Handbook of the Mammals of the World : volume 4 - Sea Mammals

The Handbook of Mammals, Volume 4 Sea Mammals is a detailed reference to the cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises), sirenians (manatees and dugongs) and pinnipeds (seals and sea lions) of the world. While covered in many field guides of marine mammals, this volume does not cover Polar Bear and the two marine species of otter, which are covered in Volume 1 Carnivores.

Following an opening chapter on the conservation of sea mammals as a whole, the book delves into detailed information on each family, starting with the pinnipeds and working through to the cetaceans and finally the sirenians. For each family the chapter provides a very good overview, from systematics and morphological aspects to habitat, communication and social organisation. While for those families represented by one or two species this results in a reasonably in depth review of the each, for those highly diverse families it results in a wide range of information being covered.  These overviews include a lot of technical terms relating to for example genetics, morphology, molecular data and taxonomy which can make reading heavy going but they do include some of the most up to date information particularly on systematics. Each chapter is then followed with individual species accounts including detailed identification plates. Personally I would have liked to have seen species names next to such drawings to give the reader a quick reference rather than having to flick to the correct page.

What sets this book apart, for me, are the photographs. Depicting a wide range of species and behaviours there are some truly stunning images within this volume.

Book reviewed by Rachel Barber