How the Snake Lost its Legs
Curious Tales from the Frontier of Evo-Devo

This book explores the latest developments in evo-devo to explain the science behind tiger stripes, camel humps, and other fascinating animal traits.

Lewis I. Held, Jr (Author)

9781107030442, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 9 January 2014

306 pages, 56 b/w illus. 8 colour illus. 3 tables
25.3 x 17.9 x 2 cm, 0.76 kg

'This is not a textbook, but delivers a wealth of information, much more so than any research study, with excellent figures and generous reference to scientific literature.' Elspeth Houlding, The Biologist

How did the zebra really get its stripes, and the giraffe its long neck? What is the science behind camel humps, leopard spots, and other animal oddities? Such questions have fascinated us for centuries, but the expanding field of evo-devo (evolutionary developmental biology) is now providing, for the first time, a wealth of insights and answers. Taking inspiration from Kipling's 'Just So Stories', this book weaves emerging insights from evo-devo into a narrative that provides startling explanations for the origin and evolution of traits across the animal kingdom. Held's unique and engaging style makes this narrative both enlightening and entertaining, guiding students and researchers through even complex concepts and encouraging a fuller understanding of the latest developments in the field. The first five chapters cover the first bilaterally symmetric animals, flies, butterflies, snakes, and cheetahs. A final chapter surveys recent results about a menagerie of other animals.

Preface
1. The first two-sided animal
2. The fly
3. The butterfly
4. The snake
5. The cheetah
6. An evo-devo bestiary
Epilogue
Glossary
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Zoology & animal sciences [PSV], Developmental biology [PSC], Evolution [PSAJ], Biology, life sciences [PS], Philosophy of science [PDA]