After Man
Douban
A Zoology of the Future
Dougal Dixon
Overview
The time is 50 millions years from now. The place is the planet Earth. Man has long been extinct, as have most of today's dominant species. Some continents have moved into different climatic zones as a result of natural geological processes, and new kinds of animals have taken over the earth's surface.
In this remarkable book Dougal Dixon, a paleontologist specializing in evolution, presents his amazing vision of the animal world of the future, but bases the vision on the known principles of evolution.
As Desmond Morris writes in his Introduction, it is the way in which Dixon "has perfectly balanced his vivid dreamings with strict scientific discipline that makes his book so successful and his animals so convincing".
The superb full-color illustrations, in the manner of a 19th-century naturalist's sketchbook, enhance the immediacy and credibility of this inspired description of future life on earth.
contents
INTRODUCTION BY DESMOND MORRIS 9
AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION 10
EVOLUTION 11
Cell Genetics : Natural Selection : Animal Behaviour : Form and Development :
Food Chains
HISTORY OF LIFE 22
The Origins of Life : Early Living Forms : The Age of Reptiles :
The Age of Mammals : The Age of Man
LIFE AFTER MAN 33
The World after Man
TEMPERATE WOODLANDS AND GRASSLANDS 36
The Rabbucks : The Predators : Creatures of the Undergrowth :
The Tree Dwellers : Nocturnal Animals : The Wetlands
CONIFEROUS FORESTS 50
The Browsing Mammals : The Hunters and the Hunted : Tree Life
TUNDRA AND THE POLAR REGIONS 58
The Migrants : The Meaching and its Enemies : The Polar Ocean :
The Southern Ocean : The Mountains
DESERTS : THE ARID LANDS 70
The Sand Dwellers : Large Desert Animals : The North American Deserts
TROPICAL GRASSLANDS 78
The Grass-eaters : Giants of the Plains : The Meat-eaters
TROPICAL FORESTS 86
The Tree-top Canopy : Living in the Trees : The Forest Floor :
Living with Water : Australian Forests : The Australian Forest Undergrowth
ISLANDS AND ISLAND CONTINENTS 100
South American Forests : South American Grasslands : The Island of Lemuria :
The Islands of Batavia : The Islands of Pacaus
FUTURE 113
The Destiny of Life
APPENDIX 117
Glossary : The Tree of Life : Index : Acknowledgements
