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Great Adaptations: Star-Nosed Moles, Electric Eels, and Other Tales of Evolution's Mysteries Solved
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About This Book
This book showcases some strange creatures with unusual capacities. The "star" of the show is the star-nosed mole, with its nose containing some 25,000 touch-sensitive nerve organs and the ability to gobble small invertebrate prey in world record-breaking time. The mole was author's first real biological assignment; his "strange path of discovery" is brilliantly documented, from figuring how to find and capture his elusive subject to eventually mapping its brain. He also studies tentacled snakes that deploy some devilish hunting strategies, worms that leave the ground in response to "grunts," eels that paralyze their prey with Taser-like jolts, bloodthirsty water shrews, and zombie-making wasps. The author's witty style and amazing findings are complemented by stunning photography and movie shorts that readers with smart phones can scan and play. The astonishing animals are only half the story. Just as compelling is the enquiring-human side--i.e., seeing a scientist at work (and at play), applying a Sherlockian credo
Reviews
"Kenneth Catania, professor of biological sciences at Vanderbilt University, probably doesn't know either, but his book Great Adaptations gives us the next best thing: a view into the lives of many strange and wonderful critters, whose windows to the world are no less remarkable than the sonar used by many species of bats to catch flying insects and avoid obstacles ..."
"Using a variety of visual aids to good effect, Catania explores how the humblest species may have developed their remarkable abilities."
"Throughout, Catania introduces neuroscience basics in an accessible manner, while also making clear what a large role serendipity can play in scientific investigation."
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