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Everyone is familiar with the Dodo and the Woolly Mammoth, but how many people have heard of the Scimitar Cat and the Falkland Island Fox?
This book portrays over 60 remarkable animals that have been lost forever during the relatively recent geological past. Each entry provides a concise discussion of the history of the animal - how and where it lived, and how it became extinct - as well as the scientific discovery and analysis of the creature. In addition, this work examines what led to extinction - from the role of cyclical swings in the Earth's climate to the spread of humans and their activities.
Many scientists believe that we are in the middle of a mass extinction right now, caused by the human undermining of the earth's complex systems that support life. Understanding what caused the extinction of animals in the past may help us understand and prevent the extinction of species in the future.
Ross Piper is an independent scholar. His life-long interest in natural history, especially animals, led to academia and he went on to gain a 1st class degree in Zoology from the University of Wales, Bangor and a PhD in entomology from the University of Leeds.
This book is recommended for public and college libraries and high schools where there is a strong interest in extinct species. - Catholic Library World
"These 65 species are fascinating, evocative, and important to know about as representative of the history of the earth. The information is interesting and well documented, and the author writes clearly and intelligently." - Booklist
". . . the prose is clear and even lively at times ('Fortunately for the pronghorn antelope, the American cheetah died out around 10,000 years ago'). The level of detail makes this a more rewarding resource for serious students of extinction's causes-which are many and often hard to pin down-than Don Lessem's Dinosaurs to Dodos: An Encyclopedia of Extinct Animals (Scholastic, 1999)." - School Library Journal
"The prose is exceptionally well crafted, always including interesting facts or stories about the departed species." - ARBAonline
