Book
The variety of life : a survey and a celebration of all the creatures that have ever lived / Colin Tudge.
Record details
- ISBN: 0198503113
- Physical Description: xii, 684 p. : ill.
- Publisher: Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2000.
Content descriptions
| Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references (p. [629]-644) and index. |
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Biology > Classification. Biological diversity. |
Available copies
- 1 of 1 copy available at Tsuga Consortium.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stroud Branch | 578.012 Tud | 31681000999128 | NONFIC | Available | - |
- Baker & Taylor
A guide to to the science and art of classification describes the main animal and plant groups, from the primitive prokaryotes, to homo sapiens, to the 1800 species of plant within the genus Eupatorium. - Blackwell North Amer
The Variety of Life achieves in one volume what most people would think impossible. It introduces all the principal groups of creatures that are now believed to have existed in the history of the Earth. It reveals their astonishing range of form and lifestyle, showing in passing that animals and plants are really very similar, compared to many (or most) of the rest. Yet it shows how all earthly creatures are related to all the others, despite the vast differences between them. The Variety of Life also explains how biologists have arrived at their present understanding of life's diversity, describing and assessing the state of our knowledge as the new millennium begins.
The Variety of Life is for everyone who is interested in living things: professionals, casual naturalists, and indeed anyone with any curiosity at all. - Oxford University Press
Here, between the covers of one capacious book, is an illustrated summary of all the creatures that have ever lived, a vast compendium of earth's current and former inhabitants in all their dazzling and infinite diversity.
Colin Tudge argues that we are entering a new phase of biology in which, for the first time, biologists are achieving profound insight into life's true diversity and developing the tools to keep track of it. The Variety of Life heralds this new phase. The first part of the book describes why biologists now feel that there could have been as many as 4,000 billion species on Earth since life began. It then discusses the need for classification, beginning with the most basic principles--the strictly practical classification of fishmongers and foresters, who speak of "shellfish" and differentiate "hardwood" from "softwood"--and moves on to explore the intriguing deliberations of the modern "transformed cladists" and the novel contributions of molecular genetics. Part II describes the creatures themselves. It is divided into 24 sections, each describing a different group, illustrated by nearly 50 double-page spreads which present genealogical "trees" that summarize the evolutionary relationships between the creatures in each group. Some sections describe large, comprehensive groups such as the kingdoms of the Animals or the Plants. Others treat similar sub-groups in more detail, such as the Mammals, a class, or the Hominids, a family. In lively and accessible prose, all the significant groups of creatures--both alive and extinct--are described and their relationships clarified.
For general readers and serious biologists alike, The Variety of Life offers an unprecedented storehouse of knowledge of life on earth. - Oxford University Press
A magnificently illustrated, highly readable and authoritative account of all creatures, alive and extinct. How is it possible to summarize such a huge number? By classification: the book does not of course describe every individual species, but it does show all principal groups to which all living things belong. Far from being a dull pursuit, the modern craft and science of classification takes us into some of the most intriguing and intricate areas of biological philosophy and technique, in which new studies of extraordinary fossils and of DNA plucked from the wild all play their part. We are entering a new phase of biology in which, for the first time, biologists can feel reasonably confident that they now have insight into life's true diversity, and that they have the methods required to keep track of it.The Variety of Life heralds this new phase. Here is the book that everyone who is interested in living things must own, from general readers to professional biologists.
