Atlas of Selected Land Vertebrates of Madagascar

The most obvious characteristic of this book is the abundance of mapsoriginal and current vegetation, geology, precipitation measures, and distribution maps of more than 200 vertebrates (reptiles, birds, and mammals). The maps are supported by technical descriptions of the methods and some comments on each of the included species. * Ecology * Goodman and Raherilalao have thoroughly compiled 25 years of biodiversity surveys accomplished by Association Vahatra and World Wildlife Fund. . . . Extremely useful to both biologists and policy makers to have these two volumes [Extinct Madagascar and the Atlas of Selected Land Vertebrates of Madagascar] published and easily accessible. Not only are sighting, trapping, and paleontological sites labeled and mapped, but the type of forest and ecosystem is also clear. Current threats to the fauna are also outlined. Recent renaming of taxonomic groups based on molecular evidence is also clarified, making this information very useful to young scientists. The authors, well-known, seasoned scientists, are praised for excellent fieldwork and thorough scholarship in presenting these data of Malagasy fauna past and present. -- Patricia Chapple Wright, Stony Brook University * Quarterly Review of Biology * It is the culmination of a monumental body of work collated over more than two decades and involving data not only from research groups within Madagascar but also from sources worldwide. The production of this atlas highlights the value of long term research and inventory work and will provide critical information for future researchers, conservation practitioners, and policy makers alikeinformation that is vital to the future protection of Madagascars biological diversity. The distribution maps are clear, the text concise, and the relevant detail more easily apparent and properly documented than ever before. . . . An invaluable text. -- Clive Nuttman, University of Cambridge * Conservation Biology *

Steven M. Goodman is the MacArthur Field Biologist at the Field Museum, Chicago, and based in Antananarivo, Madagascar. He is coeditor of Natural Changes and Human Impact in Madagascar and The Natural History of Madagascar, the latter published by the University of Chicago Press. Marie Jeanne Raherilalao is professor in the Department de Biologie Animale at the Universite d'Antananarivo, Madagascar. They are both founding members of the Association Vahatra, a Malagasy organization dedicated to the advancement of science on Madagascar, particularly conservation education and research.