ISBN: HB: 9780300227161
August 2019
384 pp.
23,5x15,6 cm
60 black&white illus.
HB:
£30.00
QTY:
Fires of Life
Endothermy in Birds and Mammals
This pioneering work investigates why endothermy, or "warm-bloodedness", evolved in birds and mammals, despite its enormous energetic costs. Arguing that single-cause hypotheses to explain the origins of endothermy have stalled research since the 1970s, Barry Gordon Lovegrove advances a novel conceptual framework that considers multiple potential causes and integrates data from the southern as well as the northern hemisphere. Drawing on paleontological data; research on extant species in places like the Karoo, Namaqualand, Madagascar, and Borneo; and novel physiological models, Lovegrove builds a compelling new explanation for the evolution of endothermy. Vividly narrated and illustrated, this book stages a groundbreaking argument that should prove provocative and fascinating for specialists and lay readers alike.