Many Early Modern Europeans who during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries travelled to the New World left written or pictorial records of their encounters with a surprising fauna. The story told in this book is woven out of the threads of those texts and pictures. A New World of Animals shows how the initial wonder at the new beasts gave way to a more utilitarian approach, assessing their economic and medical potential. It elucidates how shifts in European perceptions brought the animals from the realm of the fantastic into the mainstream of early modern natural history, while at the same time changing the way in which Europeans saw their own world. Indeed, the chronicles and treatises of those who in the wake of the discovery arrived in the new lands tell as much about the particular interests and mental worlds of the writers as about the 'new animals'. This book traces the amazement of the first explorers and colonizers, the chronicles of soldiers and Indians, the 'natural histories of the New World', the place of animals in the network of economic interests driving the early expansion of Europe, the views of the missionaries and those of natural philosophers and physicians. Taking the reader from the Brazilian forests to the erudite cabinets of the Old World, from Patagonia to the centres of empire, the story of the discovery of the unexpected menagerie of the New World is also an exploration of Early Modern European imagination and learning.

Advanced Topics In Zoology Is A Collection Of Elaborate And Informative Essays On General Topics In Zoology Which Deals With The Topics Covered In The Indian Administrative Service (Ias), State Civil Service Examinations As Well As The Postgraduate (Zoology) Syllabus. It Will Also Be Useful To Students Preparing For The General Knowledge Paper Of The Ias.Key Features:* It Brings Together, In A Single Volume, Topics Such As Cytology, Physiology, Immunology, Embryology, Evolution And Genetics* Well-Labelled, Clear And Simple Diagrams Support The Text And Encourage Students To Reproduce These In The Examinations* The Information Is Up-To-Date And Relevant* Current And Socially Relevant Topics Such As Aids, Biotechnology, The Greenhouse Effect And Ozone Depletion Have Been Included* It Includes Around 300 Typical, Class-Tested, Objective-Type Questions Based On The Topics Dealt With In This Book And Answers Have Been Provided For These* An Exhaustive Index And Topic-Wise Bibliography Have Been IncludedA Second Volume, Entitled Advanced Topics In Invertebrate And Vertebrate Zoology, Dealing With Other Interesting And Relevant Topics According To The Ias Syllabus Is Getting Ready For Publication.