The Big Cats and Their Fossil Relatives

The Big Cats and Their Fossil Relatives

In this beautifully illustrated natural history that links extinct larger feline species with those still in existence, collaborators Alan Turner and Mauricio Anton weave together the evidence of modern feline behavior with that of the fossil record. Turner's clear, insightful prose and Anton's masterly illustrations combine to offer specialists and newcomers alike an accurate and accessible guide to the evolution of cats. Whether your interest is scientific or you merely wonder what a giant cat whose teeth inspired the name 'he who brings devastation'looked like, this book is not to be missed. -- Luke Hunter ― BioScience A well-written, informative, and beautifully illustrated guide to the large cats, both extinct and extant. -- Blaire Van Valkenburgh ― The Quarterly Review of Biology A very interesting book―a cross between popular natural history and a coffee table volume. -- F. S. Szalay ― Choice Beautifully illustrated.... Clearly, this work has been a labour of love for both author and illustrator. -- Douglas Palmer ― New Scientist Antón's illustrations, refreshingly 'based directly on the skeletal evidence available and... not merely slightly altered versions of living cats with the addition of large fangs,'are perhaps the finest ever published. They are intertwined with Turner's cogent text in an eloquent demonstration of the interplay between art and science, paleontology and zoology, predator and prey, ecology and behavior, and anatomy and geography. -- Dawn A. Adams ― Science Voted Best Book on Prehistoric Animals by the readers of Prehistoric Times In this beautifully illustrated natural history that links extinct larger feline species with those still in existence, collaborators Alan Turner and Mauricio Anton weave together the evidence of modern feline behavior with that of the fossil record. Turner's clear, insightful prose and Anton's masterly illustrations combine to offer specialists and newcomers alike an accurate and accessible guide to the evolution of cats. Alan Turner is a paleontologist and reader in vertebrate paleontology in the School of Biological and Earth Schiences at Liverpool John Moores University and is a former senior curator of paleontology at the Transvaal Museum in Pretoria, South Africa.Mauricio Antón specializes in creating images that bring prehistoric creatures and their environments back to life. He has been an illustrator for nearly 30 years. Mauricio Antón is an artist and scientific illustrator based at the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid. His work has appeared in numerous scientific publications, including the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Alan Turner is a paleontologist and reader in vertebrate paleontology in the School of Biological and Earth Sciences at Liverpool John Moores University and is a former senior curator of paleontology at the Transvaal Museum in Pretoria, South Africa.