Held, Jr, Lewis I.

How the Snake Lost its Legs

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

How did the zebra really get its stripes, and the giraffe its long neck? What is the science behind camel humps, leopard spots, and other animal oddities? Such questions have fascinated us for centuries, but the expanding field of evo-devo (evolutionary developmental biology) is now providing, for the first time, a wealth of insights and answers. Taking inspiration from Kipling's 'Just So Stories', this book weaves emerging insights from evo-devo into a narrative that provides startling explanations for the origin and evolution of traits across the animal kingdom. Held's unique and engaging style makes this narrative both enlightening and entertaining, guiding students and researchers through even complex concepts and encouraging a fuller understanding of the latest developments in the field. The first five chapters cover the first bilaterally symmetric animals, flies, butterflies, snakes, and cheetahs. A final chapter surveys recent results about a menagerie of other animals.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Cambridge University Press
• Seitenzahl: 306
• Erscheinungstermin: 1. Mai 2015
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 244mm x 170mm x 17mm
• Gewicht: 541g
• ISBN-13: 9781107621398
• ISBN-10: 1107621399
• Artikelnr.: 39631771

Autorenporträt

Lewis I. Held, Jr is Associate Professor of Biology at Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, USA. He has taught developmental biology and human embryology to pre-medical students for 27 years, and received the 2010 Professing Excellence Award and the 1995 President's Excellence in Teaching Medal (Texas Tech University). He is also the author of Quirks of Human Anatomy (Cambridge, 2009), Imaginal Discs (Cambridge, 2002) and Models for Embryonic Periodicity (1992).

Inhaltsangabe

Preface; 1. The first two-sided animal; 2. The fly; 3. The butterfly; 4. The snake; 5. The cheetah; 6. An evo-devo bestiary; Epilogue; Glossary; References; Index.

Rezensionen

'In How the Snake Lost its Legs, Professor Held describes the key concepts that are at the foundation of evo/devo, in a language that is clear and simple as well as scientifically accurate, and in a manner that is sure to captivate the curious reader. In the second half of the book, he unveils a series of 'Just So' stories, a mixture of fascinating vignettes providing insights into what we now know about the evolution of various creatures, and teasing explorations of what remains to be learned. The book is a wonderful introduction to the field.' Cliff Tabin, Harvard Medical School