Handbook of the Mammals of the World

  • Thread starter Thread starter Hix
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Just checked my copy, and it's fine.

Given it a cursory look, and it seems up to the usual (incredibly high) standard. However, I can't help but being a little less excited by the topic - Sea Mammals - than by, say, carnivores or primates. This is possibly due to their not being such 'zoo' animals - although this edition does feature a picture of an explicitly captive beats (a Californian sea-lion, performing tricks at Seaworld) - a first for the series, as far as I know.

Also, pedantically, the fact that quite a number of the animals featured do not live in the sea bothers me!
 
Also received it last week, the standard is finally back to the one from the first publication, 2 & 3 are imo lower because of the dubious taxonomy in a part of volume 2 and the bad quality of the plates in volume 3. The photographs are amazing and the plates are too, but I still find it a pity that a whole volume is devoted to only just over a hundred species, allthough I do understand their choice from a economical perspective....
 
Zoo Nerd: "Honey, I'm just going to put this latest book on our credit card. Okay?"
Partner: "How much does it cost?"
Zoo Nerd: (Mumbling under their breath) "It is well worth the investment."
Partner: "How much?"
Zoo Nerd: "A couple of bills...no more and no less."
Partner: (Checking out Amazon.com to verify prices) "Wow. That book you want on whales is $250. Yikes!"
Zoo Nerd: "Like I said, a couple of hundred-dollar bills plus change."
Partner: "How many books are in the series?"
Zoo Nerd: (Calling over shoulder while trying to leave room) "I think only 2 or 3 in total."
Partner: (Checking Amazon.com) "It says 8 right in front of me."
Zoo Nerd: "Really? I must have been mistaken. That never happens!"
Partner: "So you just bought a silly book on whales and dolphins for $250 and there are another 7 in the series for a grand total of $2,000."
Zoo Nerd: "What's the weather like? Is it raining?"
Partner: "Should we spend $2,000 on our children's education fund, or perhaps the deck in the backyard, or towards a new vehicle, or maybe 8 books?"
Zoo Nerd: "That last idea sounds great. We can use them as doorstops when I'm done with them."
Partner: (Exiting the room) "You'll need the pages for your homeless shelter when I boot you to the curb."

From my personal perspective I must admit that I have the most amazing wife possible when it comes to my zoo-based obsession and the above conversation has never taken place. As many of you know my wife has gone on numerous epic zoo road trips and this summer I'm taking off solo for 20 days to tour 60 zoos. She has also not minded that I've spent a minor fortune on books, guidebooks, maps, cups, etc, but I do admit that I personally have a difficult time lavishing $270 (Canadian) on a book and more than $2,000 on the series.

So...are the books really worth it? With all of the nonstop splitting of species and subspecies are the first few volumes already becoming out of date? What do people think?
 
Being pretty hard up for cash myself, I could only justify splashing out for the first volume - for obvious reasons - but it was more than worth it!

As regards how quickly they go out of date, the first volume at least takes upcoming and potential splits into account - for instance having a section on what it terms the "Andean Olingo" (Bassaricyon sp.nov), which since the time of publication has recieved official description as the Olinguito.
 
snowleopard said:
So...are the books really worth it? With all of the nonstop splitting of species and subspecies are the first few volumes already becoming out of date? What do people think?
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Everyone's personal lives and priorities are different, so whether they are worth it depends on your own personal circumstances. For me, I have no kids and no wife/partner/significant other, so I can afford to spend money on books that I want.

In my case, the books are definitely worth it. At over $300 a pop (Australian dollars) they are some of the most expensive books I am purchasing - and I also buy the Handbook of the Birds of the World series, 16 volumes.

The physical quality of the books themselves is solid and well-made, the text is lengthy and informative, and the photos are the best you will see anywhere - and there are lots of photos!

Some have already commented on this volume only having about 100 species, and sea mammals not being as interesting (personally) as other groups. So I would suggest you choose a group you like - Carnivores, Primates, Ungulates - and buy just that one volume to see what you and your partner think about it.

If you are only interested in captive animals, then these are not the books for you.

Hope that helps snowleopard!

:p

Hix
 
I love books and have accumulated a very large number over the years , probably a majority on zoos and wildlife in general . I try not to buy many these days but have been fortunate to be in the position to make an exception with the HBW and HMW .

These books are expensive but they are large and contain a vast amount of information with no waste of space . All contain amazing photos many of which I believe have been specially commissioned .

Volume 4 looks very good , though I admit it covers species of less interest to me than say Primates and land-based Carnivores . The first 30 odd pages comprise an essay on Sea Mammal Conservation . Pages 34 - 185 cover the Otariidae , Odobenidae and Phocidae . Pages 186 to 547 cover the Cetacea and pages 548 - 576 the Sirenia ( unfortunately my book is missing much of this section ) .

I have only looked at the first section of species so far , but am very impressed . The 6 plates look good , the size difference between the different species of Fur Seal and Sea Lion being striking .

There are quite a few pictures of the endangered Mediterranean Monk Seal , a species that fascinates me . I was not previously aware of the striking colouration of the Subantarctic Fur Seal Arctocephalus tropicalis ( pale cream face and front ) . I was not aware that African and Australian Fur seals are considered to be one species - the Afro-Australian Fur Seal Arctocephalus pusillus , with 2 sub-species . There are pictures of a male Hooded Seal Cystophora cristata with its bright red 'balloon' of an inflated nose , I also learn that they wean their young after only 4 days .

I look forward to hearing what Lynx have to say about my faulty book .
 
@Bele, my copy is complete, and I am confident they will send you a new and complete copy for free.
 
Bele said:
I was not previously aware of the striking colouration of the Subantarctic Fur Seal Arctocephalus tropicalis ( pale cream face and front ) .
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They are indeed a striking species, from the photographs I have seen.
 
The team at HMW is now looking for marsupial photos for the next volume. They are particularly (but not exclusively) after photos of Neotropical species.
 
Chlidonias said:
The team at HMW is now looking for marsupial photos for the next volume. They are particularly (but not exclusively) after photos of Neotropical species.
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Where did you hear that? there's nothing on their site.

:p

Hix
 
Hix said:
Where did you hear that? there's nothing on their site.
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on the mammalwatching.com weblog: Mammalwatching.Com Weblog | A blog for anyone interested in watching mammals in the wild
Dear friends,

My name is José Luis Copete, amd I’m photographic editor at the HMW series. We are now asking for pictures of Marsupials, for Volume 5. I already received around 10.000 images. This first set is allowing me to see which groups are poorly represented. Mostly, the Marsupials present in the Neotropics.

I would be most interested to receive images of these last species, as well as any of other groups (including the common kangaroos, wallabies, etc…). If you have images of Neotropical marsupials, feel free to send me these to my email (jlcopete@hbw.com).

We offer a fee of 120US$ for the use non-exclusive, for only one time, of each image. Or a free copy of HMW.

Best wishes to all,

José Luis Copete

Handbook of the Mammals of the World

Lynx Edicions
Montseny, 8
E-08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.



Phone: +34-93 594 77 10

Fax: +34-93 592 09 69

jlcopete@hbw.com

Home | Lynx Edicions
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Hey I was told the shipment of Volume 4 to the United States was going to be in late August, and to expect a delivery in "early September." Anyone in the United States receive their Volume 4 yet??
 
I received my copy about a month ago. I would have thought the USA would get theirs earlier as you're much closer to Europe than we are.

:p

Hix
 
They are certainly churning them out at a decent rate now :p

Shame they are not making them any more affordable though ;)
 
Btw i noticed a mistake in the leopard plate of volume 1 .... ssp saxicolor ( persian leoprard) is smaller than ssp nimr ( arabian leopard ) ... While in real life the persian leopard is one of the biggest subspecies while the arabian subspecies is the smallest ...

Family Felidae (Cats) | Lynx Edicions

What do you think ? I wanna hear opinions from everyone
 
Hey guys, i have a question...

What Taxa ( species and subspecies ) of family Equidae are illustrated in volume 2 ??

Thanks
 
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