Author: Sid Perkins / Source: Science News
Spying on Whales
Nick Pyenson
Viking, $27
Just before humans evolved, whales and dolphins were, pound for pound, the brainiest creatures on Earth.
Another cetacean superlative: Today’s biggest whales are heftier than the largest dinosaurs that ever lived. The evolutionary trends that produced big, brainy marine animals are just a few of the fascinating tales told in Spying on Whales.Paleontologist Nick Pyenson studies whale fossils, but he’s also been known to cut up a few modern-day carcasses. As laid out in his new science-book-cum-midcareer-memoir, the anatomical info gained from both endeavors provides strong evidence for evolution in action. That process has transformed cetaceans’ dog-sized, four-legged ancestors, which returned to the water around 50 million years ago, into today’s seafaring behemoths. Pyenson’s research hasn’t been all lab work, though: His field studies have taken him from whaling stations in Iceland to a site in…
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