Steven M. Goodman is the MacArthur Field Biologist at the Field Museum, Chicago, and based in Antananarivo, Madagascar. He is coeditor of The Natural History of Madagascar and Atlas of Selected Land Vertebrates of Madagascar, the former published and the latter distributed by the University of Chicago Press. William L. Jungers is distinguished teaching professor and chair of anatomical sciences at Stony Brook University School of Medicine.
"Extinct Madagascar invites us to explore that world and to probe
the circumstances surrounding its demise. Understanding
Madagascar's recent past is critically important because many of
its remaining endemic vertebrates are highly endangered and could
face a similar fate. The authors are two of the top scholars in
this field, whose wealth of knowledge about extinct Madagascar is
delightfully displayed in this book. . . . Anyone interested in
Madagascar's recent past must read Goodman and Jungers's book."--
"Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology"
"Extinct Madagascar is an excellent and comprehensive work with a
broad appeal across many disciplines. For those interested in
Madagascar and rigorously testing hypotheses regarding
paleoenvironment, community ecology, and extinction, this book is
invaluable and represents a comprehensive synthesis of what is
known about the island's past environments, the role of humans in
environmental change, and the mechanisms of extinction. This
glimpse back in time constitutes an impressive tribute to
Madagascar's biodiversity as well as a reminder of the reality and
threat of extinction. With a devastating extinction event occurring
right before our eyes, the island's future relies on whether or not
we choose to act, and the actions taken will likely be more
effective if they begin with an understanding of the environmental
change that has already occurred."--Karen E. Samonds, Northern
Illinois University "Journal of Mammalogy"
"Extinct Madagascar is original; there is no other like it. It is
data-rich, fabulously illustrated, and has just enough humor to
make it fun to read as well as intellectually stimulating. It is
not a review of the anatomy or taxonomy of the various taxa, yet it
presents sufficient amounts of detail in this regard to make
visualization possible. The book also provides a very nice
synthesis of cultural, genetic, and paleontological evidence for
human arrival--I think the best out there."--Laurie Godfrey
"University of Massachusetts Amherst"
"Goodman and Jungers have carefully discussed each subfossil site
and its community. . . . Extremely useful to both biologists and
policy makers to have these two volumes [Extinct Madagascar and the
Atlas of Selected Land Vertebrates of Madagascar] published and
easily accessible. Not only are sighting, trapping, and
paleontological sites labeled and mapped, but the type of forest
and ecosystem is also clear. Current threats to the fauna are also
outlined. Recent renaming of taxonomic groups based on molecular
evidence is also clarified, making this information very useful to
young scientists. The authors, well-known, seasoned scientists, are
praised for excellent fieldwork and thorough scholarship in
presenting these data of Malagasy fauna past and
present."--Patricia Chapple Wright, Stony Brook University
"Quarterly Review of Biology"
"Large faunal species disappeared from Madagascar at a time when
humans were certainly present on the island. A deduction, though
not a parsimonious one, purported by many scholars is to attribute
these extinctions to the hands of man, whether as a primary or
contributory factor. . . . By contrast, in Extinct Madagascar,
Steven M. Goodman and William L. Jungers explore in greater depth
than the current literature presently offers the recent past of
these animals through specific case studies presented by sites and
by species. Each site is splendidly illustrated by the artist
Velizar Simeonovski in arresting artworks, depicting how some of
these animals may have lived or gone extinct based on available
palaeontological evidence. These plates allow the reader a
pictorial (though still speculative) glance of the past. . . .
Extinct Madagascar provides superb information on a large number of
palaeontological sites, contextualising the ecological uniqueness
of each site. . . . The material presented should certainly provide
more 'meat' to pursue research on the elusive nature of past
extinction processes in Madagascar, especially if the past is to be
used as a guide to conservation of biodiversity. This is more
relevant than ever, with the huge challenge facing biodiversity in
Madagascar today with continuing climate change and increasing
human population impacts."--Malika Virah-Sawmy, University of New
South Wales, Australia "Holocene"
"The extinction (and its causes) of the many subfossil organisms
described in Extinct Madagascar is one of biodiversity science's
great unsolved mysteries. Goodman and Jungers summarize and present
a monumental amount of information pertaining to these species,
combining storytelling (descriptive accounts of the scientists
involved, of various events and adventures) and marvelous plates
with exquisite details of the subfossils and associated metadata to
illustrate both the landscape and the organisms of the Holocene
epoch in Madagascar. Their literary approach as well as the data
reviewed and assembled make for a wonderful addition to the
literature. Extinct Madagascar will have broad appeal across
disciplines and will be a priceless book for graduate seminar work.
I can't wait."--Anne Yoder "Duke University"
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