In recent decades, growing numbers of researchers have been drawn to the rich and highly threatened biotic diversity of the Neotropics, where mammals are among the most difficult animals to observe and study in detail. Mammals of the Neotropics fills the need for a comprehensive, up-to-date survey of existing knowledge of the area's wild mammals, both terrestrial and marine. This first of three planned volumes covers the northern Neotropics, including southern Central America.

John Eisenberg, a leading researcher of Neotropical fauna, begins the volume with a discussion of historical biogeography and contemporary habitats of the northern Neotropics. Each of the chapters that follow presents a mammalian order, with data for all indigenous species. Eisenberg has provided physical descriptions and summaries of range and habitat for nearly 450 species. For those species that have been studied in the field or in captivity, additional notes on natural history are included. For the larger taxa, field keys to help to identify the specimens. Range maps, line drawings, and color plates supplement the text, further aiding identification.

Throughout the book, Eisenberg provides a larger context for the species descriptions. He comments on the diversity of forms within each order, places the Neotropical species in a worldwide geographical perspective, and reviews taxonomic questions and controversies. At the end of each chapter, an extensive bibliography directs readers to related articles on systematics, behavior, ecology, and evolution. Eisenberg concludes with chapters on speciation events and mammalian community ecology.

No comparable account of South and Central American mammals has ever been published in any language. This volume of Mammals of the Neotropics and the forthcoming companion volumes will be an invaluable reference for students and professionals and will help further the research that is so vital to conservation efforts.

Mammals of the Neotropics satisfies the need for a comprehensive, up-to-date survey of existing knowledge of South America's terrestrial and marine mammals. No comparable account of South American mammals has ever been published in any language, and this timely work will help encourage the research vital to conservation efforts.

This second of a projected three volumes covers southern South America. The authors discuss the historical biogeography and contemporary habitats of the region and then
provide individual accounts for nearly 360 indigenous species, including information on size, appearance, ecology, behavior, and life history. Range maps, line drawings, and color plates supplement the text. To place the species accounts in a broader context, the authors consider the diversity of animals within each taxonomic group, examine the Neotropical species from a worldwide geographical perspective, and review taxonomic questions and
controversies. Two final chapters deal with the community ecology of mammals and the effects humans have had on the mammalian fauna of the southern cone.

Despite intense interest in this biologically diverse and ecologically important region, the mammals of South America are still not well known. Filling a large gap in the literature, this volume provides a survey and synthesis of current knowledge of the more than 650 species of land and marine mammals found in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil.

Third in a series that reviewers have described as "state of the art" (Journal of Biogeography) and "invaluable to anyone interested in the mammalian fauna of the Neotropics" (Quarterly Review of Biology), this volume follows the format of its acclaimed predecessors. Chapters present not only up-to-date taxonomic information but also ecological and behavioral characteristics, conservation status, and distribution maps for most species. Numerous illustrations are provided to assist in field and laboratory identification, including exquisite color and black-and-white plates by Fiona Reid. New to this volume are chapters contributed by experts on the mammalian fossil record of this region and on its current biodiversity and biogeography. An appendix summarizes changes to the nomenclature that have altered the scientific names used in the first two volumes.

Volumes 1 and 2 of Mammals of the Neotropics, which are also available, describe the mammals of Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana (volume 1) and Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay (volume 2). The fourth and final volume of this series will cover the mammals of Mexico and Central America.