THE ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ANIMALS OF AFRICA, BRITAIN AND EUROPE

Monografía que resume, en forma de fichas, con mapas e ilustraciones en color, los mamíferos, anfibios y reptiles que viven en Europa y África. Presenta una mayoría de especies africanas, dado que allí hay más especies. La varieda de especies mostradas es, obviamente, enorme, pues incluye desde cetáceos del ártico como el narval, a los mamíferos, anfibios y reptiles tropicales que viven en el África tropical, o los endemismos de Madagascar. Se comentan en conjunto 575 especies. Los textos incluyen breves resúmenes sobre historia natural, comportamiento, tamaño, dieta, y un mapa de distribución. Además contiene una parte introductoria en la que se incluye una introducción general a la biología de cada uno de los grupos tratados luego en las fichas de especies.


This book is a comprehensive visual guide to over 575 major species from the Arctic Circle through to Britain, mainland Europe, the full length and breadth of Africa, and Madagascar. Animals are grouped for easy reference according to their related types: salamanders, frogs and toads, turtles and tortoises, lizards, crocodiles, snakes, cats, hyenas, civets and genets, dogs, small carnivores, mongooses, rodents, rabbits, bats, insectivores, apes, monkeys, lemurs, elephants, hoofed animals, seals, dolphins, whales and sirenians. From familiar animals, such as reindeer, hippopotamuses and great apes, through to less familiar animals, such as Malagasy leaf-nosed snakes, fossas and aye ayes, all the animals are accompanied by a lively description of their physical characteristics and behaviour. Easy-to-read information panels detail distribution, habitat, food sources, size, life span and conservation status, and additional information about the less common species is presented in at-a-glance panels throughout the book.

An authoritative natural history section examines the diversity of life in the vertebrate kingdom, answering questions about what constitutes an animal, how different species have evolved and how they survive, and what conservationists are doing to protect threatened wildlife. Each African and European habitat is examined in depth, from oceans and freshwater rivers and lakes to mountains, forests and even human settlements.