Jonathan Kingdon, one of the foremost authorities on African mammals, has written and illustrated this new field guide which sets new standards in African mammalogy. The author covers all the known species of African land mammal in a concise text providing full information on identification, distribution, ecology, evolutionary relationships, and conservation status. The focus is always on the mammals as seen in the field and on their ecology and evolutionary interrelationships. Introductory profiles summarize the characteristics of the various mammal groups, and the author simplifies many of the more complex groups of mammals by referencing genera. Twelve newly recognized species of bushbaby, fourteen newly named baboons, guenons, and mangabeys and nine newly described colobus monkeys contribute to a modern treatment of the monkeys. New species of bats, rodents, and fox as well as a fully revised listing of the duikers, squirrels and genets are included. Kingdon combines his long personal experience of life in Africa and his artistic talent with the best that modern natural history and biological science can offer. With over 480 color pictures and 280 maps covering some 1,100 mammal species, this book is an essential companion to all visiting Africa or with an interest in the mammals of the continent.

Key Features:

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Employs the most up-to-date classification and lists all 1,150 known species

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Focuses on mammals as seen in the field and in their evolutionary interrelationships

All naturalists resident in or visiting the continent should have a copy. It is much more than a field guide.

For anyone planning an African safari, this guide should be as essential as binoculars.

Travellers and students of wildlife should take notice--this volume sets the standard for the field. . . . A childhood in British East Africa and more than 25 years of producing atlases of the mammals have equipped Kingdon with a possibly unrivaled knowledge of his subjects, and this yields unusual and thought-provoking insights. . . . As an artist and sculptor who works in abstract, impressionistic and illustrative styles, Kingdon brings an immediacy to his drawings that escapes all other field guides. . . . The 1150 or so mammals that earn a place in his book are not just represented by the usual police-style profiles, but also by pictures of gripping emotion and playful naughtiness--usually several, sometimes many, for each species. . . . Buy this book for yourself and for anyone else who likes nature just to know that you possess several thousand of Kingdon's wonderful drawings. . . . This is quite simply a superb and authoritative work by an author of unsurpassed credentials and talent for his task. Everybody will delight in it.

Preface and Acknowledgements vi

Checklist of Species vii

Introduction 1

Mammals 5

Primates 8

Bats 111

Insectivores 137

Elephant Shrews, or Sengis 147

Hares 152

Rodents 159

Carnivores 215

Scaly Ant-eaters 288

Aardvark 294

Hyraxes 296

Proboscids 302

Odd-toes Ungulates 309

Even-toes Ungulates 323

The African Environment 477

Physical 447

Climate 448

Vegetation 451

The Past 455

Habitats 455

Species 456

Conservation 457

Further Reading 459

Glossary 460