Platypus
Title | Platypus PDF eBook |
Author | Ann Moyal |
Publisher | JHU Press |
Pages | 252 |
Release | 2004-10-29 |
Genre | Nature |
ISBN | 9780801880520 |
Eloquent and concise, Platypus uncovers the earliest theories and latest discoveries about this delightfully odd member of the animal kingdom.
Consider the Platypus
Title | Consider the Platypus PDF eBook |
Author | Maggie Ryan Sandford |
Publisher | Black Dog & Leventhal |
Pages | 449 |
Release | 2019-08-27 |
Genre | Nature |
ISBN | 0762493631 |
*FINALIST FOR THE 2020 GENERAL NONFICTION MINNESOTA BOOK AWARDS* Interested in the origins of the species? Consider the Platypus uses pets such as dogs and cats as well as animal outliers like the axolotl and naked mole rat to wittily tackle mind-bending concepts about how evolution, biology, and genetics work. 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, including the: Peppered Moth, which changed color based on the amount of soot in the London air; California Two-Spotted Octopus, which has the amazing ability to alter its DNA/RNA not over generations but during its lifetime; miniscule tardigrade, which is so hearty it can withstand radiation, lack of water and oxygen, and temperatures as low as -328°F and as high 304 °F; and, of course, the platypus, which has so many disparate features, from a duck's bill to venomous spur to mammary patches, that scientists originally thought it was a hoax. 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.
Platypus Matters
Title | Platypus Matters PDF eBook |
Author | Jack Ashby |
Publisher | University of Chicago Press |
Pages | 396 |
Release | 2022-08-04 |
Genre | Nature |
ISBN | 022678925X |
"Naturalist and Assistant Director of the Museum of Zoology at the University of Cambridge, Jack Ashby shares his love for the platypus and other Australian mammals, including wombats, echidnas, and kangaroos. Informed by stories of his experiences meeting living marsupials and egg-laying mammals on fieldwork in Tasmania and mainland Australia and his close contact with thousands of zoological specimens collected for museums over the last 200 years, Ashby's book explains historical mysteries and debunks myths about these mammals and especially the platypus-which lays eggs, feeds its young on milk, has venom spurs, and sports a bill that can detect electricity. In evaluating how humans have considered these special mammals, he makes clear that calling these animals "weird" or "primitive"- or incorrectly implying that Australia is an "evolutionary backwater"-has only added to the challenges for their conservation. One outcome of these descriptions is that Australia now has the worst mammal extinction rate of anywhere on Earth. Ashby argues that many of the ways that the world thinks about Australia's mammals can be traced back to the country's colonial history"--
Platypus
Title | Platypus PDF eBook |
Author | Elizabeth Parer-Cook |
Publisher | |
Pages | |
Release | 2015 |
Genre | Platypus |
ISBN | 9780987328915 |
If My Mom Were a Platypus
Title | If My Mom Were a Platypus PDF eBook |
Author | Dia L. Michels |
Publisher | Paw Prints |
Pages | 0 |
Release | 2009-06-03 |
Genre | |
ISBN | 9781442060081 |
Through an informative examination of fourteen mammal animals, including the elephant and platypus, young readers can learn how mammal mothers protect, feed, and raise their young in their natural habitats during their offspring's most vulnerable period in life. Simultaneous.
Paddy the Platypus
Title | Paddy the Platypus PDF eBook |
Author | Patricia Harris |
Publisher | |
Pages | 32 |
Release | 2020-09-10 |
Genre | Juvenile Fiction |
ISBN | 9781622889099 |
When Paddy the Platypus leaves his home to find new friends, he is shocked to find that the other animals don't want to play with him. A beaver, an otter, and a family of ducks each poke fun at Paddy because he looks so odd. But when a baby bird falls from its nest and Paddy catches it with his soft snout, the other animals realize Paddy's differences are what make him so special. Paddy the Platypus is written in couplets, including a deliberate repetition of key phrases that young children can easily remember. The book is beautifully illustrated by Tristan Brewster-Arnold.
Platypus
Title | Platypus PDF eBook |
Author | Chris Riddell |
Publisher | Puffin |
Pages | 32 |
Release | 2002 |
Genre | Children's stories |
ISBN | 9780140567779 |
Platypus decides it's the perfect day to go collecting. He finds a big rock, an old shoe and a broken umbrella, but none of these are quite what he's looking for. Then he finds a curly shell - just right But it keeps going missing from his special box. The 'thief' turns out to be a little hermit crab living inside the shell so Platypus takes it back to the sea where it belongs. Luckily there are plenty of unoccupied shells for Platypus to collect - and keep.