Book reviews 393 of Wilson and Reeder’s Mammals of the World (2005), the number of recognized species increased from 376 (in 69 genera) to 479 (in 77 genera). This increase is certainly due to the consequent applica- tion of the phylogenetic species concept, a method now obviously widely accepted (or only tolerated?) in systematic primatology. Since one of the HMW series’ main aims is to “illustrate the extraor- dinary diversity of mammals” (HMW vol. 1, p. 11) and given the treatment of this topic in the previous two volumes, this hardly came out of the blue. Seeing it as what it actually is, a perfectly falsifiable working hypothesis about species status, this approach is certainly justified. The outcome is, however, a rather short-lived list of recognized species, and future research will in all probability demonstrate that some of them only deserve subspecies status. To complete such a monumental volume without any short- comings and errors seems hardly possible. I screened several species and family accounts where I felt confident enough to assess the presented information and indeed found some minor errors. For example, on p. 832 the red colobus is said to be a member of the genus Procolobus, whereas in the Cercopithecidae section it is assigned to Piliocolobus. The distribution of the Zanzibar red colobus (Piliocolobus kirkii) lists, beside the islands of Zanzibar, Uzi and Pemba, also “Muyuni [island]” (p. 706). This actually refers to a locality on Zanzibar and does not represent a distinct island. In the Hominidae species accounts, throughout, no distinguishing traits between the subspecies are presented, which makes it difficult to correctly interpret the figures on the plates. And finally, the fig- ure of Cercopithecus ascanius atrinasus in pl. 43 (p. 686) is clearly inaccurate in possessing a prominent white nose spot where there should be a black one to match the description of the subspecies (correctly described on p. 690). More serious than the above-mentioned mistakes are some structural shortcomings of the book. The least understandable one is the referencing system. In the HMW, as in its forerunner HBW, no individual citations in the text are used; instead, a “bibliogra- phy” of the used publications is given at the end of each family or species chapter. This makes it in some cases almost impossible to relate the presented information to the cited primary sources. For example, if you wish to find a particular citation relating to infor- mation in the family introduction of the Cercopithecidae you have to screen no less than 373 references and hope to find a promising title. Sadly, the practical value of the extensive and up-to-date list of references is thus seriously diminished. Already in a review of the first volume of HBW, which appeared more than twenty years ago in 1992, Frank B. Gill (1995 The Condor 96, 566–567) criticized this “clumsy” referencing system, and it is difficult to see why the publishers and/or editors have insisted on it. A few other, more general, weak points should also briefly be mentioned. A general introduction, detailing methodological issues of the publication, is only found in the first volume of the HMW series. Correctly interpreting data presented in the HMW’s vol- umes, however, often critically depends on the availability of this section. Here, for example, the reader learns that the figures on the plates depict, if not indicated otherwise, males of the nom- inate subspecies (HMW vol. 1, p. 13), an information elsewhere searched in vain. There are no cross references between the text and the photographs which sometimes makes it a laborious task to find additional pictures of a species in the family sections. To some extent confusing is the treatment of the terms taxa and sub- species as synonyms in the summary boxes introducing the family chapters. Both terms obviously have a different meaning referring either to any taxonomic unit in general (taxon) or to an infraspe- cific unit (subspecies) only. By inference, one quickly recognizes that throughout the book, the number of “taxa” is identical to the number of recognized subspecies. Why then call it taxa? A look at the general introduction in HMW’s vol. 1, unfortunately, does not really explain the matter as it states that the “number for total taxa [in the summary-box] includes genera, species, and currently recognized subspecies” (HMW vol. 1, p. 12). Such inconsistencies create unnecessary confusion and could easily have been avoided. Nonetheless, also the third volume of the HMW is a superb piece of work that, despite some shortcomings, will certainly become a long-lasting reference volume on our closest relatives. Simon Engelberger Vienna, Austria E-mail address: simon.engelberger@univie.ac.at Available online 27 June 2013 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mambio.2013.05.003 J. Kingdon, D. Happold, T. Butynski, M. Hoffman, M. Happold, J. Kalina (Eds.), Mammals of Africa, 6 vols. Bloomsbury Publishing, London (2013). 3755 pp., ca D600 More than 15 years in the making, the monumental six-volume Mammals of Africa (MoA) was finally published in 2013 as a “Hand- book and Inventory of the Mammalian Fauna of [Africa]” (Vol. I:25). This impressive series has been eagerly awaited by those of us who work with African mammals and largely delivers. The series is well-organized, provides excellent detail across African species, and is clearly a product of great effort by an impressive team of experts. Superficially patterned after its ornithological equivalent, the eight-volume Birds of Africa (Brown et al., 1982–2013), the edit- ors of MoA decided to release all six volumes at once rather then the incremental release chosen for the bird series. All six MoA vol- umes strongly bear the idiosyncratic and artistic style of editor Jonathan Kingdon. This is especially reflected in the baseline deci- sion not to use photographs for this series but to rely solely on color drawings and black and white sketches alongside distribu- tion maps. Country outlines on the maps do not yet show South Sudan. Many illustrations are re-used from Kingdon’s earlier series on East African mammals (Kingdon 1971–1982), his Field Guide to African Mammals (Kingdon 1997) and the more interdisciplinary Island Africa (Kingdon 1989). Many detailed pen and ink illustra- tions of skulls and skeletons were also contributed by Meredith Happold, especially in the small mammal volumes. MoA deviates from the Kingdon books by not treating the primates first but rather the Supercohort Afrotheria, then continuing with Superco- hort Supraprimates (Euarchontoglires) with primates, lagomorphs and rodents, thus acknowledging recent molecular phylogenetic work (Springer et al. 2004, Stanhope et al., 1998, Waddell et al., 2001 etc.) in the taxonomic order of MoA. In their Introduction and Guide to Vol. I the editors provide an indication of the cut-off for recent discoveries that still made it into the series by mentioning the elephant shrews Rhynchocyon udzungwensis Rathbun and Rover, 2008 and Elephantulus pilicaudus Smit, 2008, discovered after the text for Vol. I was prepared. Taxon- omy of MoA generally follows Wilson and Reeder (2005), a sensible limitation for such an early cutoff relative to the final printing. Nev- ertheless, ecologists and those using MoA as a reference work for environmental impact assessment work in Africa would have ben- efited from a more up-to-date series that would afford them the freedom to ignore the taxonomic literature from much of the last decade. The authors also made the unusual decision to list only the names of synonyms without including the authority, which will make it slightly more difficult to follow changes in taxonomy. Half of Vol. I is dedicated to an introduction to African biogeography (palaeoclimate, biotic zones etc.), mammalian evo- lution, classification, behavior and morphology, and a short, well-illustrated introduction to the defining features of the Class Mammalia. This section would make an excellent teaching text,