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The Encyclopedia of Animals
From big cats to great apes, from penguins to boa constrictors, and from giraffes to termites, The Encyclopedia of Animals is a celebration of the immense diversity of life on Earth, from all creatures great and small. Mammals, birds, insects, amphibians, and reptiles are all featured in this full-color encyclopedia.
Profiling more than 400 of the world's most fascinating species, The Encyclopedia of Animals offers a comprehensive overview of creatures from every continent and climate, from the common seal to the leopard, from the field hamster to the duck-billed platypus, from the alpine salamander to the bombardier beetle, and from the kingfisher to the American alligator, and the sea horse.
Featured animals are grouped by order, then within each order by family; each family section contains examples of the key species, which are illustrated with beautifully detailed, full-color annotated artworks. For easy reference, each entry includes a table of information on scientific name, order, and family, features, habitats, diet, and breeding, as well as informative maps showing its distribution and detailed box features.
Profiling more than 400 of the world's most fascinating species, The Encyclopedia of Animals offers a comprehensive overview of creatures from every continent and climate, from the common seal to the leopard, from the field hamster to the duck-billed platypus, from the alpine salamander to the bombardier beetle, and from the kingfisher to the American alligator, and the sea horse.
Featured animals are grouped by order, then within each order by family; each family section contains examples of the key species, which are illustrated with beautifully detailed, full-color annotated artworks. For easy reference, each entry includes a table of information on scientific name, order, and family, features, habitats, diet, and breeding, as well as informative maps showing its distribution and detailed box features.
448 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
7 people are currently reading
109 people want to read
About the author
David Alderton
406 books20 followersDavid Alderton is a UK-based writer specialising in pets and natural history topics. Growing up in a home surrounded by pets, he originally trained to become a veterinary surgeon. An allergic dermatitis acquired in his final year of study forced a change of career however, and so led him into the field of writing about pets and their care. He has since become a regular contributor of articles on this subject to a wide range of newspapers and magazines in the UK and abroad, and also participates frequently in radio and television programmes.
His books have currently sold over six million copies, and have been translated into 30 different languages. David’s titles have won awards in the USA from the Cat Writers' Association of America and the Maxwell Medallion from the Dog Writers’ Association of America, as well as being nominated for the Sir Peter Kent Conservation Book Prize. He has also chaired the National Council for Aviculture, the umbrella organisation for bird-keeping clubs and associations in the UK, and is a member of the Kennel Club, as well as editor of the monthly magazine Practical Reptile Keeping.
His books have currently sold over six million copies, and have been translated into 30 different languages. David’s titles have won awards in the USA from the Cat Writers' Association of America and the Maxwell Medallion from the Dog Writers’ Association of America, as well as being nominated for the Sir Peter Kent Conservation Book Prize. He has also chaired the National Council for Aviculture, the umbrella organisation for bird-keeping clubs and associations in the UK, and is a member of the Kennel Club, as well as editor of the monthly magazine Practical Reptile Keeping.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 28, 2025
I don’t really own any other encyclopaedias or reference books, so it’s kind of hard to compare it to others that I’ve read.
That being said, I thought this was a really good book overall (even if the size comparisons weren’t particularly accurate).
There were a few things that were absent in the book which I thought would have improved it slightly, such as:
• The conservation status of each animal (e.g. whether they’re critically endangered or not)
• Illustrations showing the differences in appearance between males, females and young (or even what they look like during different seasons)
That being said, this information was provided for some animals, however it would have been nice to have had this info provided for every animal.
Overall though, this was an interesting book and I particularly enjoyed learning about animals that I didn’t even know existed!
That being said, I thought this was a really good book overall (even if the size comparisons weren’t particularly accurate).
There were a few things that were absent in the book which I thought would have improved it slightly, such as:
• The conservation status of each animal (e.g. whether they’re critically endangered or not)
• Illustrations showing the differences in appearance between males, females and young (or even what they look like during different seasons)
That being said, this information was provided for some animals, however it would have been nice to have had this info provided for every animal.
Overall though, this was an interesting book and I particularly enjoyed learning about animals that I didn’t even know existed!
November 21, 2020
A very informative book. Abortfrågan à LOT of animal’s around the World.
March 21, 2021
I love the animals and I learned
April 9, 2023
This is not the book I read. I read:
Animal Encyclopedia: A to Z Guide to Animals of the World, by David Alderton. A Moseley Road Inc. Book, 2022, First edition, first print. ISBN 9-781626692176. Goodreads will not salute any of this information.
Anyway. The book is gorgeous, although it only covers 240 animals. No domestic or farm creatures. I have come to believe that Mr. Atherton might have permitted Moseley to edit and condense one of his other books, perhaps the one noted above. While the photographs are exquisite and plentiful, the text sounds as if it were translated from a foreign language. Perhaps there was a transfer of data from other printed pages? And the weights of the animals, given in side charts, are bizarre at times. In the text, sentences end with a period in the middle, then restart; words are added or subtracted randomly; periods and commas have been sprinkled about with abandon. But the text is nevertheless chock full of interesting information, the pictures worth studying. Altogether
Recommended.
Animal Encyclopedia: A to Z Guide to Animals of the World, by David Alderton. A Moseley Road Inc. Book, 2022, First edition, first print. ISBN 9-781626692176. Goodreads will not salute any of this information.
Anyway. The book is gorgeous, although it only covers 240 animals. No domestic or farm creatures. I have come to believe that Mr. Atherton might have permitted Moseley to edit and condense one of his other books, perhaps the one noted above. While the photographs are exquisite and plentiful, the text sounds as if it were translated from a foreign language. Perhaps there was a transfer of data from other printed pages? And the weights of the animals, given in side charts, are bizarre at times. In the text, sentences end with a period in the middle, then restart; words are added or subtracted randomly; periods and commas have been sprinkled about with abandon. But the text is nevertheless chock full of interesting information, the pictures worth studying. Altogether
Recommended.
January 27, 2011
I love it my everyday book zoologist needs this books
August 8, 2019
This is an excellent book! It tells you about the Narwhal,the Aye Aye, and other awesome animals!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews