Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (January 28, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0142001562
ISBN-13: 978-0142001561
Aquagenesis: The Origin and Evolution of Life in the Sea, Viking 2001
This fascinating and scientifically rigorous work by a noted expert on marine biology addresses the beginning of plant and animal life in the sea and the return to the sea of many life forms. Like his other books (e.g., Encyclopedia of the Sea, LJ 9/15/00), this one is illustrated with his meticulous line drawings. Ellis advises readers that the nature of paleontology is speculation because the fossil record is incomplete and subject to varying interpretations, but it is generally agreed that life originated in the sea. In his discussion, he compares living animals such as horseshoe crabs, mollusks, brachiopods, cephalopods, and squid with those preserved in rock. He also examines the characteristics of ancient creatures once thought to be extinct (lungfishes, coelacanths) and the phenomena of bioluminescence and echolocation. Ellis ponders why such animals as sea turtles, seals, manatees, dolphins, and whales, returned to the water after having adapted to land. He weaves descriptions of extinct and living forms of the various species and discusses their evolutionary adaptations. Zoological names are used throughout, and explanatory captions accompany the scientific illustrations. Strongly recommended for all public and academic libraries. -Library Journal
