Showing 1–12 of 119 results
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A Sea of Glass: Searching for the Blaschkas’ Fragile Legacy in an Ocean at Risk
Artist/Author: Harvell, Drew$50.00 Add to cartIt started with a glass octopus. Dusty, broken, and all but forgotten, it caught Drew Harvell’s eye. Fashioned in intricate detail by the father-son glassmaking team of Leopold and Rudolph Blaschka, the octopus belonged to a menagerie of unusual marine creatures that had been packed away for decades in a Corning Museum of Glass storage unit. More than 150 years earlier, the Blaschkas had been captivated by marine invertebrates and spun their likenesses into glass, documenting the life of oceans untouched by climate change and human impacts. Inspired by the Blaschkas’ uncanny replicas, Harvell set out in search of their living counterparts. In A Sea of Glass, she recounts this journey of a lifetime, taking readers along as she dives beneath the ocean’s surface to a rarely seen world, revealing the surprising and unusual biology of some of the most ancient animals on the tree of life. On the way, we glimpse a century of change in our ocean ecosystems and learn which of the living matches for the Blaschkas’ creations are, indeed, as fragile as glass.
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Tarantulas of the World: Theraphosidae
Artist/Author: Teyssié, François (Author), Pierre Escoubas (Foreword By), Gilbert Hodebert (Illustrator)$230.00 Add to cartTarantulas of the World describes and illustrates almost 300 species of tarantulas of the Theraphosidae family by biogeographical zone. The descriptions enable non-specialists to identify each species, and provides additional information on lifestyle, habitat and distribution. Theraphosidae systematics are presented in the form of an identification key for subfamilies and a description of particularly note-worthy genera. An exhaustive list of currently known species is also presented by subfamily and by country. Tarantulas of the World also covers Theraphosidae biology: anatomy, primary biological functions, ecology, venomology and pharmacological research. This book also contains advice on breeding and rearing Theraphosidae.
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Freshwater Mollusks of the World: A Distribution Atlas
Artist/Author: Lydeard, Charles, (Editor), Kevin S Cummings (Editor)$229.00 Add to cartThere are more species of freshwater mollusks – well over 5,000 – than all the mammal species of the world. Mollusks are also arguably the most endangered freshwater fauna on the planet. Yet few references exist for researchers, shell enthusiasts, and general readers who are interested in learning more about these fascinating creatures. In Freshwater Mollusks of the World, Charles Lydeard and Kevin S. Cummings fill that void with contributions from dozens of renowned mollusk experts.
Touching on 34 families of freshwater gastropods (snails) and 9 families of freshwater bivalves (mussels and clams), each chapter provides a synthesis of the latest research on the diversity and evolutionary relationships of the family. Freshwater Mollusks of the World also includes
– a look at how evolving DNA sequencing data techniques help shed light on mollusk taxonomy
– distribution maps of each family’s biogeographic locales
– a representative photo and distribution map for each of the freshwater mollusk families
– the latest information on each family’s conservation status—and how to reverse the habitat destruction, modification, and pollution that threatens it
– a discussion of the ecological and economic damages caused by invasive mollusk species, as well as their role as disease vectorsMollusks provide us with amazing biogeographical insights: their ancient fossil record goes back over 500 million years, and their distribution patterns are a reflection of past continental and climate changes. The only comprehensive summary of systematic and biodiversity information on freshwater mollusk families throughout the world, Freshwater Mollusks of the World is a must for malacologists, limnologists, ichthyologists, stream ecologists, biogeographers, and conservation biologists.
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Crabs and Crustaceans
Artist/Author: Marsh, Nigel$20.00 Add to cartExplore the fascinating world of crustaceans from the shy box crab to the beautiful spiny lobster.
Crabs are one of those common critters we often encounter at the beach or local jetty. Most people don t pay any attention to them, especially as they are quick to scuttle away and hide if you get too close. But did you know that the world s largest crab has legs that are wider than a car and that the smallest crab is no bigger than a pea?
Crabs are just one member of a fascinating bunch of creatures called the crustaceans. These incredible animals come in an amazing variety of shapes and sizes, and live in the oceans, rivers, lakes and even on land.Designed for the young reader, Crabs and Crustaceans will entertain and delight as readers discover what crustaceans are, how they live, how they grow, how they breathe, what they eat and what feeds on them.
Filled with spectacular pictures, interesting facts and figures, delve deep into the fascinating world of crabs and crustaceans.
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Australian Land Snails, Volume 1: A Field Guide to Eastern Australian Species
Artist/Author: Stanisic, John, Michael Shea, Darryl Potter, Owen Griffiths$104.00 Add to cartLand snails are perhaps among the most misunderstood of Australia’s invertebrate fauna. To most people they have a largely unpleasant reputation earned through encounters with a relatively small number of introduced species that damage crops and backyard vegetables and introduce diseases. This field guide attempts to set the record straight by introducing the reader to the vast diversity of native species living in the forests of eastern Australia.
This volume covers 794 species and 3 subspecies (native and introduced) in 44 families, ranging from Cape York down to the New South Wales /Victoria border. It contains 2000 colour images, distribution maps, key localities and habitat and ecology notes.
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Australian Land Snails, Volume 2: A Field Guide to Southern, Central and Western Species
Artist/Author: Stanisic, John, Michael Shea, Darryl Potter, Owen Griffiths$104.00 Add to cartAustralian Land Snails Volume 2 covers 756 species in 39 families from an area that extends from western Queensland and New South Wales to Victoria and Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory; several species from Christmas Island are also included. The field guide is dominated by the Camaenidae (480 species) which has radiated exuberantly in the semi-arid and arid areas of Australia. Contained in the guide are more than 2000 colour images plus descriptions, distribution maps, key localities and habitat and ecology notes. Most species are illustrated in colour for the first time. Thirty-five genera and five species are described as new. This guide is targeted at both professional and semi-professional malacologists as well as students, amateur natural historians and those involved in land management. But whether it is used as a manual for study or as an identification handbook, this field guide should be an inspiration for those with an interest in the natural world.
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Invertebrates (Third Edition)
Artist/Author: Brusca, Richard C., Wendy Moore, Stephen M. Shuster$180.00 Add to cartFor each of the 32 recognised phyla, this book presents detailed classifications, revised taxonomic synopses, updated information on general biology and anatomy, and current phylogenetic hypotheses.
In the 12 years between the publication of the second and third editions of this book, fundamental shifts occurred in our understanding of the origins and evolutionary relationships among protists and animals. These changes are largely due to the explosion of molecular phylogenetics and evo-devo research, emergence of the new field of animal genomics, major new fossil discoveries, and important new embryological and ultrastructural studies. As a result, new phyla have been described, and old phyla have been collapsed into others. Phyla once thought to be deuterostomes are now part of the protostome clade, and the Protostomia has been reorganised into two major clades known as Ecdysozoa and Spiralia. Invertebrates, Third Edition integrates these latest developments, organised with boxes and tables and illustrated with abundant line drawings and new colour photos. This benchmark volume on our modern views of invertebrate biology should be in every zoologist’s library.
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Guide to Venomous and Medically Important Invertebrates
Artist/Author: Bowles, David, James Swaby, Harold Harlan$60.00 Add to cartAn illustrated guide to aid identification, provide protection measures and guidance on treatment.
Though many are harmless and even beneficial, invertebrates are some of the world’s most feared and dangerous creatures.
Guide to Venomous and Medically Important Invertebrates describes the health threats posed by invertebrate groups worldwide, from physical pain and annoyance to disease transmission risk. Featuring clear photographs, distribution maps and descriptions of biological, physical and behavioural characteristics of key groups, this book aids identification of potentially harmful invertebrates. It also summarises personal protection measures to reduce the risk of attack and disease, and provides guidance on treatment.
This book will help to protect the health of travellers and serve as a reference for medical personnel working in high-risk areas, as well as those interested in entomology.
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Minibeasts with Jess French: Masses of Mindblowing Minibeast Facts
Artist/Author: French, Jess$25.00 Add to cartIn Minibeasts, Jess French looks at amazing invertebrates found all over the world, from bird-eating tarantulas to glow-in-the-dark scorpions, and from metre-long stick insects to bat-eating centipedes. Jess uses her vast knowledge and unparalled zeal for insects to dive headfirst into the breathtaking world of invertebrates and explore some of their unbelievable adaptations and evolution.
Fancy meeting a foot-long centipede or a spider the size of your dinner plate? With Jess’s help you can do just that from the safety of your sofa.
Discover how minibeasts mate, fight, hide, collaborate, evolve and survive in the most extreme of earth’s conditions. Learn about the exquisite and perfect co-evolution of nectar-drinking insects and the flowers they pollinate. Shudder at tales of wasps that turn their prey into zombie hosts and worms that eat their prey from the inside out. And marvel at the dedication of minibeast parents, from fathers who stop eating in order to dedicate all their time to fanning their eggs, to mothers sacrificing their bodies as a cannibalistic offering for their offspring’s first meal.
Let Jess’s exuberant text enlighten you on the fascinating and extreme world of the minibeast, revealing everything from firefly morse code to mid-flight kamikaze mating, all captured in superb detail through incredible photography.
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Australian Bryozoa Volume II: Taxonomy of Australian Families
Artist/Author: Cook, Patricia, Philip Bock, Dennis Gordon, Haylee Weaver (Editors)$240.00 Add to cartThe second of two volumes describing Australia’s 1200 known species of bryozoans.
Bryozoans are aquatic animals that form colonies of connected individuals. They take a variety of forms: some are bushy and moss-like, some are flat and encrusting and others resemble lace. Bryozoans are mostly marine, with species found in all oceans from sublittoral to abyssal depths, but freshwater species also exist. Some bryozoans are of concern as marine-fouling organisms and invasive species, while others show promise as sources of anticancer, antiviral and antifouling substances.
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Australian Bryozoa, Volume I: Biology, Ecology and Natural History
Artist/Author: Cook, Patricia, Philip Bock, Dennis Gordon, Haylee Weaver (Editors)$140.00 Add to cartThe first of two volumes describing Australia’s 1200 known species of bryozoans.
Bryozoans are aquatic animals that form colonies of connected individuals. They take a variety of forms: some are bushy and moss-like, some are flat and encrusting and others resemble lace. Bryozoans are mostly marine, with species found in all oceans from sublittoral to abyssal depths, but freshwater species also exist. Some bryozoans are of concern as marine-fouling organisms and invasive species, while others show promise as sources of anticancer, antiviral and antifouling substances.
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Where Corals Lie: A Natural and Cultural History
Artist/Author: Schick, J. Malcolm$80.00 Add to cartComing June 2018For millennia corals were a marine enigma confounding classification and occupying a space between the animal and vegetable kingdoms. Ultimately their animal and symbiotic natures were recognized, and they remain the focus of intense fascination and research. The danger to seafarers posed by unseen underwater coral reefs led to their association with death and interment that has figured in literature, poetry, music and film. The bright redness of precious Mediterranean coral was associated with blood, including coral’s gory origin in European and Indian mythology, and its place in religion. Corals have long been prized as jewellery and ornament, and were a feature of many Kunstkammer collections during the Renaissance. Seen as ‘rainforests of the sea’, coral reefs have become greenly emblematic of fragile marine biodiversity, warning of human-driven global climate change.This book uniquely treats the many manifestations of corals in biology and geology; how diverse corals came to figure in art, expeditionary accounts, medicine, folklore, geopolitics, and international trade; and corals as builders of islands and protectors of coastlines, and as building materials themselves. Exceptionally illustrated with a wide range of natural history images, underwater photographs and fine art, this book provides a unique resource for all interested in ocean environments and the cultures that have flourished there.
