What makes an animal truly deadly?The World's Deadliest Creatures explores the animals that have haunted human imagination, shaped ancient fears, and reminded us that nature has never been tame.From the teeth of sharks beneath dark water to the silent strike of venomous snakes, from crocodiles waiting at riverbanks to big cats moving through the night, this book examines the creatures humans fear most, and the reasons those fears are sometimes righ...

The New York Times–bestselling "exploration of the world from a piscine perspective . . . makes a persuasive case that what fish know is quite a lot" (Elizabeth Kolbert, The New York Review of Books).Do fishes think? Do they really have three-second memories? And can they recognize the humans who peer back at them from above the surface of the water? In What a Fish Knows, ethologist Jonathan Balcombe addresses these questions and more, revealing th...

“A palaeontological howdunnit…[Spying on Whales] captures the excitement of…seeking answers to deep questions in cetacean science.” —NatureCalled “the best of science writing” (Edward O. Wilson) and named a best book by Popular Science, a dive into the secret lives of whales, from their four-legged past to their perilous present.Whales are among the largest, most intelligent, deepest diving species to have ever lived on ou...

**A Nature Best Book of 2025 • A Wall Street Journal Holiday Gift PickAn elegantly written exploration of the cutting edge science of the strangest and most remarkable creatures on our planet by a leading marine biologist**Hundred-year-old giant clams, coral kingdoms that rival human cities, and jellyfish that glow in the dark: ocean invertebrates are among the oldest and most diverse organisms on earth, seeming to bend the “rules” of land-based biology. A...

From ancient megalodons to fearsome Great Whites, this book tells the complete, untold story of how sharks emerged as Earth’s ultimate survivors, by world-leading paleontologist John Long.“Will keep you on the edge of your seat from its first page to its last page.”—Jared Diamond, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Guns, Germs, and SteelSharks have been fighting for their lives for 500 million years and today are under dire threat. T...

A "captivating, informative, and often amusing" look at what birds do and why they do it ( Booklist).Both casual and serious bird watchers can take their skills to the next level with this detailed consideration of bird behavior. This book makes it possible to move beyond identifying birds to understanding some of the underpinning and meaning of what birds do, how they do it, and why. Written in an easy-to-understand style, with an abundance of photos illus...

**“Mind-blowing and soul-expanding.” —Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an OctopusA behavioral ecologist’s riveting account of his decades-long obsession with octopuses: his discoveries, adventures, and new scientific understanding of their behaviors.**Of all the creatures of the deep blue, none is as captivating as the octopus. In Many Things Under a Rock, marine biologist David Scheel investigates four major mysteries about these elusive beings. How c...

An accessible, authoritative look at seahorses, their evolution, biology, habitat, and behavior.Absolutely captivating creatures, seahorses seem like a product of myth and imagination rather than of nature. They are small, elusive, and are named for their heads, which are shaped like miniature ponies with tiny snouts. They swim slowly upright by rapidly fanning their delicate dorsal fin, coil their tails to anchor themselves in a drift, and spend days in a dancing c...

This thorough revision of the classic Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals brings this authoritative book right up-to-date. Articles describe every species in detail, based on the very latest taxonomy, and a host of biological, ecological and sociological aspects relating to marine mammals. The latest information on the biology, ecology, anatomy, behavior and interactions with man is provided by a cast of expert authors – all presented in such detail and clarity to support both marine mammal spe...

An eye-opening introduction to the complexity, wonder, and vital roles of coral reefsWhen mass coral bleaching and die'Ć'Äòoffs were first identified in the 1980s, and eventually linked to warming events, the scientific community was sure that such a dramatic and unambiguous signal would serve as a warning sign about the devastating effects of global warming. Instead, most people ignored that warning. Subsequent decades have witnessed yet more degradation. Reefs around the world ha...

Sea Turtles is the first in a series of books exploring some of the world's wonderful animals in both pictures and words. Designed for both the young and not quite so young, this book is best suited to boys and girls of about 8 years of age and older, although younger children will also benefit from the book, as long as their reading is guided.This particular book takes a look into the life of 7 of the world's oldest and most incredible creatures. With an ancestry dating back to th...

The world's nearly 7,000 species of crabs are immediately recognizable by their claws, sideways movement, stalked eyes, and thick outer shells. These common crustaceans are found internationally, thriving in various habitats from the edge of the sea to the depths of the ocean, in fresh water or on land. Despite having the same basic body type as decapod crustaceans—true crabs have heavy exoskeletons and ten limbs with front pincer claws—crabs come in an enormous variety of...