Dogs: Their Fossil Relatives and Evolutionary History
Xiaoming Wang and Richard H. Tedford
July, 2008
Cloth, 232 pages, 97 illus.
ISBN: 978-0-231-13528-3
$29.95
/ £19.95
Xiaoming Wang and Richard H. Tedford have spent the past 20 years studying the evolutionary history of the family Canidae. Both are well known for having established the modern framework for the evolutionary relationship of canids. Combining their research with Mauricio Antón's impeccable reconstructions of both extinct and extant species, Wang and Tedford present a remarkably detailed and nuanced portrait of the origin and evolution of canids over the past 40 million years.
The authors cull their history from the most recent scientific research conducted on the vast collections of the American Museum of Natural History and other leading institutions. The fossil record of the Canidae, particularly those from their birth place in North America, are the strongest of their kind among known groups of carnivorans. Such a wonderfully detailed evolutionary history provides access to a natural history that is not possible with many other groups of carnivorans.
With their rich fossil record, diverse adaptations to various environments, and different predatory specializations, canids are an ideal model organism for the mapping of predator behavior and morphological specializations. They also offer an excellent contrast to felids, which remain entrenched in extreme predatory specializations. The innovative illustrated approach in this book is the perfect accompaniment to an extremely important branch of animal and fossil study. It transforms the science of paleontology into a thrilling visual experience and provides an unprecedented reference for anyone fascinated by dogs.
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About the Author
Xiaoming Wang is a curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and has been studying the evolutionary history of the family Canidae for the past 20 years. In collaboration with Richard H. Tedford, he has published three volumes on the fossil canids of North America.
Richard H. Tedford is curator emeritus in the Department of Vertebrate Paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History.
Mauricio Antón is a paleontological artist based at the National Museum of Natural Sciences, Madrid. Among his books are Mammoths, Sabertooths, and Hominids: 65 Million Years of Mammalian Evolution in Europe, with Jordi Agustí, and The Big Cats and Their Fossil Relatives: An Illustrated Guide to Their Evolution and Natural History, and Evolving Eden: An Illustrated Guide to the Evolution of the African Large Mammal Fauna, both with Alan Turner.Xiaoming Wang is Associate Curator in the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles. He has spent several years as a Frick Postdoctoral Fellow at the American Museum of Natural History in New York under the guidance of Richard Tedford.
Richard H. Tedford is Curator Emeritus in the Department of Vertebrate Paleontology of the American Museum of Natural History, New York. He is one of the foremost authorities on the evolution of Carnivora. Tedford has been steadily working on the fossil history of the Canidae. He has laid down the foundation of the modern framework on the evolutionary relationship of canids, untangling a confused history of this diverse group of carnivores over the past one hundred years.
Mauricio Antón is a freelance artist and research associate at the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales de Madrid. Among other books, he illustrated and co-authored The Big Cats (1997), with Alan Turner, and Mammoths, Sabertooths and Hominids (2002), with Jordi Agustí, and also Evolving Eden (2004, with Alan Turner) all for Columbia. His illustrations have been published in magazines such as Geo, Natural History and National Geographic. He has collaborated with the BBC and Discovery channel on series including "Walking with Beasts" and "Wild New World."
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