Shell, Beak, Tusk: Shared Traits and the Wonders of Adaptation

Assisted by striking nature photography, Heos (Blood, Bullets, and Bones) succinctly explains adaptation and convergent evolution, describing how dissimilar animals have developed common characteristics for survival. The featured animals appear in close-range photographs that highlight the traits being discussed. Both a duck and a duck-billed platypus use their bills to eat (“A bill is for slurping”), even though the duck is a bird and the platypus a mammal. For turtles and snails, “a shell is for hiding,” and fireflies and anglerfish use light to draw attention. Heos frequently notes the animals’ habitats (“Though they share a spiky defense system, the porcupine and echidna live on opposite sides of the world”), emphasizing the remarkable ways these traits develop across species and in entirely different settings. A somewhat abrupt conclusion is a sole off note in an eye-opening look at evolution. Ages 6–9. (Apr.)