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商品描述
The narrative of the progression of the 'horse family' through geological time, from dog-sized fruit-eating animals with four toes on their front and three toes on their hind legs, to the valiant long-legged, single-toed modern grazing horses, beloved by racing enthusiasts, is the poster child of evolution. However, like the rhinos or tapirs, the horse-like zebras, wild asses, kulans, kiangs, onagers, and the real horses are often portrayed as being past their evolutionary peak as compared to the more recently evolved ruminants (especially bovids and deer) which now dominate the grazing niche. That story of a species group over its evolutionary zenith is compelling, but anyone who has travelled in the remote savannas of Africa or the cold wild deserts of Central Asia is awed with herds of glorious animals that clearly do not ruminate. It appears as though these, so-named 'hind-gut fermenters', are perhaps much better adapted to these environments than one is led to believe. The purpose of this book is to dispel the myth of the inferior Equidae by describing, and investigating, the evolutionary and ecological journey of the horse family in all its glory.
商品描述(中文翻譯)
「馬科」在地質時間中的演變故事，從像狗一樣大小、以水果為食的動物，前肢有四個腳趾、後肢有三個腳趾，演變到現代的長腿單趾草食馬，這些馬深受賽馬愛好者的喜愛，無疑是進化的典範。然而，像犀牛或貘一樣，馬科的斑馬、野驢、庫蘭、江馬、野驢和真正的馬，常常被描繪成已經過了進化的巔峰，與最近進化的反芻動物（特別是牛科和鹿科）相比，後者現在主導了草食生態位。這個物種群在其進化巔峰的故事引人入勝，但任何曾經在非洲偏遠的草原或中亞寒冷的荒漠旅行過的人，無不對那些顯然不進行反芻的壯麗動物群感到驚嘆。看起來這些被稱為「後腸發酵者」的動物，或許比人們所認為的更適應這些環境。本書的目的是通過描述和研究馬科的進化與生態旅程，來打破對劣等馬科的神話，展現其所有的輝煌。
作者簡介
Herbert Prins is Professor Emeritus in Resource Ecology at Wageningen University. He studied the ecology of African savannas but also Asian high-altitude ecosystems. He (co-)authored several hundred scientific publications and edited a number of books on ecology for different publishers. He supervised the work of one hundred PhD students. He is Officer in the Order of the Golden Ark and Officer in the Order of Oranje-Nassau for his contribution to conservation.
Iain Gordon holds Honorary Professorships from the Australian National University, Central Queensland University and Lincoln University in New Zealand, Honorary Fellowships from CSIRO and the James Hutton Institute. Over the past 35 years, he has gained an international reputation for scientific leadership and research excellence in interdisciplinary approaches, particularly in the context of managing land use to benefit biodiversity. In recognition of his contribution to science, he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology in 1995 and Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2012.
作者簡介(中文翻譯)
赫伯特·普林斯是瓦赫寧根大學資源生態學的名譽教授。他研究了非洲草原的生態學，也研究了亞洲高海拔生態系統。他（共同）撰寫了數百篇科學出版物，並為不同的出版社編輯了多本生態學書籍。他指導了100名博士生的研究工作。因其對保育的貢獻，他被授予金色方舟勳章的官員及奧蘭治-拿索勳章的官員。
伊恩·戈登擁有澳大利亞國立大學、中央昆士蘭大學和新西蘭林肯大學的榮譽教授職稱，以及CSIRO和詹姆斯·哈頓研究所的榮譽研究員職稱。在過去的35年中，他在科學領導和研究卓越方面獲得了國際聲譽，特別是在管理土地使用以促進生物多樣性的跨學科方法方面。為了表彰他對科學的貢獻，他於1995年被選為英國生物學皇家學會的院士，並於2012年成為愛丁堡皇家學會的院士。