Introduction
The How and Why Wonder Book of Prehistoric Mammals takes its reader on a guided tour into the past far beyond the time when men appeared upon the earth. The purpose of this tour is to glimpse the variety of mammals that have walked upon the land or, in some cases, swum the seas. Mammals are warm-blooded animals whose babies are born alive and live on their mother's milk. Many mammals, including man, are on the earth today. This book, however, deals primarily with mammals that no longer live upon the earth.
Since these mammals are no longer alive, scientists learn about them mainly by studying their fossil remains, which are still to be found in the rocks of the earth. Scientists who specialize in reading this record of past life in the rocks are called paleontologists. This book suggests the exciting work they do in reconstructing the appearance and habits of mammals from a few fossil bones, in giving a date to their time on earth, and in relating mammals to other animals that came before them and after them in the long story of life.
In this book, the story of mammals is placed within the sweep of the longer stories of our changing earth's surface and of other forms of animal life. It may be read as an intriguing guide book to a tour through time and also used in the home and school library as a reference work on prehistoric mammals.
Paul E. Blackwood
U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare Washington, D.C.
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