PublishedBlack Dog & Leventhal, September 2019 |
ISBN9780316418393 |
FormatHardcover |
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.
