Evolving Eden

Read the most by: boys and girls

An Illustrated Guide to the Evolution of the African Large-mammal Fauna Linking the evidence of the past with that of the present, this exquisitely illustrated guide examines the evolution of the mammalian fauna of Africa within the context of dramatic changes over the course of more than 30 million years of primate presence. The book covers such topics as dating, continental drift, climate change, and both the physical evolution of the African continent and the biological evolution of its mammalian fauna.Restorations of the musculature of mammals and their appearance take into account the affinities between fossil forms and extant species in order to make well-founded inferences about unpreserved animal attributes. Environmental reconstructions benefit from the authors' visits to more than a dozen wildlife preserves in five African countries as well as the use of an extensive database of published studies on the evolution of landscapes on the continent. A detailed and engaging volume, Evolving Eden discusses human evolution as a part of the larger pattern of mammalian evolution while responding to the unique interest that we have for our own past.