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Best Mammal guide to Africa (1 Viewer)

jurek

jurek

Well-known member
I am going to West Africa and I am looking for a guidebook. It should cover also smaller mammals (like fruit bats, squirrels, galagos, genets etc., perhaps some groups are unidentifiable in the field like shrews and bats).

Currently I have a choice between Kingdon Pocket Guide to African Mammals but I loathe to photograph every plate in HMW.

Any advice?
 
Here's one Kingdon guide on offer: https://www.amazon.com/Kingdon-Afri...kingdon+mammals&qid=1583003577&s=books&sr=1-5
I have the 1st edition of this guide and it can be cumbersome to use in the field. The plus side is that the taxonomy is modern (even if there are some problematic cases) and it includes most micromammals (at least it lists them).
The guide Andy posted would be nice to include in a bibliophile (as myself) collection, but note it's from 1965 and it will be no doubt outdated in many respects.
 
RafaelMatias said:
Here's one Kingdon guide on offer: https://www.amazon.com/Kingdon-Afri...kingdon+mammals&qid=1583003577&s=books&sr=1-5
I have the 1st edition of this guide and it can be cumbersome to use in the field. The plus side is that the taxonomy is modern (even if there are some problematic cases) and it includes most micromammals (at least it lists them).
The guide Andy posted would be nice to include in a bibliophile (as myself) collection, but note it's from 1965 and it will be no doubt outdated in many respects.
Click to expand...

The one I just bought is a 5th edition from 1977 but as you say, a nice little book to have.

I have never liked the Kingdon guides, his illustrations are at best 'quirky', even species which should be fairly straightforward to ID e.g Mongooses, can be problematic using this book.

BF member Mark Andrews has been working on a new African guide for some time, is it still happening Mark?
 
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The Kingdon Field Guide is still the best option, though I would advise you to get the new complete version, not the pocket guide. The illustrations can be off from time to time, but it treats all Mammal families. Bats, insectivores, afrotheria and rodents are mostly treated to the genus level, but species like squirrels, fruit bats and sengi are treated in more detail. All carnivores, primates and ungulates are treated to species. The descriptions are often better than the illustrations and combined with the range maps, it is possible to work with this guide. Just make sure to check pictures online too, especially the Squirrel illustrations can be off.

You could just photograph a few plates of HMW (African squirrels, Genets, Mongoose) as addition to Kingdon, no need to photograph all because for many groups the Kingdon guide works fine.
 
Thanks everybody,

I think I will indeed get a new Kingdon and photo important pages from the HMW.

I hope Lynx Edicions will soon start offering mammal handbooks to various countries and regions based on the material from HMW. With new primate plates.
 
jurek said:
Thanks everybody,

I think I will indeed get a new Kingdon and photo important pages from the HMW.

I hope Lynx Edicions will soon start offering mammal handbooks to various countries and regions based on the material from HMW. With new primate plates.
Click to expand...

Fortunately new primate plates are in the works, now let's hope that they also ditch the inconsistent taxonomy, i.e. stop treating most of the G&G working hypotheses as real splits.
 
Good. I hope Mark Andrews will publish his guide. He has lots of experience with less known African small mammals.
 
jurek said:
Thanks everybody,

I think I will indeed get a new Kingdon and photo important pages from the HMW.

I hope Lynx Edicions will soon start offering mammal handbooks to various countries and regions based on the material from HMW. With new primate plates.
Click to expand...

There is, of course, the app version. I used this + the app version of the East African birds guide a few years ago in Uganda. It was ok: more than anything is the convenience of not having to lug books around
 
I'm not sure you could call it a field guide as such but 'The Behaviour Guide to African Mammals' by Richard Estes is full of a ridiculous amount of information.
 
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