Living Fossils
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Tanning and foxing
Markings: Previous owner,Ex-library with usual markings,Fair - Bumping on spine and corners. Rubbed edges.
Some creatures have defied the relentless march of evolution, persisting through ice ages, mass extinctions, and the rise and fall of entire civilisations, virtually unchanged for millions of years — and Living Fossils by Maurice Burton D.Sc. brings these remarkable survivors into vivid focus. Burton chronicles the astonishing stories of animals and plants that exist today as near-perfect replicas of their ancient ancestors, from the enigmatic coelacanth to the horseshoe crab, presenting each as a living window into the deep history of life on Earth. With eighty-three meticulous drawings by Jane Burton enriching the text, the book balances scientific rigour with an accessibility that draws in both the curious layperson and the seasoned naturalist alike. Burton's authoritative yet engaging prose illuminates the profound questions that living fossils pose to our understanding of evolutionary theory — why did some lineages freeze in time while others transformed beyond recognition? As a celebrated British zoologist and science writer, Burton brings decades of expertise to bear, constructing an argument that these ancient survivors are not mere curiosities but essential keys to unlocking the mechanisms of life itself. For anyone who has ever gazed at a horseshoe crab on a moonlit shore and felt the uncanny weight of geological time, this volume will leave that sense of wonder permanently deepened.
Author: Maurice Burton
Format: Hardback
Genre: Natural history
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Tanning and foxing
Markings: Previous owner,Ex-library with usual markings,Fair - Bumping on spine and corners. Rubbed edges.
Some creatures have defied the relentless march of evolution, persisting through ice ages, mass extinctions, and the rise and fall of entire civilisations, virtually unchanged for millions of years — and Living Fossils by Maurice Burton D.Sc. brings these remarkable survivors into vivid focus. Burton chronicles the astonishing stories of animals and plants that exist today as near-perfect replicas of their ancient ancestors, from the enigmatic coelacanth to the horseshoe crab, presenting each as a living window into the deep history of life on Earth. With eighty-three meticulous drawings by Jane Burton enriching the text, the book balances scientific rigour with an accessibility that draws in both the curious layperson and the seasoned naturalist alike. Burton's authoritative yet engaging prose illuminates the profound questions that living fossils pose to our understanding of evolutionary theory — why did some lineages freeze in time while others transformed beyond recognition? As a celebrated British zoologist and science writer, Burton brings decades of expertise to bear, constructing an argument that these ancient survivors are not mere curiosities but essential keys to unlocking the mechanisms of life itself. For anyone who has ever gazed at a horseshoe crab on a moonlit shore and felt the uncanny weight of geological time, this volume will leave that sense of wonder permanently deepened.