Invertebrates do not have backbones or internal skeletons, but some have hard coverings. Invertebrates are weird and wonderful creatures that come in every shape and color imaginable! Children will love the exciting photos!
The paleontologist and professor of anatomy who co-discovered Tiktaalik, the “fish with hands,” tells a “compelling scientific adventure story that will change forever how you understand what it means to be human” (Oliver Sacks). By examining fossils and DNA, he shows us that our hands actually resemble fish fins, our heads are organized like long-extinct jawless fish, and major parts of our genomes look and function like those of worms and bacteria. Your Inner Fish makes us look at ourselves and our world in an illuminating new light. This is science writing at its finest—enlightening, accessible and told with irresistible enthusiasm.
So much has to be crammed into today's biology courses that basic information on animal groups and their evolutionary origins is often left out. This is particularly true for the invertebrates. The second edition of Janet Moore's An Introduction to the Invertebrates fills this gap by providing a short updated guide to the invertebrate phyla, looking at their diverse forms, functions and evolutionary relationships. This book first introduces evolution and modern methods of tracing it, then considers the distinctive body plan of each invertebrate phylum showing what has evolved, how the animals live, and how they develop. Boxes introduce physiological mechanisms and development. The final chapter explains uses of molecular evidence and presents an up-to-date view of evolutionary history, giving a more certain definition of the relationships between invertebrates. This user-friendly and well-illustrated introduction will be invaluable for all those studying invertebrates.
Are bugs out to get us? Mosquitoes suck our blood. Wasps sting! Lice move into our hair and raise families there! Scorpions strike with poison. Why do they do these things? Find out why bugs are bugging us! Animals That Bug Us is part of the It’s All Animals series. This high-interest series uses fascinating facts about animals to introduce life-science vocabulary and concepts, including traits, inheritance, and the survival value of animal behaviors. Read-UP! with 3 levels of readability. Each level (set of 5 books) contains a book on a different life science subject so a student can keep reading in one content area if he or she prefers.