1 Introduction
2 Crises in the History of Life
3 The Ice Age and the Megafauna
4 Cold Case: The Search for the Ice Age Killer
5 Northern Eurasia: Woolly Rhinos, Cave Bears, and Giant Deer
6 North America: Mastodon, Ground Sloths, and Sabertooth Cats
7 South America: Ground Sloths and Glyptodonts
8 Sahul: Giant Marsupials, a Thunderbird, and a Huge Lizard
9 Madagascar: Giant Lemurs, Elephant Birds, and Dwarf Hippos
10 New Zealand: Land of the Moa
11 Island Megafauna
12 Megafaunal Survival: Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia
13 Summary and Conclusions: The Global Pattern of Megafaunal
Extinctions
Acknowledgments
Appendix: Dating the Past
Notes
References
Index
For more than thirty years, Anthony J. Stuart has focused on the extinction of Ice Age megafauna and has published extensively in scientific journals such as Nature, Quaternary Science Reviews, and Quaternary International. He has also contributed to popular science publications including New Scientist, Geoscientist, Pour La Science, Spektrum der Wissenschaft, and Grizmek’s Animal Life Encyclopedia and served as a consultant for the three-part BBC series Ice Age Giants.
"Stuart reveals the vibrant lives of Pleistocene megafauna, driven
extinct by climate change and human hunters. Can lessons from the
past halt a sixth mass extinction?"
*New Scientist, "Don't Miss"*
"Woolly rhinos, mammoths, saber-toothed cats and other astounding
animals once roamed the Earth. How did they live and what caused
their extinction? This illustrated book delves into the world of
the Pleistocene with lessons about our current conservation
crises."
*Bookseller*
“Deft and entertaining, Vanished Giants reveals the ‘hugest,
fiercest, and strangest’ Ice Age animals—mastodons, saber-toothed
cats, immense ground sloths, and other odd, extinct creatures.
Relaying research in an accessible way and with informative
illustrations, this enthralling paleontology text discusses
megafauna in order of geographic regions and in the context of
disparate climates, habitats, and human settlements. . . . Stuart’s
conclusions about global extinction patterns are as fascinating and
complex as the species he examines themselves, and his reflections
about how similar forces threaten so many large animals today makes
this an important and captivating book.”
*Foreword Reviews*
"Vanished Giants provides a fascinating introduction to the Ice Age
biota and a judicious assessment of the nature and causes of the
megafaunal extinctions during the last 100,000 years."
*Metascience*
“Clearly written by an author with a long pedigree working on these
animals, this is an interesting overview of the Ice Age megafauna
and its extinction in the Pleistocene and Holocene. Vanished Giants
is superior to other books in the field in providing much more
detail on the animals themselves. Stuart has produced thorough
coverage of all the extinct megafauna with a description (usually
with an illustration) and discussion of their lifestyles. He also
discusses the debate on the causes of these extinctions, which for
many years have been polarized into human-driven—often called the
Blitzkrieg hypothesis—and climate-driven causes. It is a
fascinating topic and surely one of the most intense ongoing
debates in science, certainly in paleontology.”
*Paul Wignall, professor of paleoenvironments, University of
Leeds*
“We are very quick to blame species decline on human
action. Although this is certainly the cause today, it is not
necessarily the case historically. Stuart raises the potential
for more localized events, providing evidence of small meteorite
impacts, hyperdisease, and more, for the decline of Ice Age
megafaunal communities around the globe. This is fascinating.
Stuart discusses different species and different regions that were
affected, starting with Eurasia, then heading to North America, the
most famous region with the most recognized species to go extinct:
mammoth, ground sloth, camelids, sabretooth cats. The conclusions
are broad because, as Stuart points out, there is not a
straightforward answer to the question. The illustrations are
superb, and with the sheer inclusivity of time, geography, and
species covered, Vanished Giants really enhances the
field. An excellent book.”
*Neil Gostling, lecturer in evolution and paleobiology, University
of Southampton*
Ask a Question About this Product More... |