Australia's Mammal Extinctions

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Of the forty mammal species known to have vanished in the world in the last 200 years, almost half have been Australian. The continent has the worst record of mammal extinctions, with over 65 mammal species having vanished in the last 50 000 years. It began with the great wave of megafauna extinctions in the last ice-age, and continues today, with many mammal species vulnerable to extinction. The question of why mammals became extinct, and why so many became extinct in Australia has been debated by experts for over a century and a half and we are no closer to agreement on the causes. This book introduces readers to the great mammal extinction debate. Chris Johnson takes us on a detective-like tour of these extinctions, uncovering how, why and when they occurred.

'This book makes a very well argued case for patterns and causes of mammal extinctions in Australia from the late Pleistocene into the period of European occupation. It gives an impressive range of evidence - palaeontological, palaeoenvironmental, archaeological, historical, ecological - to make the case. I thoroughly recommend it.' Bruno David, Monash University