How the Platypus Got His Shape

How the Platypus Got His Shape PDF Author: Anne Faundez
Publisher: Anchor Books
ISBN: 9780957350106
Category : Children's stories
Languages : en
Pages :

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How the Platypus Got His Shape

How the Platypus Got His Shape PDF Author: Anne Faundez
Publisher: Anchor Books
ISBN: 9780957350106
Category : Children's stories
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description


Consider the Platypus

Consider the Platypus PDF Author: Maggie Ryan Sandford
Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal
ISBN: 0762493631
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 449

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Book Description
*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.

The Croc and the Platypus

The Croc and the Platypus PDF Author: Jackie Hosking
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781760651053
Category : Animals
Languages : en
Pages : 32

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Book Description
An Australian reimagining of Edward Lear's nonsense poem The Owl and the Pussycat. The croc and the platypus trundled off in a rusty old Holden ute. They took some damper and tea in a hamper and bundled it up in the boot. Join Croc and Platypus for an Australian outback hullabaloo!

Platypus

Platypus PDF Author: Chris Riddell
Publisher: Puffin
ISBN: 9780140567779
Category : Children's stories
Languages : en
Pages : 32

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Book Description
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.

Improbable Destinies

Improbable Destinies PDF Author: Jonathan B. Losos
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0399184937
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 386

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Book Description
A major new book overturning our assumptions about how evolution works Earth’s natural history is full of fascinating instances of convergence: phenomena like eyes and wings and tree-climbing lizards that have evolved independently, multiple times. But evolutionary biologists also point out many examples of contingency, cases where the tiniest change—a random mutation or an ancient butterfly sneeze—caused evolution to take a completely different course. What role does each force really play in the constantly changing natural world? Are the plants and animals that exist today, and we humans ourselves, inevitabilities or evolutionary flukes? And what does that say about life on other planets? Jonathan Losos reveals what the latest breakthroughs in evolutionary biology can tell us about one of the greatest ongoing debates in science. He takes us around the globe to meet the researchers who are solving the deepest mysteries of life on Earth through their work in experimental evolutionary science. Losos himself is one of the leaders in this exciting new field, and he illustrates how experiments with guppies, fruit flies, bacteria, foxes, and field mice, along with his own work with anole lizards on Caribbean islands, are rewinding the tape of life to reveal just how rapid and predictable evolution can be. Improbable Destinies will change the way we think and talk about evolution. Losos's insights into natural selection and evolutionary change have far-reaching applications for protecting ecosystems, securing our food supply, and fighting off harmful viruses and bacteria. This compelling narrative offers a new understanding of ourselves and our role in the natural world and the cosmos.

How the Snake Lost its Legs

How the Snake Lost its Legs PDF Author: Lewis I. Held (Jr.)
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107030447
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 299

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Book Description
This book explores the latest developments in evo-devo to explain the science behind tiger stripes, camel humps, and other fascinating animal traits.

The Shape of Thought

The Shape of Thought PDF Author: H. Clark Barrett
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199348324
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 417

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Book Description
The Shape of Thought: How Mental Adaptations Evolve presents a road map for an evolutionary psychology of the twenty-first century. It brings together theory from biology and cognitive science to show how the brain can be composed of specialized adaptations, and yet also an organ of plasticity. Although mental adaptations have typically been seen as monolithic, hard-wired components frozen in the evolutionary past, The Shape of Thought presents a new view of mental adaptations as diverse and variable, with distinct functions and evolutionary histories that shape how they develop, what information they use, and what they do with that information. The book describes how advances in evolutionary developmental biology can be applied to the brain by focusing on the design of the developmental systems that build it. Crucially, developmental systems can be plastic, designed by the process of natural selection to build adaptive phenotypes using the rich information available in our social and physical environments. This approach bridges the long-standing divide between "nativist" approaches to development, based on innateness, and "empiricist" approaches, based on learning. It shows how a view of humans as a flexible, culturally-dependent species is compatible with a complexly specialized brain, and how the nature of our flexibility can be better understood by confronting the evolved design of the organ on which that flexibility depends.

The Platypus and the Birthday Party

The Platypus and the Birthday Party PDF Author: Chris Riddell
Publisher: Puffin
ISBN: 9780140567793
Category : Birthday parties
Languages : en
Pages : 24

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Book Description
Platypus wants Bruce's birthday party to be as special as possible. With a little help from his friend Echidna, he makes party hats, a beautiful cake and decorations and it turns out to be a day to remember.

What Will Hatch?

What Will Hatch? PDF Author: Jennifer Ward
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0802735673
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 39

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Book Description
Jelly, jiggly. What will hatch? Wiggly, squiggly. . . tadpole. What is more exciting than waiting for an egg to hatch? Creatures of all varieties begin inside an egg-and those eggs also come in all shapes and sizes. From a squiggly tadpole to fuzzy robin to a leathery platypus, this charming text and unique illustrations show eight different animals as they begin life. With a cut-out on each page readers will have fun guessing... what will hatch?

Platypus Police Squad: The Frog Who Croaked

Platypus Police Squad: The Frog Who Croaked PDF Author: Jarrett J. Krosoczka
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0062071653
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
Platypus Police Squad: The Frog Who Croaked is the first in a series of zany, action-packed middle grade mysteries featuring platypus police detectives Rick Zengo and Corey O’Malley. When a call comes in about a crime down at the docks involving a missing schoolteacher and a duffle bag full of illegal fish, Zengo and O’Malley are going to have to learn to set their differences aside if they want to get to the bottom of this. Especially when the clues all point to Frank Pandini Jr., Kallamazoo’s first son and its most powerful, well-respected businessman. Fans of Adam Rex, Jon Scieszka, and Jarrett J. Krosoczka’s own Lunch Lady graphic novels will flip for Jarrett’s series of funny illustrated Platypus Police Squad middle grade novels!