Marine Mammals of the World (FAO species identification guide) (Spiral-bound)

It has been quite some time since I have been collecting and reading material about marine mammals and marine fauna in general, but I was lacking a pratical allmost like field guide that I could keep in the glove compartiment of the car (or the topcase of the motorcycle), in a small briefcase or backpack, but that, at the same time, would gave accurate and important information.

The editors divided the 320 pages A5 size all black and white book (in fact it's a bit taller and wider than the A5 european sheet size), in 7 parts, where after the introduction one will find, in alphabetical order, by species name, each one of the marine mammals species; first the ones of the order cetacea (misticeti and odotoncedi), then the sirenia, and the carnivora by last. Mustelidae and Ursidae are in a sub-chapter of this 4th chapter, following a certain kind of classification in use. The 5th chapter is a list of species by major fishing areas, then we have chapter 6 for references and the index at the end.

Each species occupy two pages; on the left side the names, scientific and common, a black and white illustration of the whole body of the animal (most of them of excellent quality and detail, others fairly good), then a text with "distinctive caharacteristics", drawings of skull and mandibule (very usefull when trying to identify stranded decomposed corpses), and on the right side page, the text continues with "can be confused with", "size", "geographical distribution" with world map marking, then "biology and behaviour, "exploitation" and, finally, "IUCN status". All the texts are short, incisive and accurate, when data is available - when it is not, the authors simply say "inssuficient known" not leading to subjective deductions.

The "little" book has a metal spire that allows the reader to fold the pages completely, allowing one to keep it open only in the page that one wants, despite of wind, or allowing protection from rain or water spray. The book covers are in thin cardboard, but the "proactive" wanna-be scientist can use some kind of transparent plastic sticker to give it some extra protection. The paper is glossy and thin, a bit resistant to outdoor aggresive conditions (but not too much).

Not the best for the curious color-photo dolphin lover, but very usefull as a portale data base for the one that goes out in a short shore binocular hunt, or even at the desktop as an extra source of information.