For centuries, naturalists have been intrigued by the islands of the Malay Archipelago – and with good reason. The rich and curious variety of life forms to be found on them is truly astonishing. Because of this, they are superb places to study ecology and evolution (just ask Alfred Russel Wallace – metaphorically, of course); however their rich variety of life makes the study of them rather involved. Thus it’s best to take on just one island at a time, or better year, take just one class on one island at a time.
Lawrence R. Heaney, Danilo S. Balete, and Eric A. Rickart have done precisely this with their new book The Mammals of Luzon Island; Biogeography and Natural History of a Philippine Fauna from Johns Hopkins University Press. Featuring one-hundred-twenty fully illustrated species profiles, this new book is the culmination of a “century of accumulated data and fifteen years of intensive study,” making it a very much anticipated work indeed for naturalists interested in the area.
