Arik Kershenbaum - The Zoologist’s Guide to the Galaxy

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First published 2020

Copyright Arik Kershenbaum, 2020

Excerpts in reproduced from:
( ) The Blind Watchmakerby Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins, 1988
( ) Out of the Silent Planetby C. S. Lewis C. S. Lewis Pte Ltd, 1938

While every effort has been made to obtain permissions from copyright holders, the publishers would be glad to correct any errors of omission or commission in future editions

The moral right of the author has been asserted

Cover design by Luke Bird
Illustrations adapted from Alamy and Shutterstock

ISBN: 978-0-241-98685-1

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To my dog Darwin, who taught me just how much different species have in common.

And to my father, who taught me to look for the differences and the commonalities.

: The skeleton of an ichthyosaur by William Conybeare, 1824.

: The skeleton of a dolphin by unknown artist, 1893.

: An artists impression of Archaeopteryxfrom 1871 in On the Genesis of Species, by St George Jackson Mivart, a contemporary and correspondent of Charles Darwin.

: A drawing of a bat skeleton from Animal and Vegetable Physiology, Considered with Reference to Natural Theology, by Peter Mark Roget in 1834.

: A photograph of two thylacines in the National Zoo in Washington DC, from the Smithsonian Report of 1904.

: Artistic impression of a Dimetrodon, by the natural history illustrator Charles R. Knight (18741953).

: Artistic impression of an Agathaumas, by Charles R. Knight.

: A family tree showing how long ago we shared a common ancestor with other familiar species; diagram by Arik Kershenbaum.

: An artists impression of life in the Garden of Ediacara, by Ryan Somma.

: Modern stromatolites growing in Australia; photograph by Paul Harrison.

: A cross-section of a fossilized stromatolite, showing the layers of bacterial mats; photograph by Daderot.

: A Portuguese man o war; photograph by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

: Diagram of a hummingbird, showing the tiny vortices of spinning fluid (air or water) that accelerate a backward jet, which pushes the animal forward, by Peter Halasz.

: A reconstruction of ancient ammonites; illustration by Heinrich Harder (18581935).

: The epaulette shark walking along the sea floor on long, leg-like fins; photograph by Strobilomyces.

: A modern velvet worm with its stubby, fluid-filled legs; photograph by Bruno C. Vellutini.

: An artists impression of the extinct Hallucigenia; image by PaleoEquii.

: The tube feet of a sunflower sea star, Pycnopodia; photograph by Jerry Kirkhart.

: A modern flatworm (planarian), possibly similar to the first creatures that began to move in a directed way; diagram by Arik Kershenbaum.