Overview

The fascinating lives and puzzling demise of some of the largest animals on earth. Until a few thousand years ago, creatures that could have been from a sci-fi thriller¯including gorilla-sized lemurs, 800-pound birds, crocodiles that weighed a ton or more¯roamed the earth. These great beasts, or “megafauna,” lived on every habitable continent and on many islands. With a handful of exceptions, all are now gone. What caused the disappearance of these prehistoric behemoths? Paleomammologist Ross D. E. MacPhee explores that question, examining the leading extinction theories, weighing the evidence, and presenting his own conclusions. He shows how theories of human overhunting and catastrophic climate change fail to explain critical features of these extinctions, and how new thinking is needed to elucidate these mysterious losses. He comments on how past extinctions can shed light on future losses, and on the possibility of bringing back extinct species through genetic engineering. Gorgeous four-color illustrations by Peter Schouten bring these megabeasts back to life in vivid detail.

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9780393249293

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A lively and smart tour of the various theories of why so many large-bodied animals disappeared around 11,700 years ago. Drawing from his decades of personal involvement in the debate, Ross MacPhee explores the assumptions, arguments, and misconceptions about the roles of humans, a changing climate, and other possible causes for the disappearance of the megafauna. With vivid prose matched by Peter Schouten's equally vivid illustrations, the reader is transported back in time to a world that is both foreign and familiar, and emerges with a better understanding of how our actions as humans impact the world around us.--Beth Shapiro, author of How to Clone a Mammoth

A lively and smart tour of the various theories of why so many large-bodied animals disappeared around 11,700 years ago. Drawing from his decades of personal involvement in the debate, Ross D. E. MacPhee explores the assumptions, arguments, and misconceptions about the roles of humans, a changing climate, and other possible causes for the disappearance of the megafauna. With vivid prose matched by Peter Schouten's equally vivid illustrations, the reader is transported back in time to a world that is both foreign and familiar, and emerges with a better understanding of how our actions as humans impact the world around us.--Beth Shapiro, author of How to Clone a Mammoth This is a must-read for anyone interested in the subject of animal extinctions, in the present or the past. An informative, up-to-date overview of a fascinating period in Earth's history. Marvellous...brilliantly served by the superb illustrations of Australian artist Peter Schouten....A compelling, sometimes demanding and scientifically rigorous detective story.--Christopher Hart, Sunday Times (UK) With flashes of dry humor, paleomammalogist MacPhee....offers an accessible overview of evidence supporting and contradicting popular scientific theories, and Schouten's...detailed color illustrations of an earlier world will captivate readers. A first-class example of a fantastic popular science book. The combination of a logical structure, accessible writing, shrewd observations, and beautiful illustrations make it a pleasure to read and impossible to put down.--Leon Vlieger Fascinating....The author provides a contemporary and detailed analysis....these now-extinct megabeasts...are beautifully depicted in their preferred habitats in many incredible illustrations by artist Peter Schouten that are a joy to behold. MacPhee explores the current [extinction] hypotheses, weighing up the evidence with academic rigour and delivering it with pop-science clarity. Like all good detective stories there is murder, plenty of intrigue and a cast of memorable characters, brought to life by palaeoartist Peter Schouten. These illustrations, married with MacPhee's easy-to-digest text, make turning each page like discovering a new gallery in an otherwise unimagined museum of fossil delights.--Jules Howard What was once extinct is brought vividly to life here....This is a fascinating examination of a long-forgotten past and proof that giant life didn't end with the dinosaurs. A great gift for those who like their history with bite.

A lively and smart tour of the various theories of why so many large-bodied animals disappeared around 11,700 years ago. Drawing from his decades of personal involvement in the debate, Ross MacPhee explores the assumptions, arguments, and misconceptions about the roles of humans, a changing climate, and other possible causes for the disappearance of the megafauna. With vivid prose matched by Peter Shouten's equally vivid illustrations, the reader is transported back in time to a world that is both foreign and familiar, and emerges with a better understanding of how our actions as humans impact the world around us.--Beth Shapiro, author of How to Clone a Mammoth

Author Information

Ross D. E. MacPhee is a paleomammalogist with the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, where he has worked since 1988. He has conducted more than fifty expeditions in many parts of the world, including both polar regions. In addition to numerous scientific papers, he is the author of Race to the End: Amundsen, Scott, and the Attainment of the South Pole (2010) and the editor of Extinctions in Near Time: Causes, Contexts, and Consequences (1999). Peter Schouten is a self-taught and trained artist who works primarily in the field of natural history illustration. He has illustrated many award-winning books and his artworks have been collected by museums and galleries around the globe. In 2015 he was awarded the title Member of the Order of Australia, in recognition of his contributions to the development of Australian arts and sciences.

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