A major new multi-volume reference work on African mammals and a landmark publishing event.
Jonathan Kingdon was born in Tanzania and has spent much of his life in Africa. Over the course of a long career he has achieved acclaim as both a leading academic and a prominent artist. David Happold has held academic positions at the University of Khartoum (Sudan), University of Ibadan (Nigeria), University of Malawi, and The Australian National University. Mike Hoffmann trained as a mammalogist at the University of Pretoria, South Africa and the University of Oxford, UK. He has since moved into the field of international biodiversity conservation. Tom Butynski is a conservationist and ecologist who has worked in Africa for 35 years, mostly in Botswana, Kenya, Uganda and Equatorial Guinea. Meredith Happold spent several years in Nigeria and published observations on the fruit bats of western Nigeria. Since 1977 she has held a Visiting Fellowship at the Australian National University and her research has focused on African bats (especially those of Malawi). Jan Kalina is a conservation biologist. Her work with mammals began at Wildlife Conservation Society's Bronx Zoo in New York and at Colorado State University. She is currently joint-owner of Soita Nyiro Conservancy in Laikipia, Kenya.
The introduction to this work sets its agenda: to describe "in detail every extant species of African land mammal that was recognized at the time the profiles were written." By collecting the wealth of information already available, as well as presenting previously unpublished material, the set aspires to serve as a baseline for future research. The editors say this is the first time such a collection has been attempted; previous works were either regional in coverage or only included a selection of species. In this set, Africa is defined as the 47 continental nations and the "continental shelf" islands, which at some point were joined to the African continent. This definition does not include oceanic islands such as Madagascar and Cape Verde. The editors admit to discrepancies in the amount of information available among species but hope to point out gaps and correct inaccuracies. The species profiles are divided into up to 20 subheadings covering topics from scientific and vernacular names to taxonomy and geographic variation. The profiles are dense and heavily annotated, referencing authors and dates that can be matched to the sources in the bibliography. There is a glossary, but much of the language is technical and specialized, indicating that this is for a researcher in the field, and not a lay reader. A list of the 106 authors who contributed to Mammals of Africa Volume 4, as well as their contact information, is included at the end of the book. VERDICT This is an ambitious source aiming to make its mark in a specialized field.-Kara Schaff Dean, Walpole P.L., MA (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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