Atlas of the Millipedes (Diplopoda) of Britain and Ireland: 59 (Pensoft Series Faunistica) - Hardcover

From its outset, the British Myriapod Survey established a system for the collection of ecological information alongside distribution records. This approach was unique to the Myriapod and Isopod Survey recording schemes and only now is its value being recognised by other invertebrate recording schemes. It has enabled the production of an atlas based on more than 47 000 records that is so much more than a simple collection of distribution maps for the 62 species of millipede found in Britain. Analysis of the ecological data provided for almost 80 per cent of the species records provides an insight into the habitat preferences of this important but undervalued group of animals. The results should be of interest to a much wider audience than the committed myriapodologists. The inclusion of colour photographs within this publication also marks a new departure for the BRC series of atlases. It may be somewhat surprising that a work on millipedes is the first to show this innovation. In contrast to birds, butterflies or beetles, millipedes are not often pictured in books and to the general naturalist or layman the reasons are self evident. However, the fascinating body forms and ornamentation and the often attractive colour patterns exhibited by the species illustrated in this book should finally discredit such misconceptions; millipedes can be beautiful! "This new volume will be of great value in conservation work, allowing research workers and planners to see in which types of habitat and microhabitat the different species may be found and which of these require to be protected in order to maintain viable populations of the species in which they are interested. A further feature and major strength of this volume is the placing of the British and Irish fauna in a European context, evidently permitting a better understanding of the species' distributions and the relative importance of the British and Irish populations globally. Because of the attention paid to sound ecological principles and its bio-geographical attributes this atlas should appeal to a broader field of readers than the title might indicate. It reveals distribution patterns that are mirrored in other groups of organisms and is a model of its kind." - Desmond Kime.