The Princeton Field Guide to Prehistoric Mammals

by Donald R. Prothero, Mary Persis Williams (Illustrator)

Overview

The ultimate illustrated guide to the lost world of prehistoric mammals

After the mass extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, mammals became the dominant terrestrial life form on our planet. Roaming the earth were spectacular beasts such as saber-toothed cats, giant mastodonts, immense ground sloths, and gigantic giraffe-like rhinoceroses. Here is the ultimate illustrated field guide to the lost world of these weird and wonderful prehistoric creatures.

A woolly mammoth probably won't come thundering through your vegetable garden any time soon. But if one did, this would be the book to keep on your windowsill next to the binoculars. It covers all the main groups of fossil mammals, discussing taxonomy and evolutionary history, and providing concise accounts of the better-known genera and species as well as an up-to-date family tree for each group. No other book presents such a wealth of new information about these animals—what they looked like, how they behaved, and how they were interrelated. In addition, this unique guide is stunningly illustrated throughout with full-color reconstructions of these beasts—many never before depicted—along with photographs of amazing fossils from around the world.

• Provides an up-to-date guidebook to hundreds of extinct species, from saber-toothed cats to giant mammoths
• Features a wealth of color illustrations, including new reconstructions of many animals never before depicted
• Demonstrates evolution in action—such as how whales evolved from hoofed mammals and how giraffes evolved from creatures with short necks
• Explains how mass extinctions and climate change affected mammals, including why some mammals grew so huge

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691156828
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	12/06/2016
Series:	Princeton Field Guides , #112
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	370,483
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 11.00(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Donald R. Prothero is research associate in vertebrate paleontology at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and professor emeritus of geology at Occidental College. His many books include Greenhouse of the Dinosaurs: Evolution, Extinction, and the Future of Our Planet, Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters, and After the Dinosaurs: The Age of Mammals.

Table of Contents

Preface 6

1 The Age of Mammals 7

Dating Rocks 8

Clocks in Rocks 10

What’s in a Name? 11

How Do We Classify Animals? 12

Bones vs Molecules 15

Bones and Teeth 15

2 The Origin and Early Evolution of Mammals 20

Synapsids (Protomammals or Stem Mammals) 20

Mammals in the Age of Dinosaurs 23

Morganucodonts 23

Docodonts 25

Monotremes (Platypus and Echidna) and Their Relatives 27

Multituberculates 30

Triconodonts 31

Theria 34

3 Marsupials: Pouched Mammals 37

Marsupial vs Placental 37

Marsupial Evolution 38

Ameridelphia 39

Australiadelphia 41

4 Placental Mammals (Eutheria) 47

The Interrelationships of Placentals 50

5 Xenarthra: Sloths, Anteaters, and Armadillos 51

Edentate vs Xenarthran 51

Order Cingulata (Armadillos) 53

Order Pilosa (Anteaters and Sloths) 55

6 Afrotheria: Elephants, Hyraxes, Sea Cows, Aardvarks, and Their Relatives 58

Tethytheres and Afrotheres 58

Order Proboscidea (Elephants, Mammoths, Mastodonts, and Their Relatives) 60

Order Sirenia (Manatees and Dugongs, or Sea Cows) 67

Order Embrithopoda (Arsinoitheres) 72

Order Desmostylia (Desmostylians) 73

Order Hyracoidea (Hyraxes) 75

Order Tubulidentata (Aardvarks) 77

Order Macroscelidia (Elephant Shrews) 78

Order Afrosoricida 79

7 Euarchontoglires: Euarchonta Primates, Tree Shrews, and Colugos 80

Archontans 80

Order Scandentia (Tree Shrews) 82

Order Dermoptera (Colugos, or Flying Lemurs) 82

Order Plesiadapiformes (Plesiadapids) 84

Order Primates (Euprimates) 86

8 Euarchontoglires: Glires Rodents and Lagomorphs 94

Chisel Teeth 94

Order Rodentia (Rodents) 95

Order Lagomorpha (Rabbits, Hares, and Pikas) 101

9 Laurasiatheria: Insectivores Order Eulipotyphla and Other Insectivorous Mammals 103

Order Eulipotyphla 103

Extinct Insectivorous Groups 107

10 Laurasiatheria: Chiroptera Bats 112

Bat Origins 114

11 Laurasiatheria: Pholidota Pangolins, or Scaly Anteaters 117

Order Pholidota (Pangolins) 118

Palaeanodonts 120

12 Laurasiatheria: Carnivora and Creodonta Predatory Mammals 122

Carnivores, Carnivorans, and Creodonts 122

Order Creodonta 124

Order Carnivora 127

13 Laurasiatheria: Ungulata Hoofed Mammals and Their Relatives 146

Condylarths 147

14 Laurasiatheria: Artiodactyla Even-Toed Hoofed Mammals: Pigs, Hippos, Whales, Camels, Ruminants, and Their Extinct Relatives 151

Artiodactyl Origins 153

Suoid Artiodactyls 154

Whippomorpha 160

Tylopods 169

Ruminantia 175

15 Laurasiatheria: Perissodactyla Odd-Toed Hoofed Mammals: Horses, Rhinos, Tapirs, and Their Extinct Relatives 186

Equoids 187

Tapiroids 191

Rhinocerotoids 196

Brontotheres, or Titanotheres 199

16 Laurasiatheria: Meridiungulata South American Hoofed Mammals 203

Order Notoungulata (Southern Ungulates) 205

Order Pyrotheria (Fire Beasts) 206

Order Astrapotheria (Lightning Beasts) 207

Order Litopterna (Litopterns, or Smooth Heels) 207

17 Uintatheres, Pantodonts, Taeniodonts, and Tillodonts 209

Order Dinocerata (Uintatheres) 209

Order Pantodonta (Pantodonts) 212

Order Taeniodonta (Taeniodonts) 214

Order Tillodontia (Tillodonts) 216

18 Mammalian Evolution and Extinction 218

Why Were Prehistoric Mammals So Big? 218

Where Have All the Megamammals Gone? 219

How Did Mammals Diversify after the Dinosaurs Vanished? 222

What about Mass Extinctions? 228

The Future of Mammals 229

Illustration Credits 231

Further Reading 232

Index (with Pronunciation Guide for Taxonomic Names) 234

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Up-to-date, comprehensive, and very readable. Prothero is a renowned expert in this field, with decades of experience working on diverse groups of prehistoric mammals. He clearly knows his subject well and skillfully conveys this knowledge to readers."—Spencer G. Lucas, New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science

"Prothero knows his fossil mammals."—Christine M. Janis, coauthor of Vertebrate Life

Editorial Reviews

"Written by American paleontologist Donald Prothero and beautifully illustrated by renowned scientific illustrator Mary Persis Williams, this publication is a ‘must have' for academics and fans of fossils as well as anyone with an interest in general science. . . . Highly recommended."

Everything Dinosaur

"One of the most important things about this book is that it is fully up to date, and thus, the only current mammalian evolutionary overview that is available, to my knowledge. In some areas of fossil mammal research there has been a lot of work over recent years, so this is important. I highly recommend this excellent book."

Greg Laden's Blog

"With a focus on the 66 million years since the end-Cretaceous extinction stripped away all dinosaurs but birds, Mr. Prothero's book ably demonstrates that mammalian evolution has been just as circuitous and strange as that of the terrible lizards. . . . [This book shows] the unexpected variety that life is capable of and raise[s] the question of what the next 235 million years will bring."—-Brian Switek, Wall Street Journal

"In The Princeton Field Guide to Prehistoric Mammals, author Donald Prothero . . . introduces readers to an array of real-life, but seemingly fantastic beasts—extinct mammals."—-Mindy Weisberger, LiveScience

From the Publisher