Synopsis:
Animal is a new expanded edition of DK's best-selling encyclopedia, published 10 years ago. It brings together the expertise of natural history specialists and outstanding wildlife photographers to illustrate, describe, and explain the incredible range of creatures in the animal kingdom.
The natural world is a dynamic place and our understanding of it is forever growing and changing. Since Animal was first published in 2001, the African elephant has been reclassified into two species, a cat-sized rat has been discovered in Papua New Guinea, the only plant-eating spider has been found in Central America, a bird-eating fanged frog has been located in Vietnam, and more than 1,250 new species of amphibians have been identified. The distribution and conservation status of many animals has changed and scientists have developed new ways to classify animal groups. The study of genes has revealed new species. For example, the Bornean clouded leopard, thought to be a subspecies of a leopard found throughout SE Asia, is quite distinct, and a species in its own right-the first new carnivore to be discovered in the 21st century (so far). This new edition of Animal also takes advantage of the major technical advances in natural history photography with the addition of some truly stunning new images.
There is a general introduction to the animal kingdom and its evolution, then each of the world's habitats is examined in detail. The largest part of the book looks at the animals: the five vertebrate groups are reviewed, followed by the major invertebrate divisions. A comprehensive glossary and index conclude the book.
Table of Contents
PRELIMS (11PP)
INTRODUCTION (24PP)
What are animals?
Evolution Classification and animal groups
Gene-related research
Anatomy
Behavior
Life cycles
Animals in danger
Conservation
HABITATS (52PP)
World habitats
Grasslands
Deserts
Tropical forests
Temperate forests
Coniferous forests
Mountains
Polar regions
Freshwater Oceans
Coasts and coral reefs
Urban areas
THE ANIMAL KINGDOM (2PP)
Detailed and comprehensive coverage of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates, presented in taxonomic order:
MAMMALS (186PP)
Egg-laying mammals
Marsupials
Insectivores
Bats
Flying lemurs
Elephant-shrews
Tree shrews Primates (prosimians, monkeys, and apes)
Anteaters and relatives
Pangolins
Rabbits, hares, and pikas
Rodents (squirrel-like rodents, mouselike rodents, and cavylike rodents)
Cetaceans (baleen whales, toothed whales)
Carnivores (dogs and relatives, bears, raccoons and relatives, mustelids, civets and relatives, hyenas and aardwolf, cats)
Carnivores
Seals and sealions
Elephants
Aardvark
Hyraxes
Dugong and manatees
Hoofed animals: (horses and relatives, rhinoceroses, tapirs, pigs, hippopotamuses, camels and relatives, deer, giraffe and okapi, cattle and relatives)
Mammals in danger
BIRDS (112PP)
Ostriches
Rheas
Cassowaries and emus
Kiwis
Tinamous
Penguins
Loons
Grebes
Albatrosses and petrels
Pelicans and relatives
Herons and relatives
Flamingos
Waterfowl
Birds of prey
Game birds
Cranes and relatives
Waders, gulls, and auks
Pigeons
Sandgrouse
Parrots
Cuckoos and turacos
Owls
Nightjars and frogmouths
Hummingbirds and swifts
Mousebirds
Trogons
Kingfishers and relatives
Woodpeckers and toucans
Passerines
Birds in danger
REPTILES (72PP)
Tortoises and turtles
Tuataras
Snakes (boas, pythons, and relatives, colubrids, elapids, vipers, blind and thread snakes)
Lizards (iguanas and relatives, geckos and snake- lizards, skinks and relatives, and anguimorph lizards) Amphisbaenians
Crocodiles and alligators
Reptiles in danger
AMPHIBIANS (32PP )
Newts and salamanders
Caecilians
Frogs and toads
Amphibians in danger
FISH (68PP)
Jawless fish
Cartilaginous fish (sharks, skates, and rays)
Bony fish (fleshy-finned fish, primitive ray-finned fish, bony-tongued fish, tarpons and eels, herrings and relatives, catfish and relatives, salmon and relatives, dragonfish and relatives, lanternfish and relatives, cod and anglerfish, and spiny-rayed fish)
Fish in danger
INVERTEBRATES (82PP)
Sponges
Cnidarians
Flatworms
Segmented worms
Round worms
Minor phyla
Molluscs
Arthropods (insects, centipedes and millipedes, crustaceans, sea-spiders, horseshoe crabs, arachnids)
Echinoderms
Invertebrate chordates
Invertebrates in danger
GLOSSARY (4PP)
INDEX (22PP)
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS (1P)
TOTAL EXTENT: 632PP
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
