| Edition |
First edition. |
| Descript |
272 pages : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 27 cm |
| Note |
Nonfiction. |
|
Works cited and further reading available at related website: ctheplatypus.com. |
|
Includes index. |
| Contents |
Preface: The loaded word -- Who you callin' an animal? -- Darwin, Darwin, Darwin...! -- The tree [strikethrough] river of life -- Part 1: Outside in: duck-billed platypus -- polar bear -- blue whale -- Trinidadian guppy -- Masai giraffe -- horse -- peppered moth -- daphnia and nematode -- red flour beetle -- giant marine isopod -- human -- neanderthal -- bottlenose dolphin -- manatee -- American crow -- American plains bison -- neaves whiptail lizard -- hoatzin -- African malaria mosquito -- domestic dog -- cat -- Part 2: Song of myself: fruit fly -- vent shrimp -- Great Barrier Reef demosponge -- comb jelly -- South American lungifsh versus African coelacanth -- zebrafish -- African clawed frog -- zebra finch -- gray short-tailed opossum -- nine-banded armadillo and Hoffmann's two-toed sloth -- house mouse -- bonobo -- Part 3: Hopeless monsters -- jungle fowl, aka domestic chicken -- gharial -- barn owl -- velvet spider -- aye-aye -- northern brown kiwi -- Galapagos tortoise -- little brown bat -- Part 4: The secret to eternal life: axolotl -- naked mole rat -- honeybee -- African elephant versus woolly mammoth -- tardigrade -- California two-spot octopus -- Afterword -- Special thanks -- Index -- About the author. |
| Summary |
"Consider the Platypus explores the history and features of more than 50 animals to provide insight into our current understanding of evolution. Using Darwin's theory as a springboard, Maggie Ryan Sandford details scientists' initial understanding of the development of creatures and how that has expanded in the wake of genetic sequencing. Surprising, witty, and impeccably researched, Sandford describes each animal's significant features and how these have adapted to its environment, such as the zebra finch's beak shape, which was observed by Charles Darwin and is a cornerstone of his Theory of Evolution. With scientifically accurate but charming art by Rodica Prato, Consider the Platypus showcases species as diverse as the sloth, honey bee, cow, brown kiwi, and lungfish, to name a few, to tackle intimidating concepts is a accessible way" -- Amazon.com. |
| Subject |
Species.
|
|
Evolution (Biology)
|
|
Adaptation (Biology)
|
|
Animals -- Miscellanea.
|
| Genre |
Trivia and miscellanea.
|
| Alt Author |
Prato, Rodica, illustrator.
|
| ISBN/ISSN |
0316418390 (hardback) |
|
9780316418393 (hardback) |
|
