From a modest beginning in the form of a little shrew-like,
nocturnal, insect eating ancestor that lived 200 million years ago,
mammals evolved into the huge variety of different kinds of animals
we see today. Many species are still small, and follow the
lifestyle of the ancestor, but others have adapted to become large
grazers and browsers, like the antelopes, cattle, rhinos, and
elephants, or the lions, hyaenas, and wolves that prey upon them.
Yet others evolved to be specialist termite eaters able to dig into
the hardest mounds, or tunnel creating burrowers, and a few took to
the skies as gliders and the bats. Many live partly in the water,
such as otters, beavers, and hippos, while whales and dugongs
remain permanently in the seas, incapable of ever emerging onto
land. In this Very Short Introduction T. S. Kemp explains how it is
a tenfold increase in metabolic rate - endothermy or
"warm-bloodedness" - that lies behind the high levels of activity,
and the relatively huge brain associated with complex, adaptable
behaviour that epitomizes mammals. He describes the remarkable
fossil record, revealing how and when the mammals gained their
characteristics, and the tortuous course of their subsequent
evolution, during which many bizarre forms such as sabre-toothed
cats, and 30-tonne, 6-m high browsers arose and disappeared.
Describing the wonderful adaptations that mammals evolved to suit
their varied modes of life, he also looks at those of the mainly
arboreal primates that culminated ultimately in Homo sapiens. ABOUT
THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford
University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every
subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get
ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts,
analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make
interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
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