Horned Armadillos and Rafting Monkeys: The Fascinating Fossil Mammals of South America

by Darin A. Croft, Velizar Simeonovski (Illustrator)

A thrilling guide to the Cenozoic mammals of South America, featuring seventy-five life reconstructions of extinct species, plus photos of specimens and sites.South America is home to some of the most distinctive mammals on Earth—giant armadillos, tiny anteaters, the world’s largest rodent, and its smallest deer. But the continent once supported a variety of other equally intriguing mammals that have no close living armored mammals with tail clubs, saber-toothed marsupials, and even a swimming sloth. We know of the existence of these peculiar species thanks to South America’s rich fossil record, which provides many glimpses of prehistoric mammals and the ecosystems in which they lived.Organized as a “walk through time” and featuring species from fifteen important fossil sites, this book is the most extensive and richly illustrated volume devoted exclusively to the Cenozoic mammals of South America. The text is supported by seventy-five life reconstructions of extinct species in their native habitats, as well as photographs of fossil specimens and the sites highlighted in the book. An annotated bibliography is included for those interested in delving into the scientific literature.“Well-written and easy for the nonspecialist to understand, this is also a most needed updating of this subject, much in the line of classic works such as Simpson’s The Beginning of the Age of Mammals in South America and Patterson and Pascual’s The Fossil Mammal Fauna of South America.” —Richard Fariña, coauthor Giant Beasts of Pleistocene South America“This handsome book, written by a leading expert in South American paleontology, is profusely illustrated with maps, time charts, color photographs of fossils, and exquisite life reconstructions. The book . . . will appeal to any individual, young and old alike, interested in the fossil record, as well as to students and scholars of paleontology who work in other parts of the globe.” —Choice

Genres: Nonfiction, Palaeontology, Science, Nature, Biology, Animals, Natural History

572 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 29, 2016

Reviews

[Shrike58 · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the whole, this is a typical addition to Indiana University Press's "Life of the Past" series, in that it's really most accessible to a reader with the equivalent of a college undergrad's exposure to science. That said, what I really like about this book is how it's organized in terms of the key fossil collection sites in South America, as this gives one a better sense of what animals are in association with each other at a given period in the geological record. The single biggest new takeaway for me was that 3.3 million years ago there was a meteor strike in what is now Argentina, which likely softened up local populations in regards to the then ongoing "Great American Biotic Interchange."

[Gerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this book because the author, Darin Croft was a Junior High/High School friend of my son. I kept reading because I found it fascinating. In the acknowledgments, Darin thanks his wife, Lisa for helping ensure that the text was suitable for nonexperts. I think he hit the mark. I am a nonexpert. While I missed a lot of the technical fine points, I could still comprehend a lot of the material--the locations where different types of fossils were found, the conditions of the time and the different fossils that were found in those locations. While I am not qualified to comment on the fossil information, I can comment as to how well written and readable this is to the nonexpert. I usually don't spend this much time reading a book, but this was worth the time.

The illustrations in this book were done by Velizar Simionovski and are beautiful!

[Gijs Grob · Rating 5 out of 5]

For quite a while South America was an isolated continent, very much like Australia today, leading to a very original fauna, which today is still presented by e.g. armadillos, sloths and anteaters. 'Horned Armadillos and Rafting Monkeys' is a beautiful book celebrating their extinct South American relatives and completely extinct taxa, which are often even more extraordinary.

The species are presented chronologically, from the Palaeocene to the Pleistocene, and are arranged by finding site. Well-known Pleistocene genera like Glyptodon, Megatherium, Smilodon and Macrauchenia are present, as well as many earlier species, even including some spectacular reptiles and birds. Crofts text is a surprisingly easy read, without losing its scientific value; his sentences are very readable and he explains all the scientific terms (one thing is for certain: mammal paleontology is all about teeth). Elaborate appendices direct the more scientific reader to all the source material used. All entries are accompanied by beautiful illustrations by skilled paleoartist Velizar Simeonovski (who depicts the species within their supposed natural habitats), and often by photos of their bones, and/or those of living counterparts.

Because the book is arranged by sites and loose species, the phylogeny and development of certain groups undortunately remains rather obscure, and sometimes the choice of species is a bit odd (for example, the second-to-largest rodent ever, Phoberomys burmeisteri is included, but not the largest, Josephoartigasia monesi, which nevertheless is mentioned in the text on Phoberomys). But these are minor faults in a great book, which is surprisingly only the second book on this topic since George Gaylord Simpson's 'Splendid Isolation: The Curious History of South American Mammals' from 1980.

[Ken · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a tease this book is. There is literally zero on how the monkeys got to South America, and there was two pages in the horned armadillos. This is basically a survey with short descriptions of about 70 species listed chronologically. BUT, there is no meaningful descriptions of the various geologic periods (oligocene, Miocene, etc). AND almost no analysis of the Great American Biotic Interchange, when North & South America were joined at Panama. This is a list, a survey, a summary with no meaningful thought provoking analysis.
BUT, the great artwork almost almost makes the book worth reading. For a truly superb alternative, try The Rise and Reign of the Mammals by Steve Brusatte!

[Miroslav · Rating 4 out of 5]

je to tak za 4,5... páčila sa mi forma knihy: všeobecné informácie a potom rozdelenie na časti podľa výkopovej lokality a časového zasadenia od naskorších až po dobu ľadovú. Každý druh mal venovanú vlastnú dvojstránku. Bez takýchto kníh sa nadšenec ani nemá ako dozvedieť, že mnohé druhy vôbec existovali... keby len druhy, celé skupiny druhov cicavcov, ktoré dnes už nie sú. Viac takýchto kníh a o každom kontinente by sa zišlo :)

[Kirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book, it has the right mixture of pictures and information that I wanted in a book about prehistoric mammals. Actually, it has a few non-mammals mentioned too as a bonus, like horned turtles. One of the pictures actually fooled me for a half a second, that of Otronia, into thinking it was a photo of a live animal, they have some very nice photorealistic pictures in there, though not all of them are that quality they are pretty decent overall.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a bit too technical for a popular science book (it took me half the book to figure out that an illustration preceded an article about the species, and not the other way around), but it's a great source of information about South American mammals, a topic on which it's pretty hard to find resources, especially e-books.

[Tom McGlynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty much the only book you need on Cenozoic South America. All of the most important and iconic mammals are covered in extensive detail; there were many I’d never heard of too. Recommended for any prehistory enthusiast.

[Dixie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The artwork in this book is wonderful and evocative. I would have enjoyed more information about the animals, but perhaps there isn't any more!

[Anthony Friscia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice review of the unique mammals of the South American past. Mostly written at the popsci level, but something for academics too