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CORVALLIS - A retired Oregon State University professor and a wildlife scientist have written the first comprehensive book about mammals in Oregon published since 1936.

"Land Mammals of Oregon," by B.J. Verts, a professor emeritus of wildlife sciences at OSU, and Leslie N. Carraway, who has a Ph.D. in wildlife science from OSU, was published this week by the University of California Press.

The exhaustive work, almost 700 pages long, provides a basic reference for mammalogists, wildlife biologists, students and anyone interested in mammal life in the northwestern United States, according to Erik Fritzell, head of OSU's Department of Fisheries and Wildlife.

During his long career at OSU, Verts has studied the ecology and history of 57 of Oregon's mammals. The book contains sections on all of Oregon's 136 living or locally extinct mammal species.

In the book's preface, the authors note that Verts first "conceived the idea of a new book on the mammals of Oregon shortly after accepting a position in Oregon in 1965." The book is the culmination of scholarship through the intervening years.

"Land Mammals of Oregon" is available through the University of California Press, 2120 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, Calif. 94720. The book costs $80. The book also will be available in many Oregon bookstores, according to Verts.