The last decades of the twentieth century saw a flowering of knowledge about the behaviour, ecology, and evolution of mammals, including ourselves. This new information is brought together, in highly accessible form, by an international team of scientists led by David Macdonald of Oxford University. Uniquely, the information is both authoritative enough to be used as a serious reference work by professionals and presented clearly and attractively enough to fascinate anyone with an interest in wildlife. The New Encyclopedia of Mammals builds on the success of its first edition, published in 1983, to produce an up to date, authoritative, and hugely readable species by species guide to all the mammals of the world.

An illustrated guide to over 650 amphibians, reptiles and mammals of the United States, Canada, Central and South America, detailing distribution, habitat, food, size, life span and conservation status. A natural history section explains how these animals are adapted to their habitat and food sources, with information about anatomy, reproduction, ecology, migration, hibernation, biomes, endangered species and wildlife conservation. Over 900 color photographs and specially commissioned illustrations and maps for each of the species featured--Cover.