MAMMALS OF MADAGASCAR

Nick Garbutt, Pica Press, Sussex, 1999, 256 pp. £30.00. Hardcover. ISBN: 1-873403-52-6

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The first glance at this book tells you that you are in for a visual treat. It is beautifully produced with stunning photographs and illustrations; unusually, mostly produced by the author himself. Its scope is interesting too, covering all the Madagascan mammals in much the same way that Jonathan Kingdon's The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals (Academic Press 1997) covers Africa's mammal fauna. After an initial chapter covering the biogeography of madagascar, the book is then divided into sections for each mammalian order and within these sections each species or in some cases each subspecies is described in turn. The last chapter details the various places you can go and see the animals listed in the book and there are several appendices containing a miscellany of additional information. Lastly, there is an extensive bibliography and a very good index.

The book claims to satisfy two different aims. Firstly to provide a review of the current state of knowledge about Madagascan mammals and secondly to provide a practical guide for visitor to Madagascar wishing to see the animals described. As far as the first aim goes, the book is certainly up to date including descriptions of, for example, the golden-brown mouse lemur (Microcebus ravelobensis) which was first described in 1998. For each species it provides basic information on body size, a reasonably detailed although non-technical description (no dental formulas here) of the animal and how to identify it, a brief summary of what is known about the animal's behaviour, and then information about its population and conservation status. There are also viewing suggestions and sometimes detailed maps showing specific nature reserves. The amount of information provided compares well with the two books that might compete for this market (Lemurs of Madagascar, Conservation International 1994 and Lemurs of Madagascar and the Comoros, IUCN 1990) and certainly exceeds that available in more general mammal and primate volumes. Sadly, whilst there is a copious bibliography, there are no citations in the main text which makes chasing up the source of a particular piece of information more difficult than it needs to be.

As a practical guide the book is a goldmine of useful information. It has a 15 page section on parks and reserves giving plenty of useful advice about how to get to the reserve, where guides can be hired and details about the permits required. There is also information on seasonal climates and the facilities available at the park and suggestions about how you might want to organise a visit. This information is mainly aimed at tourists rather than scientists but is useful nonetheless. The main disadvantage of the book as a field guide is its size. Unlike Lemurs of Madagascar, you would not be able to fit this book in a pocket. Also, if your primary interest is lemurs, then obviously all the extra sections on other mammals (about half the book) are just taking up extra weight in you backpack. Conversely, if you are interested in other mammals too, then having this book with you would mean that you only need to carry a single volume. It does list local Malagasy names for the animals, but does not have the French names which is a pity. It has photographs of all the species and the major subspecies (for example, Eulemur fulvus fulvus, E. f. sanfordi, E. f. albifrons, E. f. rufus, E. f. albocollaris and E. f. collaris) and has pictures of both sexes where animals are sexually dimorphic which is very helpful. However, because of the size of the pictures, there is no quick way of thumbing through a large number of illustrations quickly when trying to match a particular animal. Also, because photographs have been used rather than drawings, there is no consistency of orientation and style. This consistency can be helpful when trying to decide which features are important for identification. There are also no systematic illustrations of regional variation in colouring as can be seen some lemur species such as Varecia variegata variegata.

The bottom line: would I buy a copy? Yes, definitely. It is an excellent book with stunning pictures. Would I take it with me to Madagascar? Yes, probably. It has a lot of useful local information and is well written. Would I take it out to a reserve with me? No, probably not. It is too big and heavy and is not really laid out as a field guide &endash; however if they ever produce a smaller, clothback version then that would certainly be worth carrying around.