New Titles

1) The Australian Heritage Council. Australia's Fossil Heritage: A Catalogue of Important Australian Fossil Sites. 2012. CSIRO Publishing. Paperback: 188 pages. Price: $62.95 U.S.

SUMMARY: The National Heritage List was created in January 2004 to recognise, celebrate and protect places of outstanding heritage value to the nation. National heritage encompasses those places that reveal the richness of Australia's extraordinarily diverse natural, historic and Indigenous heritage. One aspect of natural heritage that has been little explored is Australia’s wealth of exceptional fossil sites. While a small number of fossil sites have risen to public prominence, there are many lesser-known sites that have important heritage values.
     The Australian Heritage Council engaged palaeontologists from state museums and the Northern Territory Museum and Art Gallery to compile lists of outstanding fossil sites and to document their characteristics and relative importance against a range of categories, with a view to further our understanding about Australia’s important fossil heritage. Sites that were listed for National or World Heritage values were not included in the places for consideration, with the focus being on lesser-known but still important sites. This book is an account of the palaeontologists’ findings. Some of the sites that were included in the initial lists have since been recognised through listing on the National Heritage List or the World Heritage List.
     Australia’s Fossil Heritage provides a useful reference to the outstanding fossil sites it catalogues, and gives a clearer understanding of the heritage values of such sites. More generally, it contributes to a greater appreciation of Australia’s geological and fossil diversity and enables readers to learn more about Australia’s prehistory.
RECOMMENDATION: For those with a technical or semi-technical interest in Australian fossils.

2) Richardson, Ken. Australia's Amazing Kangaroos: Their Conservation, Unique Biology and Coexistence with Humans. 2012. CSIRO Publishing. Paperback: 234 pages. Price: $52.45 U.S.
SUMMARY: This book provides an authoritative source of information on kangaroos and their relatives. Topics include: species characteristics and biology, adaptations and function, and conservation. The book also discusses culling and the commercial kangaroo harvest, as well as national attitudes to kangaroos and their value for tourism.
     There are 71 recognised species of kangaroo found in Australasia. Of these, 46 are endemic to Australia, 21 are endemic to the island of New Guinea, and four species are found in both regions. The various species have a number of common names, including bettong, kangaroo, pademelon, potoroo, quokka, rat kangaroo, rock wallaby, tree kangaroo, wallaby and wallaroo.
     Illustrated in full colour, Australia’s Amazing Kangaroos will give readers insight into the world of this intriguing marsupial – an animal that has pride of place on the Australian Coat of Arms.
RECOMMENDATION: For those with an interest in Australian mammals.