"[A] deliciously written account of the evolution of sex, in all of its bizarre manifestations" by a noted paleontologist—"Read, blush, and enjoy!" (Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs, and Steel).We all know about the birds and the bees, but what about the ancient placoderm fishes and the dinosaurs? In 2008, paleontologist John A. Long and a team of researchers announced their discovery of a 380-million-year-old placoderm fish fossil, known as "the mothe...

No other continent on Earth has undergone such radical environmental changes as Antarctica. In its transition from rich biodiversity to the barren, cold land of blizzards we see today, Antarctica provides a dramatic case study of how subtle changes in continental positioning can affect living communities, and how rapidly catastrophic changes can come about. Antarctica has gone from paradise to polar ice in just a few million years, a geological blink of an eye when we consider the real age of...

"An engrossing tale of obsession, adventure and scientific reasoning." —Betty Ann Kevles, Los Angeles TimesIn the winter of 1938, a fishing boat by chance dragged from the Indian Ocean a fish thought extinct for 70 million years. It was a coelacanth, which thrived concurrently with dinosaurs and pterodactyls—an animal of major importance to those who study the history of vertebrate life.Living Fossil describes the life and habitat of the c...

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTUREA mission to Mars. A freak accident. One man’s struggle to survive. From the author of Project Hail Mary comes “a hugely entertaining novel that reads like a rocket ship afire” (Chicago Tribune).“Brilliant . . . a celebration of human ingenuity [and] the purest example of real-science sci-fi for many years . . . utterly compelling.”—The Wall Stre...

Extinctions have always occurred and always will, so what is so surprising about the megafauna extinctions? They were caused by humans and were the first of many extinctions that eventually led to the extinction of the Moa, Steller's Sea Cow, the Dodo, Great Auk and countless other species great and small, all attributed to human agency. Therefore, the megafauna were humans' first great impact on the planet. There is now an increasing realization that the 'blitzkrieg' view of these extinct...

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZEONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW'S 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEARA NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERA NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALISTThe 10th-anniversary edition of the instant classic, The Sixth Extinction, now with a new epilogue. Kolbert blends intellectual and natural history and field reporting into a powerful account of the mass extinction unfolding before our eyes.

"Coyne's knowledge of evolutionary biology is prodigious, his deployment of it as masterful as his touch is light." -Richard DawkinsIn the current debate about creationism and intelligent design, there is an element of the controversy that is rarely mentioned-the evidence. Yet the proof of evolution by natural selection is vast, varied, and magnificent. In this succinct and accessible summary of the facts supporting the theory of natural selection, Jerry A. Coyne d...

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of North American Reptiles and Amphibians describes and illustrates over 1,000 species of turtles, tortoise, lizards, snakes, alligators, salamanders, frogs, and toads. With Over 30,000 color photographs, this encyclopedia is for every naturalist from the novice to the experienced observer.FEATURES:- Information about each North American Reptile and Amphibian. - Over 30,000 color photographs. - Intuitive navigation: navigate from Table of Contents or search for...

A Yale-educated professor of biology and a GG finalist for Silence of the Songbirds, Bridget Stutchbury roams forests studying the social lives and sexual antics of birds, sharing with us the curious reasons for their strange behaviour, bright colouring and elaborate songs. Are birds truly faithful to their mates? Stutchbury explains the science behind the surprisingly sophisticated and often amusing habits of birds, drawing on examples from around the world.In The Bir...

A fully updated edition of one of the most original accounts of evolution ever written.'Extraordinarily detailed, serious and engaging' Daily Mail'One of the richest accounts of evolution ever' Financial Times'Dizzying . . . fresh, exhilarating' Daily TelegraphThe Ancestor's Tale is a dazzling, four-billion-year pilgrimage to the origins of us all. Richard...

The Cenozoic or Tertiary Era, derives its name from the greek and means "recent life". It covers the long period of time ranging from 65 to 1.8 million years ago. For the great success of the Mammals, the Cenozoic is also called the Age of Mammals.Birds conquer the heavens, no longer dominated by the flying reptiles. Toward the end of this Age will come out early hominids.

This ebook edition does not include illustrations.An awe-inspiring journey through the eons and across the globe, in search of visible traces of evolution in the living creatures which have survived from earlier times and whose stories speak to us of seminal events in the history of life.The history of life on Earth is far older – and far odder – than many of us realise. In ‘Survivors’, acclaimed author Richard Fortey traces this history not through fossil records, but in t...