Here for the first time is a unified guide to the mammals of both Australia and Melanesia. Based on Ronald Strahan's first dictionary of Australian mammals, published in 1981, it includes all species, both native and introduced, extant and believed extinct. For each species and genus, it gives a clear guide to pronunciation, the derivation and significance of the component parts of the name, and citations that identify its earliest valid description.
Ronald Strahan taught zoology in several universities before becoming Director of Sydney's Taronga Zoo in 1967. In 1974 he was appointed Research Fellow in the Australian Museum, and later head of its National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife, from which he produced nineteen books, including an authoritative work, The Mammals of Australia. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Biology, and the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales and an Honorary Life Member of the Australian Mammal Society. In 1995 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia. He is married to Pamela Conder and this is their second joint book. Pamela Conder is a distinguished artist, author and naturalist. She has published widely, both as author and as artist, in a variety of contexts including scientific, popular natural history and children's fiction. Her work has been recognized by numerous awards for both writing and visual arts, including the Thomas Ramsay Science and Humanities Fellowship of the Museum of Victoria for her research on Flying-foxes. Many exhibitions of her art have been held in Australia and internationally.