Authoritative yet easy to use, Handbook of Mammals of the South-Central States will be a close companion of field biologists and a ready reference for the naturally curious. Containing a wealth of information about mammalian wildlife in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee, the book describes in detail ninety-five native mammals and eight introduced species that live in that region. The south-central United States is both diverse and complex ecologically, including within its range coastal and inland swamps, mountain peaks, forests, grasslands, sand dunes, and rich agricultural lands. In the books' introduction, the authors describe those environments--their physiography, drainage patterns, climates ,soils and vegetation--and explain how they determine which species can exist there. They also discuss other facts--such as geographical history, competition between species, and the effects of man--that determine which species actually do occur in a particular area. The authors furnish a checklist of the 103 mammals, arranged in phylogenetic sequence, with keys to identifying the orders, families, and species. An up-to-date account of each species follows, supplying details about the animal's distribution throughout the seven states; its physical description, including seize, color pattern, and features distinguishing it from related species; and its natural history, including preferred habitat, diet, activity patterns, resting or nesting sites, reproduction, and population densities. A photograph, distribution map, and list of selected references complete each account. Handbook of Mammals of the South-Central States is the first comprehensive guide to focus on this region's mammalian fauna. Students will appreciate its accessible format, glossary of terms, index to scientific and vernacular names of the mammals, and selected bibliography. Amateurs and professional naturalists alike will rely on it to identify mammals in the field, laboratory, and classroom.

Besides extensive illustrations and photographs of each species, Only in Arkansas provides pertinent literature references to the original distributions of each form within the state and reports known information of the general biology, evolutionary relationships, and habitat occupied by each endemic form.

First comprehensive account of the mammals of the entire southeastern US The southeastern United States is home to a remarkable and diverse mammalian fauna that is a significant part of the region’s rich natural heritage. Mammals of the Southeastern United States presents accounts of 137 species that currently or previously occurred in the Southeast. Although accessible and useful for the generalist, this book provides an up-to-date compilation of basic knowledge about native and nonnative mammals of the region that is suitable for students of all ages and for professional mammalogists and biologists alike. This volume profiles common species like the eastern gray squirrel, the white-tailed deer, and the Virginia opossum, but also includes among its accounts many extant species, such as the jaguar and porcupine, that once occurred in the region; native species, like the Caribbean monk seal, that are now extinct; native species that have been extirpated, or wiped out, from all or part of the region, such as the red wolf, cougar, American bison, and elk; and many introduced species, including the Mexican mouse opossum, common squirrel monkey, and capybara. Each species account includes full-color images of the animal, plates featuring at least three views of its skull, color distribution maps of its approximate geographic range in the Southeast and in North America, and an up-to-date synthesis of several aspects of its biology, including habitat, diet, predators, parasites, diseases, and behaviors. An introductory chapter on conservation summarizes the current status of mammalian populations in the region and provides insight into some of the threats mammals now encounter in the Southeast.