Handbook of the Mammals of the World

  • Thread starter Thread starter Hix
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AaronAntics said:
I wonder what the QR codes for the new mammal book will point to. One thing that concerns me about use of these codes is that it could make the books obsolete if website support ends in years to come.
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there does not seam to be any QR codes in the mammal one.

considerieng the Ebird and other extras that come with the HBW alive i think it will be around for a while
 
sooty mangabey said:
In the grim early days of 2009, with tales of financial meltdown, war in israel and global terrorism abounding, the arrival soon of the Handbook of the Mammals of the World is a much-needed boost. If it is half as good as the various bird volumes, it will be twice as good as anything else comparable out there. the sample pages included in the brochure mentioned by hix suggest that it will be very similar to the bird volumes. The bird volumes have been the zoological publications of the past years - in fact, i cannot think of anything which comes close in quality - so the mammals ones are to be welcomed. I just hope i live long enough to see them move on to reptiles and amphibians too.
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I need to get my hands on one of these,
 
AaronAntics said:
The book has arrived and I can confirm that they have ditched the branching bovine classification.
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I am mostly interested in the reason they give in the summary for it. But it is good they finally ditched it, as it was a joke to ever include it.
 
lintworm said:
I am mostly interested in the reason they give in the summary for it. But it is good they finally ditched it, as it was a joke to ever include it.
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Same here. I haven't had a chance to read it yet, I keep getting called to do chores. Waited so long for this, it's very frustrating!
 
AaronAntics said:
The book has arrived and I can confirm that they have ditched the branching bovine classification.
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Does the book have new tamarin illustrations? I saw an imagine on facebook with them
did they add any extinct/domesticated mammals in too?
 
joe99 said:
Does the book have new tamarin illustrations? I saw an imagine on facebook with them
did they add any extinct/domesticated mammals in too?
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Yes it does, and they're miles better! There is an appendix listing extinct and domesticated mammals, like the Illustrated checklist, but no pictures.
 
AaronAntics said:
There is an appendix listing extinct and domesticated mammals, like the Illustrated checklist, but no pictures.
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That blows considering that All the Birds of the World had the images of most of the extinct birds. Extinct and domestic mammal illustrations would have been great.
 
After eyeing the 9-volume series for years I finally bit the bullet and ordered the bundle with the latest single-book editions for both mammals and birds yesterday. I’m incredibly excited, and hope that I’ll leave feeling re-energized regarding saving up for the larger series.

I’m disappointed by the lack of inclusion of domestics in particular, though. They say they list only 19 species so surely the additional workload would have been minimal in the grand scheme of things. I know they point out the valid argument that there’s so many breeds and coat patterns for dogs, for example, that it would be a whole endeavor to attempt to cover them all, but I’d still like to see these species illustrated, even if they had chosen a very small number of representative breeds. Their absence makes the project feel like it’s actually just shy (almost arbitrarily so) of being truly comprehensive in my mind.

Still, a relatively minor gripe. I’m beyond excited to get these books.
 
I ended up buying the book, mainly for the new primate illustrations (so much better) and the proper bovid taxonomy, as well as to see what has happened since HMW was published. While the book looks stunning it seems it has suffered from the same errors as the original series did, which mostly comes down to shoddy editing. In flicking through the pages I quickly noted some errors and I am sure I can find many more if I look closely:
- Fat-tailed dwarf lemurs supposedly don't occur anymore in Ankarafantsika NP and surrounding area, whereas they most certainly do. With all the (over)splitting going on in Malagasy primates, checking range maps was apparently not a priority.
- Whereas many distribution texts mention introduced population, the book fails to note that musk rats are all over Europe...
- The distribution map of western tree hyrax still includes the range of D. interfluvialis which is split in this book, giving the illusion these species overlap, while the maps from the original publication show no range overlap.

This book really could have done with a longer timeline and better editing, but is a remarkable book nonetheless for its sheer volume.
 
biggest_dreamer said:
After eyeing the 9-volume series for years I finally bit the bullet and ordered the bundle with the latest single-book editions for both mammals and birds yesterday. I’m incredibly excited, and hope that I’ll leave feeling re-energized regarding saving up for the larger series.

I’m disappointed by the lack of inclusion of domestics in particular, though. They say they list only 19 species so surely the additional workload would have been minimal in the grand scheme of things. I know they point out the valid argument that there’s so many breeds and coat patterns for dogs, for example, that it would be a whole endeavor to attempt to cover them all, but I’d still like to see these species illustrated, even if they had chosen a very small number of representative breeds. Their absence makes the project feel like it’s actually just shy (almost arbitrarily so) of being truly comprehensive in my mind.

Still, a relatively minor gripe. I’m beyond excited to get these books.
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Most domestics have their own encyclopedias because there's so many breeds :) I can recommend some books for any domestics if you'd like, especially dogs.
 
Homo sapiens is mentioned but not illustrated. I presume that individuals of this species were involved in producing this book. In 'The Pictorial Guide to the Living Primates' by Noel Rowe, Homo sapiens is depicted using a mirror.
 
My copy arrived today and the first impression is very good. I can see that I will use this book more often than the 9 volumes and the Checklist. The revised Ungulate taxonomy and the colloquial names next to the species illustration are very welcoming additions. The papper is also ticker and with better quality than in the All The Birds of the World.
 
Christmas is approaching and I'd like to buy either the 2 volume checklist or the 1 volume All the Mammals as a gift for a former colleague. I have the 9 volume set (sadly I can't afford to gift that) but I really dislike the terrible primate illustrations in volume 3. I've been told these are redone in All the Mammals have they also been redone in the Checklist or are those the same as volume 3 or a mix of the two? I hope this makes sense? Thanks in advance
 
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