A natural history of Australia
Berra, Tim M., 1943-1998
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A Natural History of Australia takes a comprehensive look at the sometimes bizarre, oftentimes spectacular, and always fascinating natural history of the island continent. It describes in words, illustrations, tables and charts, and with some truly inspiring photographs Australia's geography and geology, its Aboriginal people, the Great Barrier Reef, and its fauna and flora. It also deals with the country's colorful history, its laidback lifestyle and the quirky and entertaining brand of English that Australians speak. A Natural History of Australia is a serious but accessible book that describes how isolation and aridity have shaped Australia's fauna and flora. The book explains the principles of Australia's biogeography and the complexity of its Great Barrier Reef. It compares the reproductive system of Australia's unique monotremes (egg-laying mammals) with those of its well-known marsupials and with placental mammals, and it reviews the latest discoveries in paleoanthropology.
Main title:
A natural history of Australia / by Tim M. Berra.
Author:
Berra, Tim M., 1943-, author
Imprint:
San Diego : Academic Press, 1998.©1998.
Collation:
ix, 304 pages : illustrations (chiefly colour), maps ; 27 cm.
Notes:
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents:
1. Great South Land -- 2. The Gondwana Legacy -- 3. The First Australians -- 4. A Floral Mosaic: The Plants -- 5. Dangerous Waters -- 6. Some Interesting Invertebrates -- 7. The Freshwater Fishes -- 8. Warts, Scales, Frills, and Thorns -- 9. Aerial Australians: The Birds -- 10. Mostly Marsupials: The Mammals -- App. 1. Political and Social Essentials -- App. 2. Australian Idiomatic Language -- App. 3. Some Facts and Figures for Travelers.
ISBN:
0120931559 (hardback)
Dewey class:
508.94
Local class:
919.4
Language:
English
Subject:
BRN:
67632
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