Animal Kingdom of India and Its Borderlands

India and its neighbouring countries have a vast kingdom of animals including mammalians, reptiles and amphibians. A scientific approach in studying these beasts reveals that each of them has very interesting tale to tell. The present book is designed to serve as a ready recknoner in understanding the different animals inhabiting India and its neighbouring lands with their popular names, scientific names, habitat and other necessary details about them with illustrations. The book starts with a comprehensive description of mammals and closes with study of reptiles and amphibians. The mammals are sub-divided into Monotremata (Egg-laying mammals), Marsupialia (Pouched Mammals), and Eutheria (Orinary mammals). The Indian species are the Eutherians which has several orders like Primates (Monkeys and Lemurs), Chiroptera (Bats), Cetacea (Whales and Dolphins), Sirenia (Dugongs), Ungulata (Hooped animals), Insectivora (Shrew tribe), Carnivora (Flesheaters), Rodentia (Gnawers), Edentata (with no teeth), etc. The reptiles of India are air-breathing vertebrates with hair and reproduce generally by laying eggs. Being animal of warm climate they are more abundant than mammals in India. they belong to three orders-the Tortoises (Chelonia), the Crocodiles (Emydosauria). And the Amphibians, being acquatic and breathing by gills, are also grouped in three orders- the Frogs and Toads (Ecaudata), the Newts (Urodela) and the Caecilians (Apoda). Briefly the book is a practical manual, the use of scientific names and plenty of illustrations add to its usefulness further.