and integrating them with the great increase in our understanding of European tectonics as well.

Earth Science History