South American mammals in North America. A review of mammalian biology in South America, edited by Michael A. Mares and Hugh H. Genoways. Volume 6, Special Publication Series, Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology. The University of Pittsburgh, 1982, 539 pp, $30.00

Abstract

The articles in this book are based on a symposium held at the Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology of the University of Pittsburgh in May, 1981. The symposium was designed to review past and current mammal research in South America, and to identify areas of future interest. In addition, the meeting was to provide researchers from North and South America with an opportunity to meet and exchange information. Unfortunately, owing to a lack of funds, most of the mammalogists from South America who had planned to come were unable to attend (only 5 of the 25 contributors are from South America). However, despite the absence of many South American researchers, the quality of the symposium was such that the proceedings are a useful addition to any zoologist's library.For the purposes of this review I have divided the book into five sections that cover different aspects of mammal research in South America: the status of biological research, the history and biogeography of South American mammals, behavior and physiology, conservation strategies, and specific mammalian groups.The two initial chapters, one written by Pine and the other by Mares, are complementary. The article by Pine analyzes the current state of knowledge about recent nonmarine South American mammals, order by order, concluding that much more work needs to be done. Mares examines the amount of biological research that has been conducted in South America, and compares it to what has been done in North America. This is one of the best articles in the book and makes an important recommendation for increased cooperation between research institutions in Europe, North America, and South America. Institutional cooperation would, in a short time, greatly increase our knowledge of South American mammals. Excellent programs, like the one at the University of Florida, have already had a beneficial effect on the training of South American mammalogists.The second group of papers covers the history and biogeography of South American mammals. The one by Webb and Marshall outlines the history of land mammals in South America during the late Cenozoic, placing the three faunal strata of G.G. Simpson in a current chronostratigraphic framework. Such an analysis allows