extinct animals

Describes those wildlife species which are or have been threatened with extinction and the ways in which people are trying to save them.

Presents true stories of mysteries of nature, discussing the sudden deaths of the reindeer of St. Matthew Island in the Bering Sea, the disappearance of the birds from Guam, the apparent extinction of the large-beaked ground finch in the Galapagos Islands, and the drop in the sea lion population along the coast of Alaska.

Presents illustrated information on discoveries about early humans, covering such topics as Lucy, Peking man, "Homo habilis," "Homo erectus," Neanderthals, Cro-Magnons, prehistoric art, early hunters, early tools, and the Piltdown hoax.

Presents illustrated details on birds, insects, fish, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals that once lived in North America, Australia, India, southern Africa, the British Isles, northern Europe, and other regions throughout the world, and describes each region's lands, plants, and climate in prehistoric times.

Presents illustrated profiles of several extinct plants and invertebrates, including early trees, ancient dragonflies, lost butterflies, St. Helena earwigs, and others, and also discusses insects preserved in amber and plant and bug species that have gone extinct and reappeared.

Presents illustrated profiles of several extinct reptiles and amphibians, including flying reptiles, gliding lizards, pelycosaurs, rhynchosaurs, lost snakes, tortoises, and frogs, and others.

Presents illustrated profiles of several extinct underwater creatures, including trilobites, plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, ammonites, sea cows, and others, as well as a fish thought to be extinct but rediscovered off the coast of South Africa, and also discusses the world's threatened coral reefs.

Presents illustrated profiles of several extinct birds, including dodos, piopios, great auks, laughing owls, giant woodpeckers, and others.

Presents illustrated profiles of several extinct mammals, including aurochs, dwarf elephants, cave goats, thylacines, Barbary lions, giant beavers, and others.

An overview of fossil hunting and research that covers such topics as different kinds of sites, the process of excavation, fossil dating, paleobotany, reconstructions, and famous mistakes.