Bibliograph

Nature's giants, the biology and evolution of the world's largest lifeforms, Graeme D. Ruxton ; foreword by Norman Owen-Smith

Type

Label

Nature's giants, the biology and evolution of the world's largest lifeforms, Graeme D. Ruxton ; foreword by Norman Owen-Smith

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references and index

Illustrations

illustrations

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Nature's giants

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

1046462480

Responsibility statement

Graeme D. Ruxton ; foreword by Norman Owen-Smith

Sub title

the biology and evolution of the world's largest lifeforms

Summary

The colossal plants and animals of our world-dinosaurs, whales, and even trees-are a source of unending fascination, and their sheer scale can be truly impressive. Size is integral to the way that organisms experience the world: a puddle that a human being would step over without thinking is an entire world to thousands of microscopic rotifers. But why are creatures the size that they are? Why aren't bugs the size of elephants, or whales the size of goldfish? In this lavishly illustrated new book, biologist Graeme Ruxton explains how and why nature's giants came to be so big-for example, how decreased oxygen levels limited the size of insects and how island isolation allowed small-bodied animals to evolve larger body sizes. Through a diverse array of examples, from huge butterflies to giant squid, Ruxton explores the physics, biology, and evolutionary drivers behind organism size, showing what it's like to live large

Table Of Contents

Foreword by Norman Owen-Smith -- Introduction -- 1. Life on a large scale -- 2. Dinosaurs -- 3. Massive mammals -- 4. Giants of the deep -- 5. Giants of the skies -- 6. Giant insects -- 7. Immense invertebrates -- 8. Record reptiles and amphibians -- 9. Green giants

Classification