Before there were mammals on land, there were dinosaurs. And before there were fish in the sea, there were cephalopods--the ancestors of modern squid and Earth's first truly substantial animals. Cephalopods became the first creatures to rise from the seafloor, essentially inventing the act of swimming. With dozens of tentacles and formidable shells, they presided over an undersea empire for millions of years. But when fish evolved jaws, the ocean's former top predator became its most delicious snack. Cephalopods had to step up their game. Many species streamlined their shells and added defensive spines, but these enhancements only provided a brief advantage. Some cephalopods then abandoned the shell entirely, which opened the gates to a flood of evolutionary innovations: masterful camouflage, fin-supplemented jet propulsion, perhaps even dolphin-like intelligence. Squid Empire is an epic adventure spanning hundreds of millions of years, from the marine life of the primordial ocean to the calamari on tonight's menu. Anyone who enjoys the undersea world--along with all those obsessed with things prehistoric--will be interested in the sometimes enormous, often bizarre creatures that ruled the seas long before the first dinosaurs.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
University Press of New England
ISBN-10
1611689236
ISBN-13
9781611689235
eBay Product ID (ePID)
237524410
Product Key Features
Book Title
Squid Empire : the Rise and Fall of the Cephalopods
Author
Danna Staaf
Format
Hardcover
Language
English
Topic
Animals / Marine Life, Life Sciences / Marine Biology
Publication Year
2017
Genre
Nature, Science
Number of Pages
256 Pages
Dimensions
Item Length
8.5in
Item Height
1in
Item Width
5.5in
Item Weight
15.2 Oz
Additional Product Features
Lc Classification Number
Ql430.2.S73 2017
Table of Content
Introduction: Why Squid? * The World of the Head-Footed * Rise of the Empire * A Swimming Revolution * The Protean Shell * Sheathing the Shell * Fall of the Empire * Reinvasion * Where Are They Now? * Epilogue: Where Are They Going? * Acknowledgments * Notes * Index