New Guinea : nature and culture of earth's grandest Island / Bruce M. Beehler ; photography by Tim Laman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Beehler, Bruce M., 1951- author.

Contributor:

Laman, Tim, 1961- illustrator.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Natural history--New Guinea.

Natural history.

New Guinea--Social life and customs.

New Guinea.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (376 p.) : 152 color photos. 1 map.

Place of Publication:

Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2020]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

An enthralling exploration of the biologically richest island on Earth, featuring more than 200 spectacular color images by award-winning National Geographic photographer Tim LamanIn this beautiful book, Bruce Beehler, a renowned author and expert on New Guinea, and award-winning National Geographic photographer Tim Laman take the reader on an unforgettable journey through the natural and cultural wonders of the world's grandest island. Skillfully combining a wealth of information, a descriptive and story-filled narrative, and more than 200 stunning color photographs, the book unlocks New Guinea's remarkable secrets like never before.Lying between the Equator and Australia's north coast, and surrounded by the richest coral reefs on Earth, New Guinea is the world's largest, highest, and most environmentally complex tropical island—home to rainforests with showy rhododendrons, strange and colorful orchids, tree-kangaroos, spiny anteaters, ingenious bowerbirds, and spectacular birds of paradise. New Guinea is also home to more than a thousand traditional human societies, each with its own language and lifestyle, and many of these tribes still live in isolated villages and serve as stewards of the rainforests they inhabit.Accessible and authoritative, New Guinea provides a comprehensive introduction to the island's environment, animals, plants, and traditional rainforest cultures. Individual chapters cover the island's history of exploration; geology; climate and weather; biogeography; plantlife; insects, spiders, and other invertebrates; freshwater fishes; snakes, lizards, and frogs; birdlife; mammals; paleontology; paleoanthropology; cultural and linguistic diversity; surrounding islands and reefs; the pristine forest of the Foja Mountains; village life; and future sustainability.Complete with informative illustrations and a large, detailed map, New Guinea offers an enchanting account of the island's unequalled natural and cultural treasures.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Abbreviations and Terms

Map

1. Overview

2. History

3. Geology

4. Climatology

5. Biogeography

6. Botany

7. Invertebrate Life

8. Ichthyology

9. Herpetology

10. Ornithology

11. Mammalogy

12. Paleontology

13. Paleoanthropology

14. People

15. Coastal Marine

16. In the Field

17. In the Village

18. The Future

Acknowledgments

References

Index

Author and Principal Photographer’s Biographies

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780691199917

0691199914

OCLC:

1140941936