Deer Antlers: Regeneration, function and evolution

摘要

Antlers are complex organs which normally cast and regrow annually; they are the only regular mammalian example of organ regeneration. Richard Goss, of Brown University, Rhode Island, has had a long and absorbing interest in these ineredible tissues, and of those currently involved in antler research he is one of the most qualified to write a book. This is the fourth major work on antlers in the past 20 years,*although one (Bubenik, 1966), was not published in English. Within the last few years, there has been an upsurge of interest in antlers, and a considerable amount of new work published; Goss has performed a useful task in assembling and interpreting much of it. Having said that, I still feel that this intriguing book is really unfinished: it lacks a final chapter, which would have given the reader some challenges to consider, to reflect on and to act on. The jacket statement reads: #x201C;Students of development, evolution and behaviour will find much to appreciate in this volume, as will ecologists, wildlife biologists and zookeepers ... endocrinologists, physiologists ... orthopedists ... pharmacologists#x201D;. While this is true, a person of Goss's capabilities could have given them a lot more. However the book is still a very good one especially for those wishing to know more about antlers, and where to find out. In New Zealand, it should also find a ready audience within the deer farming industry, since much of it could be read and understood by non-scientific readers.