Check out our Superb Museum Quality replica dinosaur skulls CLICK HERE To purchase one of our titles CLICK HERE For more information about a title see below Coming soon: Biodiversity of Fossils in Amber (due September); Hymenoptera, Hemiptera and other Insecta (excluding Diptera, Coleoptera and Orthopteroidea) of the Seychelles islands (due 2010); Crustacea, Platyhelminthes, Nematoda, Annelida, Rotifera and Tardigrada of the Seychelles islands (due 2011); Fossils in Amber: Remarkable snapshots of prehistoric forest life (due 2011); Fossil Spiders: the evolutionary history of a mega-diverse order (due 2010/11)
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Penney D. 2008. Dominican Amber Spiders: a comparative neontological approach to identification, faunistics, ecology and biogeography. Soft cover 176 pages 24 x 17 cm 88 colour photos 11 black & white photos 14 colour illustrations 224 greyscale illustrations. ISBN 978-0-9558636-0-8. £40.00 click to buy direct from the publisher
From a pre-publication academic review:
In summary, this book will be of considerable interest beyond the Dominican amber spider world and represents a very important contribution to studies on Caribbean biogeography and palaeobiogeography, the literature on amber, the fauna of Hispaniola (both fossil and extant), and an identification guide for workers in the Caribbean region. David Penney is undoubtedly the world expert in this field and has compiled a comprehensive synthesis with beautiful illustrations on almost every page, making it a pleasure to the eye. The information is sound and reliable, the bibliography extensive and complete, and the text is authoritative. There is no other work available quite like it and it should be on the shelves of academic libraries and museums, in addition to those of people with a general interest in amber or spiders, both amateur and professional.
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Penney D. 2009. Field Guide to Wildlife of The Gambia: an introduction to common flowers & animals. Soft cover 120 pages 21 x 15 cm 554 colour photos. ISBN 978-0-9558636-1-5. Price £14.99 click to buy direct from the publisher
The Gambia, located on the coast of tropical West Africa supports a diverse range of habitat types, from forests to mangrove swamps. It has a rich and biodiverse biota, which for some groups such as birds and mammals is relatively well known. However, for groups such as arachnids and most insect orders very little information is available. In this relatively small volume, the author provides close-up macrophotographs and notes on the biology of more than 500 non-marine species, including those most likely to be seen by the vigilant nature lover during a short visit to the country. Many of the species represent the first records for the country and several will almost certainly be new to science. The aim is for the book to be used for identification in the field, so text has been kept to a bare minimum. It is a most for anybody with even a passing interest in wildlife of The Gambia and West Africa in general.
From an independent reviewer:
"An Essential Companion When Visiting The Gambia: This is an amazing little book that gives such a range of wildlife as you are likely to see in The Gambia! The pictures are really clear, each one being accompanied by brief but entirely adequate info, with a minimum of the 'technical stuff'! Whether you're a wildlife enthusiast or 'just a regular tourist', this book is a must to take to The Gambia - either as a guide for yourself, a present for a friend who lives there, or ... as a donation to a local school!"
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Penney D. 2009. Common Spiders and Other Arachnids of The Gambia, West Africa. Soft cover 80 pages 21 x 15 cm 172 colour photos. ISBN 978-0-9558636-3-9. Price £12.00 click to buy direct from the publisher
The spiders and other arachnids of West Africa are very poorly known and this is particularly true of the Gambian fauna. At least nine different arachnid orders occur in the country and all of these are included in this introductory work. They include spiders, harvestmen, mites and ticks, camel spiders, scorpions, pseudoscorpions, tailless whip scorpions, vinegaroons and the highly unusual hooded tick spiders, which represent new records for the country and the northernmost records on the continent. There is still much we do not know about the Gambian arachnid fauna, including the true diversity of species that occur within the country. Indeed, most of the families included in this book represent the first records for this part of Africa. The aim is to provide basic information on ecology, behaviour and identification of Gambian arachnids likely to be encountered with little effort, in the hope that it will form a basis for more intensive biodiversity studies in the future.
The butterflies of West Africa are generally well known, but there are no country-by-country field guides for the interested amateur naturalist. The butterfly fauna of The Gambia is not particularly diverse in a West African context, but it does contain interesting elements of both Sahelian and Guinean Savannah species, because the country is located at the interface of these two major biomes. As a result of the distinct wet and dry seasons there are different butterfly species assemblages at different times of the year, with some species present year round. The rainy season and early in the dry season (November and December) are certainly the best times to see the greatest diversity of these magnificent insects. However, despite their highly apparent nature, there is still a great deal we do not know about the Gambian butterfly fauna, including the true diversity of species that occur within the country. Indeed, several species are recorded for the first time in this book. The author is a Visiting Research Fellow in the Faculty of Life Sciences at The University of Manchester. He has spent several years in The Gambia and is also the author of several other field guides in addition to numerous scientific papers.
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Download pdf postal order form-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Penney D. 2010. Amber. Soft cover 30 printed pages 14.8 x 10.5 cm 20 colour photos. ISBN 978-0-9558636-7-7. Price £3.00 click to buy direct from the publisherGerlach, J. & Marusik, Y. (editors) 2010. Arachnida and Myriapoda of the Seychelles islands. Soft cover 435 printed pages 24 x 16 cm 1,500+ line drawings, 17 photos. ISBN 978-0-9558636-8-4. Price £60.00 click to buy direct from the publisher
The Seychelles islands are biogeographically interesting, with ancient affinities to Africa and Asia, recent colonizing species from the Indo-Pacific and modern introductions. Until recently, relatively little was known about the biodiversity of the islands. This has changed through the publication of a series of monographs on the Seychelles fauna, presenting the latest information on all the terrestrial and freshwater animals of the islands. In this current volume on the Arachnida and Myriapoda of the Seychelles islands, 14 expert scientists from 11 different countries have provided contributions that cover all 433 species of spiders, scorpions, mites, centipedes, millipedes and related groups currently recorded from the islands. The volume includes a brief history of arachnid and myriapod collecting in the Seychelles islands and systematic keys, diagnostic illustrations and descriptions for most species, in addition to distribution records and assessments of species conservation status as defined by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Due to its specialized nature, this is a highly limited print run so make sure you order now while stock is available.
The beauty and mysteries of amber have fascinated humankind since its first discovery. Specimens with fossil inclusions inside were particularly revered and still are today, although for very different reasons. Fossils in amber represent a unique insight into subtropical and tropical forest ecosystems of the past. Today, such habitats contain a major proportion of the planet’s biodiversity, although they are disappearing at an alarmingly rapid rate, primarily as a result of human activities such as deforestation. The hot, humid environments of these habitats in conjunction with the vast armies of decomposers and other recyclers limit the potential for fossilization in the traditional sense. Hence, fossils in amber represent an invaluable palaeontological data resource for reconstructing tropical forest palaeoecosystems and also for predicting the consequences of our ongoing biotic crisis. They can also shed light on the broader, past distributions of organisms with restricted distributions today. In addition, because many of the earliest arthropod fossils from many extant (and extinct) families are preserved in amber, they provide important minimum dates for major radiation (and extinction) events, in addition to helping to resolve relationships amongst modern taxa.
Fossiliferous resin (including copal) deposits with arthropod inclusions span from Recent times back to the Lowermost Cretaceous, providing a continuous record for the past 135 million years, with new deposits being discovered on a regular basis. Advances in the application of imaging technology, including both photomicroscopy and computed tomography are revolutionizing the way in which we can examine amber inclusions. In this multi-authored volume each chapter was written by leading world experts on the relevant deposit, following a semi-standardized format including an introduction, information on the geological setting, amber collection, palaeohabitat, the amber tree, age, physical and chemical properties, diversity of inclusions and finally a checklist of the fossils described. The deposits covered include Dominican, Mexican, Bitterfeld, Australian, Baltic, Ukranian, French (Tertiary and Cretaceous), Canadian, New Jersey, Burmese, Spanish and Lebanese ambers as well as a short note on the importance of inclusions in copal. There is also an extensive introductory chapter that covers tissue and DNA preservation, how to distinguish amber from copal and fakes, methods for preparation and study, including photomicroscopy and advanced imaging techniques, ending with a discussion on the conservation and curation of amber collections. The book is fully referenced and richly illustrated throughout in full colour. It is hoped that this book will appeal to a broad range of people including amber enthusiasts, palaeontologists, entomologists, researchers and students.