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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1042441 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 624 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
DK's astonishingly wonderful Animal--produced in cooperation with the Smithsonian Institution and more than 70 expert zoologists--profiles over 2,000 species, from the tiny spider mite to the massive blue whale. To call this book "profusely illustrated" is to seriously under-represent page after page of breathtaking photography capturing the thrumming life with sharp clarity. Even the page borders are covered with collages of animal skins to indicate which class of organisms is represented in that section--every inch of this heavy book is gorgeous.

Besides heft and beauty, Animal has authority. Editors-in-chief David Burnie and Don E. Wilson are top biologists, and they have assembled a crack team of consultants for each section of the book. For instance, Richard Rosenblatt of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography takes charge of the chapter on fish, so all the classification, behaviour and distribution data is up-to-date and full of the kind of detail that comes from years of professional specialisation. In addition to basic size, location and status information, each animal gets a short, one to two-paragraph description, enough to give a feel for the creature:

The blackfin icefish produces a natural "antifreeze", enabling it to survive in the subzero waters of the Antarctic. It lacks red blood cells and hence looks rather pale, but has excellent blood circulation, and a strong heart which weighs as much as that of a small mammal. Its large, toothy mouth led to it being called the crocodile fish by 19th-century whalers.

This book is an ideal browsing reference for all experience levels, as well as a delightful addition to the collection of any animal enthusiast or classroom. By necessity, not all species are covered, but as a general source of information down to the genus level, Animal excels. Though a little pricey, this book is extraordinarily beautiful, biologically accurate and packed with furry, feathery, finny, many-legged delights. It is one of the very best science books of 2001. --Therese Littleton

Excerpted from Animal by David Burnie. Copyright © 2001. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
MAMMALS

Mammals, the most familiar group of vertebrates, all nourish their young on milk produced by the female's mammary glands (the unique skin structures after which the class is named). Most also give birth to live young and, with only a few exceptions, have a covering of hair on their body. Mammals are most widespread and diverse on land, but they have also colonized air and water. Their success is largely due to their ability to maintain a constant internal body temperature, regardless of changing external conditions. They are also highly adaptable and often modify their behaviour to suit changing circumstances.

Adaptable Creatures

Over time, the limbs of some mammals have evolved into either wings, flippers, or grasping hands and feet, enabling bats to take to the air, whales and dolphins to adopt an aquatic existence, and primates to move freely through the trees. Predatory land mammals, such as cats, have developed a flexible spine for speed and manoeuvrability, and a long tail for balance.

Aerial Mammals

Bats are the only mammals that possess true, flapping wings and the ability to fly (as opposed to flying lemurs, for example, which glide). Perhaps the most distinctive feature of bats is their wings, which are formed from a double layer of skin stretched between the side of the body and the 4 elongated fingers on each hand. A single bat may eat hundreds of mosquitoes in one night (thereby lessening the incidence of malaria in other animals). Several bats eat fruits, and some use their long tongue to feed on pollen and nectar. Vampire bats use their sharp teeth to make a small incision in the skin of an animal while it sleeps and then drink the blood.

By extending the strong, kite-shaped membrane that surrounds their body, flying lemurs are able to glide more than 100m between trees, with very little loss in height. The term 'flying lemur' is misleading, however, as these mammals are not lemurs and are not capable of true flight. About the size of a domestic cat, they have large eyes, a blunt muzzle, strong claws for climbing, and mottled fur for camouflage.

Terrestrial Mammals
With a lithe, muscular body, acute senses, highly evolved teeth and claws, lightning reflexes and camouflage coloration, cats are model hunters. In fact cats are the most specialized of the mammalian flesh-eaters. They are unusual in that all species appear remarkably similar: the differences between tigers and the domestic cat, for example, are surprisingly small. Cats are found throughout Eurasia, Africa, and the Americas (the domestic cat is found worldwide), from alpine heights to deserts. Many species live in forests. All except the largest cats are expert climbers, and several are excellent swimmers. Most cats are solitary.

Arboreal Mammals

Members of the order primates - prosimians, monkeys and apes - are a diverse group that form highly complex social units. Primates mostly inhabit tropical rainforests, and their dexterous prehensile (grasping) hands and feet are an adaptation to a largely arboreal lifestyle. Primates form a highly varied group, with members as diverse as mouse lemurs, which may weigh only 35g and gorillas, which can reach over 200kg. Most species have flat nails on the fingers and toes - only a few have claws - and the big toe always has a nail. Most have a tail, except the apes. Apart from some toothed whale species, the higher primates have the largest brain relative to body size of all the mammals, which helps explain their high intelligence.

Most primates spend at least part of their life in trees and have adapted accordingly. To provide a strong hold on branches, the big toe is separated from the other toes in all species except humans, and the thumb is always separated from the fingers, although it is fully opposable only in apes and in some Old World monkeys. The arm and wrist bones are not fused, which increases dexterity. Primates also have 'free' limbs - the upper part of each limb is outside the body wall, which allows great freedom of movement. Some species have a long, prehensile tail, used as a 'fifth limb'.

Aquatic Mammals

Three groups of mammals have adapted to aquatic life, developing a streamlined body and the ability to stay underwater for long periods (although all of them return to the surface to breathe). The largest group are whales and dolphins. Like whales, seals and sea lions rely on subcutaneous fat to keep warm, but they have retained their fur, which is kept waterproof by an oily secretion. Sirenians (the manatees and dugong) live in warm coastal waters and estuaries and are the only herbivorous aquatic mammals.

Cetaceans

Cetaceans - whales, dolphins, and porpoises - are perhaps the most specialized of all mammals, with their fish-shaped, hairless body, a flipper-like front limb, and vestigial back limbs (located within the body wall). However, they are true mammals: they breathe air with lungs, and they have mammary glands with which they suckle their young.

Unlike other river dolphins, this species lacks a proper dorsal fin and in its place has a low back hump. Known for its slow, apparently lethargic lifestyle, the Amazon river dolphin usually lives alone or in twos.