Explanatorium of Nature

362 Pages·2017·145.61 MB·English

by  Dorling Kindersley

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THE SMITHSONIAN
Established in 1846, the Smithsonian—the
world’s largest museum and research
complex—includes 19 museums and galleries
and the National Zoological Park. The total
number of artifacts, works of art, and
specimens in the Smithsonian’s collection is
estimated at 154 million. The Smithsonian
is a renowned research center, dedicated to
public education, national service, and
scholarship in the arts, sciences, and history.
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S M I T H S O N I A N
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Senior Art Editors Laura Gardner, Jacqui Swan
Senior Editors Sam Atkinson, Ben Morgan
Editors Shaila Brown, Steven Carton, Emma
Grundy Haigh, Helen Leech, Sarah MacLeod, Sophie
Parkes, Laura Sandford, Amanda Wyatt
Designers Amy Child, Sheila Collins, Sunita Gahir,
Rachael Grady, Alex Lloyd, Gregory McCarthy,
Sean Ross, Mary Sandberg,
Michelle Staples, Smiljka Surla
US Editors Karyn Gerhard, Margaret Parrish
Illustrators Edwood Burn,
Michael Parkin, Gus Scott
DK Media Archive Romaine Werblow
Picture Researcher Laura Barwick
Photography David King,
MICROORGANISMS
Gary Ombler, Nigel Wright
THE BASICS OF LIFE
Managing Editor Lisa Gillespie
AND FUNGI
Managing Art Editor Owen Peyton Jones
Producer, Pre-Production Jacqueline Street
Senior Producer Anna Vallerino
Jacket Designers Mark Cavanagh
Jackets Design Development Manager Sophia MTT 10 How life works 24 How microorganisms work
Jackets Editor Claire Gell
Publisher Andrew Macintyre 12 How reproduction works 26 Types of single-celled life
Art Director Karen Self
Associate Publishing Director Liz Wheeler 14 How cells work 28 How germs work
Design Director Phil Ormerod
Publishing Director Jonathan Metcalf 16 How DNA works 30 How algae work
Consultant Derek Harvey 18 How evolution works 32 Marine algae
Contributors Frances Dipper, Derek Harvey,
Ben Hoare, Ben Hubbard, John Woodward 20 How classification works 34 How mushrooms work
DK Delhi 36 Types of mushroom
Project Art Editor Rupanki Arora Kaushik
Art Editors Anjali Sachar, Mansi Agrawal 38 How mold works
Assistant Art Editors Simar Dhamija,
40 How lichen works
Sonakshi Singh
Jackets Editorial Coordinator Priyanka Sharma
Jackets Designers Juhi Sheth, Suhita Dharamjit
DTP Designer Rakesh Kumar
Senior DTP Designers Harish Aggarwal,
Sachin Singh, Jagtar Singh
Managing Jackets Editor Saloni Singh
First American Edition, 2017
Published in the United States by DK Publishing
345 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014
Copyright © 2017 Dorling Kindersley Limited
DK, a division of Penguin Random House LLC
17 18 19 20 21 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
001–297088–October/2017
All rights reserved.
Without limiting the rights under the copyright reserved
above, no part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise),
without the prior written permission of the
copyright owner. Published in Great Britain
by Dorling Kindersley Limited.
A catalog record for this book
is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN: 978-1-4654-6363-0
DK books are available at special discounts when
purchased in bulk for sales promotions, premiums,
fund-raising, or educational use. For details, contact:
DK Publishing Special Markets, 345 Hudson Street,
New York, New York 10014 [email protected]
Printed and bound in China
A WORLD OF IDEAS:
SEE ALL THERE IS TO KNOW
www.dk.com
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PLANTS INVERTEBRATES
44 How plants work 76 How invertebrates work 110 How antennae work
46 How flowering plants grow 78 How snails work 112 How insects hear
48 How seeds grow 80 How bivalves work 114 How wings work
50 How roots and stems work 82 Types of shells 116 How a mantis hunts
52 How trees work 84 How octopuses work 118 How parasites work
54 How leaves work 86 How sea anemones work 120 How chemical defenses work
56 How flowers work 88 How corals work 122 How stingers work
58 Types of flowers 90 Coral community 124 How camouflage works
60 How fruits grows 92 How jellyfish work 126 How mimicry works
62 How seeds travel 94 How starfish work 128 How bees work
64 Deciduous forests 96 How worms work 130 How ants work
66 How plant defenses work 98 How sea worms work 132 Fireflies
68 How carnivorous plants work 100 How insects work 134 How spiders work
70 How desert plants survive 102 Types of insects 136 How spider silk works
72 How aquatic plants work 104 How exoskeletons work 138 How scorpions hunt
106 How metamorphosis works 140 How millipedes work
108 How insects see 142 How crabs work
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FISHES AMPHIBIANS REPTILES
146 How fishes work 172 How amphibians work 190 How reptiles work
148 How fishes swim 174 How tadpoles grow 192 How scales work
150 How fish senses work 176 Frogspawn 194 How snake senses work
152 How fishes reproduce 178 How frogs move 196 How reptile eggs work
154 How fishes care for their 180 How frogs communicate 198 Marine iguanas
young 182 How defense works 200 How crocodiles hunt
156 Salmon migration 184 How salamanders work 202 How chameleons hunt
158 How sharks work 186 How axolotls work 204 How chameleons
160 How fish defenses work change color
162 How camouflage works 206 How geckos climb
164 Fish school 208 How tuataras work
166 How symbiosis works 210 How snakes move
168 How deep-sea fishes work 212 How snakes kill
214 How snakes eat
216 How tortoises work
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BIRDS MAMMALS HABITATS
220 How birds work 266 How mammals work 320 How biomes work
222 How bird skeletons work 268 How hair works 322 How tropical rainforests work
224 Types of beaks 270 How mammal senses work 324 How temperate forests work
226 How birds fly 272 How mammals are born 326 How boreal forest works
228 How wings work 274 How mammals feed 328 How tropical grasslands work
230 How feathers work their young 330 How temperate grasslands
232 How hummingbirds hover 276 How mammals care for work
234 Life on the move their young 332 How wetlands work
236 How birds migrate 278 How mammals grow up 334 How mountains work
238 How courtship works 280 How hierarchy works 336 How deserts work
240 How nests work 282 How pack hunting works 338 How tundras work
242 How eggs develop 284 Ocean giants 340 How polar regions work
244 How birds grow 286 How conflict works 342 How rivers and lakes work
246 How cuckoos work 288 How defence works 344 How oceans work
248 How owls sense prey 290 How carnivores work
250 How eagles hunt 292 How insect eaters work
252 Types of bird feet 294 How herbivores work 346 Glossary
254 How ducks swim 296 How rodents work 350 Index
256 How birds dive 298 How beavers live 358 Acknowledgments
258 How penguins move 300 Types of mammal limbs
260 Surviving the storm 302 How bats work
262 How ostriches work 304 Ceiling sleepers
306 How mammals glide
308 How gibbons swing
310 How mammals burrow
312 How elephants work
314 Land giants
316 How whales work
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Life on Earth began more than 3.7 billion years
ago. Over time, the first simple organisms have
evolved into an incredible diversity of life forms,
from microorganisms, fungi, and plants, to fishes,
amphibians, and mammals. All forms of life share
certain qualities: they are all made up of building
blocks called cells; they all use energy stored in
food; and they all produce offspring in a process
known as reproduction.
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