Let's learn all about the different types of animal coverings! Armadillos, snails, and turtles are just some of the animals that have shells. Do you know why these animals need shells to survive? With amazing photos and lively text, this book explains how shells help animals move, protect themselves, hide, and more! Get ready to learn all about shells! ABOUT THE SERIES: Animals have different body coverings for different reasons. Some animals use their coverings to keep warm or stay cool, others use them for protection, and can either stand out or blend in. Some animals even use their coverings to move! This vibrant new set of Learn About books gives readers a close-up look at five different animal coverings, from fur and feathers to skin, scales, and shells. Each book is packed with photographs and fun facts that explore how each covering suits the habitat, diet, survival, and life cycle of various animals in the natural world.
What's the difference between skin and scales? Why do some animals live inside a hard shell? Early readers will learn about the diverse body coverings that allow animals to survive in their various environments, from the jungle to the ocean. Using simple language and close text-to-image correlation, this book introduces children to the fascinating ways animals' bodies have evolved to thrive in different parts of the world.
What makes a shell like a house? A house is a home for you, a nest is a home for a bird, and a cave is a home for a bear. But for some animals a shell is a home. Snails and turtles and crabs and clams all have shells that act as their homes and protect them from harm. In this book you'll learn all about these and other crustaceous creatures, for whom a shell is just the right sort of home.
Who among us hasn’t marveled at the diversity and beauty of shells? Or picked one up, held it to our ear, and then gazed in wonder at its shape and hue? Many a lifelong shell collector has cut teeth (and toes) on the beaches of the Jersey Shore, the Outer Banks, or the coasts of Sanibel Island. Some have even dived to the depths of the ocean. But most of us are not familiar with the biological origin of shells, their role in explaining evolutionary history, and the incredible variety of forms in which they come. Shells are the external skeletons of mollusks, an ancient and diverse phylum of invertebrates that are in the earliest fossil record of multicellular life over 500 million years ago. There are over 100,000 kinds of recorded mollusks, and some estimate that there are over amillion more that have yet to be discovered. Some breathe air, others live in fresh water, but most live in the ocean. They range in size from a grain of sand to a beach ball and in weight from a few grams to several hundred pounds. And in this lavishly illustrated volume, they finally get their full due. The Book of Shells offers a visually stunning and scientifically engaging guide to six hundred of the most intriguing mollusk shells, each chosen to convey the range of shapes and sizes that occur across a range of species. Each shell is reproduced here at its actual size, in full color, and is accompanied by an explanation of the shell’s range, distribution, abundance, habitat, and operculum—the piece that protects the mollusk when it’s in the shell. Brief scientific and historical accounts of each shell and related species include fun-filled facts and anecdotes that broaden its portrait. The Matchless Cone, for instance, or Conus cedonulli, was one of the rarest shells collected during the eighteenth century. So much so, in fact, that a specimen in 1796 was sold for more than six times as much as a painting by Vermeer at the same auction. But since the advent of scuba diving, this shell has become far more accessible to collectors—though not without certain risks. Some species of Conus produce venom that has caused more than thirty known human deaths. The Zebra Nerite, the Heart Cockle, the Indian Babylon, the Junonia, the Atlantic Thorny Oyster—shells from habitats spanning the poles and the tropics, from the highest mountains to the ocean’s deepest recesses, are all on display in this definitive work.
The beautifully written story of shells and their makers, and our relationships with them. Seashells are the sculpted homes of a remarkable group of animals: the molluscs. These are some of the most ancient and successful animals on the planet. But watch out. Some molluscs can kill you if you eat them. Some will kill you if you stand too close. That hasn't stopped people using shells in many ways over thousands of years. They became the first jewelry and oldest currencies; they've been used as potent symbols of sex and death, prestige and war, not to mention a nutritious (and tasty) source of food. Spirals in Time is an exuberant aquatic romp, revealing amazing tales of these undersea marvels. Helen Scales leads us on a journey into their realm, as she goes in search of everything from snails that 'fly' underwater on tiny wings to octopuses accused of stealing shells and giant mussels with golden beards that were supposedly the source of Jason's golden fleece, and learns how shells have been exchanged for human lives, tapped for mind-bending drugs and inspired advances in medical technology. Weaving through these stories are the remarkable animals that build them, creatures with fascinating tales to tell, a myriad of spiralling shells following just a few simple rules of mathematics and evolution. Shells are also bellwethers of our impact on the natural world. Some species have been overfished, others poisoned by polluted seas; perhaps most worryingly of all, molluscs are expected to fall victim to ocean acidification, a side-effect of climate change that may soon cause shells to simply melt away. But rather than dwelling on what we risk losing, Spirals in Time urges you to ponder how seashells can reconnect us with nature, and heal the rift between ourselves and the living world.
Let's learn all about the different types of animal coverings! Which animals have scales? Fish! Did you know that some birds, reptiles, and mammals can also have scales? Discover all the incredible ways scales help animals survive. With amazing photos and lively text, this book explains how scales help animals stay warm or cool, move, protect themselves, and more! Get ready to learn all about scales! ABOUT THE SERIES: Animals have different body coverings for different reasons. Some animals use their coverings to keep warm or stay cool, others use them for protection, and can either stand out or blend in. Some animals even use their coverings to move! This vibrant new set of Learn About books gives readers a close-up look at five different animal coverings, from fur and feathers to skin, scales, and shells. Each book is packed with photographs and fun facts that explore how each covering suits the habitat, diet, survival, and life cycle of various animals in the natural world.
Let's learn all about the different types of animal coverings! Frogs, salamanders, and humans are covered in skin. Actually, did you know that every animal with a backbone has some type of skin covering its body? Discover all the incredible ways that skin helps animals survive. With amazing photos and lively text, this book explains how skin helps animals stay dry, keep warm, protect themselves, breathe, and more! Get ready to learn all about skin! ABOUT THE SERIES: Animals have different body coverings for different reasons. Some animals use their coverings to keep warm or stay cool, others use them for protection, and can either stand out or blend in. Some animals even use their coverings to move! This vibrant new set of Learn About books gives readers a close-up look at five different animal coverings, from fur and feathers to skin, scales, and shells. Each book is packed with photographs and fun facts that explore how each covering suits the habitat, diet, survival, and life cycle of various animals in the natural world.
Let's learn all about the different types of animal coverings! Which animals have fur? Mammals! Do you know why mammals need fur to survive? With amazing photos and lively text, this book explains how fur helps mammals stay dry, keep warm, defend themselves, and more! Get ready to learn all about fur! ABOUT THE SERIES: Animals have different body coverings for different reasons. Some animals use their coverings to keep warm or stay cool, others use them for protection, and can either stand out or blend in. Some animals even use their coverings to move! This vibrant new set of Learn About books gives readers a close-up look at five different animal coverings, from fur and feathers to skin, scales, and shells. Each book is packed with photographs and fun facts that explore how each covering suits the habitat, diet, survival, and life cycle of various animals in the natural world.
Along summer beaches, shells beckon with their timeless beauty and wonder. They provide protection for many ocean animals, populate colorful coral reefs, and sometimes surprise with a pearl inside! Fabulous interactive features and fun facts abound in this unique summertime pop-up book.
O'Reilly's bestselling book on Linux's bash shell is at it again. Now that Linux is an established player both as a server and on the desktop Learning the bash Shell has been updated and refreshed to account for all the latest changes. Indeed, this third edition serves as the most valuable guide yet to the bash shell.As any good programmer knows, the first thing users of the Linux operating system come face to face with is the shell the UNIX term for a user interface to the system. In other words, it's what lets you communicate with the computer via the keyboard and display. Mastering the bash shell might sound fairly simple but it isn't. In truth, there are many complexities that need careful explanation, which is just what Learning the bash Shell provides.If you are new to shell programming, the book provides an excellent introduction, covering everything from the most basic to the most advanced features. And if you've been writing shell scripts for years, it offers a great way to find out what the new shell offers. Learning the bash Shell is also full of practical examples of shell commands and programs that will make everyday use of Linux that much easier. With this book, programmers will learn: How to install bash as your login shell The basics of interactive shell use, including UNIX file and directory structures, standard I/O, and background jobs Command line editing, history substitution, and key bindings How to customize your shell environment without programming The nuts and bolts of basic shell programming, flow control structures, command-line options and typed variables Process handling, from job control to processes, coroutines and subshells Debugging techniques, such as trace and verbose modes Techniques for implementing system-wide shell customization and features related to system security
