The Modern Bestiary: A Curated Collection of Wondrous Creatures - Softcover

Bagniewska, Joanna

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1472289633 ISBN 13: 9781472289636

Publisher: Wildfire, 2024

Synopsis

From the familiar to the improbable, the gross to the endearing, The Modern Bestiary is a compendium of curious creatures. It includes both animals that have made headlines and those you've probably never heard of, such as skin-eating caecilians, harp sponges, or zombie worms - also known as bone-eating snot flowers.

Arranged by elements (Earth, Water, Air), The Modern Bestiary contains well-known species told from new, unexpected angles (rats that drive cars; fish that communicate by passing wind), as well as stranger and lesser-known creatures, including carnivorous mice that howl at the moon, cross-dressing cuttlefish, and antechinuses - small marsupials that literally mate themselves to death. Finally, there are the 'aliens on Earth' - the incredible, the surreal, the magical - such as tardigrades, tongue-eating lice and immortal jellyfish, creatures so astonishing that they make unicorns look rather commonplace.
Written by a zoologist with a flair for storytelling, this is a fascinating celebration of the animal kingdom.

About this title

About the Author

Dr Joanna Bagniewska is a zoologist and science communicator. She completed her undergraduate degree at Jacobs University Bremen and Rice University in Houston, and obtained her MSc and doctorate from the University of Oxford's zoology department. After a stint at a start-up company, where she trained bees to detect illegal substances, Joanna went on to lecture at Nottingham Trent University and the University of Reading. Her academic interests include conservation biology, behavioural ecology and the intersection of technology and zoology. Joanna has worked on a range of species, ranging from wombats and wallabies to mole-rats and jackals. She currently splits her time between two roles: senior lecturer in environmental sciences at Brunel University London, and communications and public engagement officer at the University of Oxford's Department of Paediatrics. This is her first book.

From the Back Cover

'Everyone who loves wildlife - especially fantastically weird and cringingly gross wildlife - should read this masterful book'
MARK CARWARDINE

From the familiar to the improbable, the gross to the endearing, The Modern Bestiary is a compendium of curious creatures. It contains well-known species told from new, unexpected angles (rats that drive cars; fish that communicate by passing wind), as well as stranger and lesser-known creatures, including cross-dressing cuttlefish and mouse-like marsupials that literally mate themselves to death. Finally, there are the 'aliens on Earth' - the incredible, the surreal, the magical - such as tardigrades, tongue-eating lice and immortal jellyfish, creatures so astonishing that they make unicorns look rather commonplace.

With illustrations by Jennifer N. R. Smith

'This is a book to adore'
TOM MOORHOUSE

Edition details

• Publisher: Wildfire
• Publication date: 2024
• ISBN 10: 1472289633
• ISBN 13: 9781472289636
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 256
• Illustrator: Smith Jennifer N. R.