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The Sheep-Guarding Dog of Abruzzo
The Author describes the dog kept and bred by the shepherds of
mountainous Abruzzo in Italy to repel wolves and bears from their
flocks. The way it behaves and works, its life history, and its
relationship to the environment are recounted. The dog is placed in the
wider perspective of the pastoral dogs of the Old World and historical
documents are provided to indicate the antiquity of the type. The
degenerating effect of kennel-breeding for conformation is stressed. The
book does not contain instructions for the private fancier intending to
keep one of these dogs as a companion.
Breber P 2008.
The sheep-guarding dog of Abruzzo , ISBN 9789546424372, 145x210, richly illustrated by 200 color photos, scans of historical document and portraits, bibliography, In English.
Price €URO 30.00
Europe: surface mail delivery €URO 12, airmail delivery €URO 18;
Overseas: surface mail delivery €URO 15, airmail delivery €URO 20.
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Fifty Years of Flukes and Flippers: A Little History and
Personal Adventures With Dolphins, Whales and Sea Lions (1958-2007)
This book is a combination history of some aspects of Marine Mammal
Science and a narrative of a special voyage by the author into the world
of marine mammals. Although the study of marine mammals has a very long
history, the modern era of research did not start in any serious way until
the 1950's. At the end of the War, Marineland of Florida came to life and
provided a whole new experience for the general public to view and study
dolphins (primarily the Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin), up close and
personal. It was also the start of a new approach and interest in research
to understand how these amazing mammals have adapted to the marine
environment. This was the start of many opportunities to try and answer
some of the questions that have intrigued scientist for centuries. Since
the author's introduction to this new endeavor started in 1956 the book
focuses on the development of this fascinating field of science from that
period up to the present. The story is told from his perspective as an
active participant.Today there are thousands of dedicated young scientists
working with marine mammals. Unfortunately few of them know much of the
fascinating history of their science. It is our hope that this book will
address that issue.Dr. William E. Evans, is a Professor Emeritus of the
Marine Biology Department, Texas A&M University Galveston. He is one of
the first group of scientists that made up the cadre of the Navy's Marine
Mammal Program which started in the 1960' at a Naval Base in Southern
California. His primary area of research during his 10 years with the US
Navy program was marine mammal communion and echolocation. It resulted in
the design of a special research platform for observing and recording
dolphins underwater and for radio telemetric study of several species.
During his career, Dr Ewans was a Director of the Hubbs Sea World Research
Institute, a Chairman of the Marine Mammal Commission with over sight
responsibilities for the Marine Mammal Protection, Associate
Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA), and Dean of the Texas Maritime College. Currently he a Guest
Professor at the University of Notre Dame, and Managing Editor of the
American Midland Naturalist. Dr. Evans is the author of over one hundred
scientific and popular articles. He is the author and co-author of four
books including a childrens book about a Gray Whale GIGI.
Evans, WE. 2008.
Fifty Years of Flukes and Flippers: A Little History and Personal Adventures With Dolphins, Whales and Sea Lions (1958-2007), ISBN 978-954-642-326-9. Pensoft Publishers, Sofia-Moscow, 140x210 mm, 37 colour and 51 b/w photos. In English. Ppb, 147pp.
Price €URO 20.00
Europe: surface mail delivery €URO 12, airmail delivery €URO 18;
Overseas: surface mail delivery €URO 15, airmail delivery €URO 20.
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The Mammals of Wisconsin
The last book by
Professor Charles A. Long “The Wild
Mammals of Wisconsin” is a
comprehensive treatise on mammals
found in Wisconsin, updating
information on classification,
identification, geography and other
concepts of their biology. These
include ecology (and status),
habitats (including dens and nests),
reproduction (both development and
aging), and estimates of home range,
movements, and density (with
seasonality whenever possible).
Geographic and micro-geographic
variation of races and species are
described, based on thousands of
preserved specimens, many listed as
essential specimens examined. The
analysis also includes Upper
Michigan, northern Illinois, and
occasionally even eastern Minnesota.
The problem of appropriate names is
discussed, with fair attention to
diverse opinions. Taxonomic
synonymies include original names,
invalid homonyms and synonyms that
have been used, and the names deemed
acceptable. The phylogeny of higher
taxonomic groups, such as families
and orders, provide curious
histories and adaptations.
Pre-historic and exterminated
mammals are described, including the
discovery of an elk-moose. Modern
concepts, such as evolution and
speciation and the biome concept are
introduced. Genetics, physiology,
animal diseases, relation of hosts
to humanity, ecological succession,
and zoogeography are discussed. An
especially appealing section on
former naturalists who studied
Wisconsin mammals includes some
surprises: John Muir, Henry David
Thoreau, Aldo Leopold, Hartley H. T.
Jackson, and the first woman
mammalogist – Martha Maxwell of
Portage. Detailed accounts are
given for 69 species (not counting
the few now exterminated), in 17
families and seven orders. A
glossary, four appendices, and a
magnificent bibliography are at the
end. Countless illustrations include
grand wildlife artists of past and
present. To quote Long: “All
together we hope to express tribute
to nature, and wildlife poetry and
art.”
Long, Ch 2008.
The Wild Mammals of
Wisconsin, Pensoft Series Faunistica 68, ISSN 1312-0174, ISBN
ISBN 9789546423139 (paperpack), ISBN 9789546423030 (hardback), Pensoft
Publishers, Sofia-Moscow, 165x240, numerous illustrations, drawings,
maps and tables, plate with color photos, 524 pp.
Price €URO 45.00 (paperback), €URO
78.00 (hardback)
Europe: surface mail delivery €URO 12,
airmail delivery €URO 18;
Overseas: surface mail delivery €URO 15,
airmail delivery €URO 20.
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Morphology of the auditory and vestibular organs in mammals, with emphasis on marine species
Solntseva, GN
The basic directions of the structural evolution of the outer, middle and inner ears in representatives of a wide ecological range of mammals (terrestrial, subterranean, aerial, semi-aquatic and aquatic forms, including marine mammals) have been traced in this monograph for the first time. The broad spectrum of the species studied and the application of modern anatomical, optical and bio-mechanical methods allowed the author to describe previously unknown structural features of the peripheral part of the auditory system in animals with a varied specialization of hearing. The influence of ecological and evolutionary factors on the structural organization of the auditory organ was analyzed. The ecological and morphological approach was useful in revealing the fact that the peculiarities in the auditory organ structure in different mammalian groups were stipulated by the animals' adaptation to definite acoustic features of habitat. Morphological and functional adaptations of the peripheral part of the auditory system directed to the optimization of auditory sensitivity in different habitats proved to be principal in evolution. Particular attention was paid to the less widely studied orders of mammals (pinnipeds, cetaceans), being of interest both from the point of view of their echolocation abilities (in dolphins) and the influence of water habitat on the morphological adaptation development in the structure of the peripheral part of the auditory analyzer in semi-aquatic and aquatic species. The book is illustrated with a large number of original micro-photos, pictures, drawings and is aimed at morphologists, zoologists, ecologists and specialists, working in the field of bionics, as well as students and tutors of biological and medical departments in institutes and universities.
Galina N. Solntseva is a Professor at the Laboratory for Bioacoustics in the A. N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution Russian Academy of Sciences. She is a well-known specialist in the field of the evolutionary morphology of hearing. G.N. Solntseva has studied the peripheral part of the auditory system in representatives of different ecological groups of mammals for many years. She has taken part in numerous marine expeditions in the Black, Caspian, White Seas and in the Sea of Okhotsk in order to collect morphological material and this has allowed her to gather a unique (in terms of volume and species diversity) collection of morphological material on marine mammals. G.N. Solntseva is the author of more than a hundred scientific works in this field, including the monograph "The Auditory System of Mammals", issued in 1979 by the publishing house "Nauka".
Solntseva, GN 2007.
Morphology of the auditory and vestibular organs in mammals, with emphasis on marine species. ISBN 9546422800, Russian Academic Monographs, No 4, Pensoft Publishers, Sofia-Moscow, 165x240, richly illustrated with 54 b/w plates of photographs, drawings, complete bibliography, in English, 340 pp., hardback.
Price €URO 99.00
Europe: surface mail delivery €URO 12, airmail delivery €URO 18;
Overseas: surface mail delivery €URO 15, airmail delivery €URO 20.
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An Atlas of the Geographic Distribution of the Arvicoline Rodents of the World (Rodentia, Muridae: Arvicolinae)
Shenbrot, GI & Krasnov, BR
Any living organism is distributed someplace. Lots of information on species records are scattered in publications and museum catalogues, but only a few taxa have merited enough attention for a compilation of the available data on their geographic distribution. This book is aimed to fill in this gap for the species of the rodent subfamily Arvicolinae. It represents an atlas of the global distribution of all 139 arvicoline species. Distribution maps are compiled from records from the literature and museum catalogues. A map for each species is presented as both record points and a polygon of a predicted distribution. The record points were georeferenced while the polygons of predicted distributions were constructed using the GARP algorithm. The book provides a list of and distributional data for the subspecies as well as taxonomic notes and references. The volume is addressed to specialists in theriology, taxonomists, biogeographers and conservationists. It will be of use to any zoological library.
* * *
“I have received the copy and read about the Voles in Shenbrot, Atlas Arvicoline Rodents. This is really one of the best zoological atlases I have seen. The maps are by the far best with both political, topographical and hydrographic features marked making it possible to se exactly were the finds are.”
Eric Renman
Shenbrot, G.I. & Krasnov, B.R., 2005. An Atlas of the Geographic Distribution of the Arvicoline Rodents of the World (Rodentia, Muridae: Arvicolinae). ISBN 9546422436, Pensoft Publishers, Sofia-Moscow, 165x240, taxonomic checklist, maps for each of 140 species, comments, notes, references, index, Hardback. In English, 350 pp.
Price €URO 77.90
Europe: surface mail delivery €URO 13, airmail delivery €URO 19;
Overseas: surface mail delivery €URO 15, airmail delivery €URO 23.
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Retracing the Aurochs
History, Morphology and Ecology of an Extinct Wild Ox
Cis van Vuure
This book tells the comprehensive story of the extinct aurochs (Bos primigenius), the wild ancestor of our domestic cattle, and of what is still left of it. Not only until its extinction in 1627, the aurochs, because of its appearance and nature, had left a deep impression on people, but also afterwards this bovine species, due to scanty information and questionable interpretations, has been subject to discussion and mystification. In spite of a growing amount of individual scientific studies, no exhaustive overview on this subject has ever been made. After many years of research at Wageningen University, the existing information as well as numerous new or unused data from the fields of archaeozoology, history, philology, ecology and palaeoecology have been brought together by the author to build up a complete picture of the physical appearance, the way of life and the environment of the aurochs.
Directly related to the ecology of the aurochs is the ongoing discussion concerning the supposed impact large herbivores render on forest structure, as well as on the appearance of the natural landscapes they live in. Here, too, existing and new surprising data from various fields of science are compiled to elucidate this problem. In addition, due attention is paid to the origin, description and evaluation of the so-called bred-back aurochs (Heck cattle), used in several places for educational and nature conservation purposes. Only now can Heck cattle be properly compared with the original aurochs prototype.
The book is addressed to specialists in mammalogy (interested in the archaeology, ecology, morphology and history of mammals), palaeoecology (because of the herbivore-impact debate concerning the former natural landscape), forest ecology and European nature conservation, to cattle breeders and other cattle lovers.
Vuure, C van. 2005. Retracing the Aurochs: History, Morphology and Ecology of an Extinct Wild Ox. ISBN 9546422355, Pensoft Publishers, Sofia-Moscow, 165x240, numerous b/w and color photos and figures, references, index. In English. Hardback. 424 pp.
Price €URO 67.90
Europe: surface mail delivery €URO 13, airmail delivery €URO 19;
Overseas: surface mail delivery €URO 15, airmail delivery €URO 23.
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Mammals of Australia
An Introduction to their Classification, Biology and Distribution
James R. Turner
This book introduces the species of Australian mammals. It includes a painting of each species, along with distribution map. This book includes about 320 species of Australian mammals currently recognised in 2003. Almost all of the paintings in this book come from photographs taken of individual species in their natural settings, however in a few cases where no photograph exists, the author has used the published type description of the species or other available information to create the painting. The individual species are arranged in alphabetical order using their common name.
However a Quickfind index is provided at the front of the book to enable those familiar with scientific names to go directly to any specific species. Details are given for each Subclass, Order, Suborder, Superfamily, Family and Subfamily. The text on each species has clear, precise information and is presented in such a way, so as to make of value to readers from the layperson, naturalist through to the scientist. Indeed anyone who may have an interest in learning more about Australian mammals. The comprehensive reference list gives the reader access to thousands of scientific papers and articles for further reading.
Turner, J., 2004. Mammals of Australia. An Introduction to their Classification, Biology and Distribution. ISBN 9546421987, Pensoft Publishers, Sofia-Moscow, 210x290, excellent color drawings & distributional maps of 320 species, references, index, hardback. In English, 216 pp.
Price €URO 38.50
Europe: surface mail delivery €URO 11, airmail delivery €URO 15;
Overseas: surface mail delivery €URO 12, airmail delivery €URO 18.
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Non-Invasive Study of Mammalian Populations
W. Evans & A. Yablokov
This is the first book concerning a non-invasive approach to the study of mammalian populations in nature. Frequencies of detectable individual variations (structural, behavioral, acoustic etc.) allow to investigate both intra-populational structure and inter-populational dynamics: the geographical distribution of natural populations, genetic interrelationships between populations as well as in small within-population groups like families, demes, pods etc., and to understand intra-populational changes and phylo-geographic (micro-evolutionary) patterns. Based on studies of individual variation in whales, dolphins, seals (coloration, vibrissae counting, acoustics etc.), the authors analyze the prospects for non-invasive research in all mammalian groups. In individual chapters, a potential for non-invasive studies of color patterns, acoustics, behavior and some structural features is discussed, including hundreds of qualitative variations in nose, ear, tooth, eye and tail morphology, in dermatoglyphics etc. Non-invasive methods for studying the population phenetics (the frequencies of qualitative detectable variations, or phenes, which reflect the genetic characteristics of the population) are set forth. Discrete phenotypic variations in organs are listed systematically for all main groups of mammals.
Dr. William E. Evans is a Professor Emeritus of the Marine Biology Department, Texas A&M University. He received his B.Sc. from Bowling Green State University, his M.Sc. from Ohio State University and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles. He was director of the Sea World Research Center (San Diego, USA), Chair of the US Marine Mammal Commission, Director of the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Undersecretary of Commerce and head of NOAA . Dr. Evans - authors of several hundreds papers in marine mammal acoustics, population biology, remote sensing technology and fisheries. He is Chief Editor of the American Midland Naturalist.
Dr. Alexey V. Yablokov is a chief scientist of N.K. Kol'tzoff' Institute of Developmental Biology, Russian Academy of Science. B.Sc. (Moscow State University, 1956), M.Sc. (A.N. Severtsoff' Institute of Animal Morphology, Moscow, 1959), Ph.D. (Biological Division, Siberian Branch the USSR Academy of Science, Novosibirsk, 1965). He is the author about 500 publications on mammals, populational, evolutional and conservational biology, including about 20 books, translated from Russian to English, German, Japanese etc. Dr. Yablokov is President of the Center for Russian Environmental Policy. He was President of the Moscow Society for Protection of Animals (1990-2001), and Vice President of the World Conservation Union (2000 - 2004).
Evans, W., Yablokov, A., 2004. Non-Invasive Study of Mammalian Populations. ISBN 9546422045, Pensoft Publishers, Sofia-Moscow, 165x240, 53 figs, bibliography. In English, 118 pp., hardback.
Price €URO 37.80
Europe: surface mail delivery €URO 11, airmail delivery €URO 15;
Overseas: surface mail delivery €URO 12, airmail delivery €URO 18.
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