The New Encyclopedia of Mammals edited by David MacDonald, Oxford
University Press, 拢35, ISBN 0198508239
IT鈥橲 SAD to say鈥攅ven though anthropologists will dispute it鈥�
Homo sapiens is not a particularly interesting mammal. No human male ever
attracted a mate by inflating one nostril lining and forcing it out of the
other, as the hooded seal does. Try as we might we are unlikely to die of sexual
exhaustion after a few days of frenzied mounting, as do those mammalian
mayflies, the male antechinus. Want to go swimming and bring baby? Follow the
yapok鈥攖he marsupial answer to an otter, with a sphincter-sealed pouch.
The New Encyclopedia of Mammals tells all these and some 4593 other
stories of mammalian magnificence. Its 150-plus contributors do their best to
ensure its contents match its dimensions. Its fine photos, clear text and case
studies should entrance everyone from grandpa to graduate students. Informative
illustrations of bones and functional anatomy flesh out a forest of evolutionary
trees, and an excellent and up-to-date treatment of the origins of mammals.
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A 930-page book can鈥檛 be error-free, but it is irritating to see disingenuous
captions. The Amazonian manatees are not 鈥渂asking in the shallows鈥�: that鈥檚 a
concrete pool bottom.
Homo sapiens? We鈥檙e mentioned only as Hominidae鈥檚 third genus,
without further comment. If only we had as much humility and perspective outside
this wonderful book.