04107nam 2200613 450 991079850370332120230808194943.01-5017-0641-11-5017-0586-510.7591/9781501705861(CKB)3710000000834015(StDuBDS)EDZ0001599464(OCoLC)957138048(MdBmJHUP)muse53802(DE-B1597)473283(OCoLC)979968894(DE-B1597)9781501705861(Au-PeEL)EBL4648706(CaPaEBR)ebr11249670(CaONFJC)MIL951863(OCoLC)957700306(MiAaPQ)EBC4648706(EXLCZ)99371000000083401520160906h20162016 uy 0engur|||||||||||rdacontentrdacontentrdamediardacarrierDo elephants have knees? and other stories of Dawinian origins /Charles R. Ault Jrrevised editionIthaca, New York :Cornell University,2016.©20161 online resource illustrations (black and white)Includes index.1-5017-0269-6 1-5017-0467-2 Includes bibliographical references and index.Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction. Wonderful Relationships -- 1. "Curtiosity's" Child -- 2. Darwin and the Pampas Pirates -- 3. Fossils, Folly & Faults -- 4. Irritating Worms -- 5. A Lungfish Walked into the Zoo -- 6. Out on a Limb -- 7. Nosey Elephants -- 8. The Bearduck of Baleen -- 9. The Saga of Mooshmael -- 10. The Higgledy-Piggledy Whale -- 11. Archaic Chickengators -- 12. Coral Pigs and Tide Pool Sheep -- Epilogue. Femurs and Footprints -- Notes -- IndexThinking whimsically makes serious science accessible. That's a message that should be taken to heart by all readers who want to learn about evolution. Do Elephants Have Knees? invites readers into serious appreciation of Darwinian histories by deploying the playful thinking found in children's books. Charles R. Ault Jr. weds children's literature to recent research in paleontology and evolutionary biology. Inquiring into the origin of origins stories, Ault presents three portraits of Charles Darwin-curious child, twentysomething adventurer, and elderly worm scientist. Essays focusing on the origins of tetrapods, elephants, whales, and birds explain fundamental Darwinian concepts (natural selection, for example) with examples of fossil history and comparative anatomy.The imagery of the children's story offers a way to remember and recreate scientific discoveries. By juxtaposing Darwin's science with tales for children, Do Elephants Have Knees? underscores the importance of whimsical storytelling to the accomplishment of serious thinking. Charles Darwin mused about duck beaks and swimming bears as he imagined a pathway for the origin of baleen. A "bearduck" chimera may be a stretch, but the science linking not just cows but also whales to moose through shared ancestry has great merit. Teaching about shared ancestry may begin with attention to Bernard Wiseman's Morris the Moose. Morris believes that cows and deer are fine examples of moose because they all have four legs and things on their heads. No whale antlers are known, but fossils of four-legged whales are. By calling attention to surprising and serendipitous echoes between children's stories and challenging science, Ault demonstrates how playful thinking opens the doors to an understanding of evolutionary thought.Evolution (Biology)Popular worksNatural selectionPopular worksEvolution (Biology)Natural selection576.8Ault Charles R.Jr.,1950-1519080MiAaPQMiAaPQMiAaPQBOOK9910798503703321Do elephants have knees3757002UNINA