Discovering The Animal Kingdom

Marianne Taylor has a BSc in Psychology from Sheffield University and worked in publishing for several years before following her passion for natural history and starting to write about it. Today she is a naturalist, photographer and illustrator, and the author of more than 30 books on natural history, including The Story of Life in 101/2 Chapters, The Way of the Hare, Tracking the Highland Tiger, RSPB British Birds of Prey, The Gull Next Door: A Portrait of a Misunderstood Bird, How Birds Work, RSPB British Naturefinder, RSPB British Birdfinder, The Nature Book, RSPB Seabirds, Dragonflight: In Search of Britain's Dragonflies and Damselflies, How Insects Work, Owls, RSPB Nature Watch, How Birds Live Together, Watching Wildlife in London, Wild Coast.

Discovering the animal kingdom - synopsis

Frontmatter (6pp)

Introduction (4pp)

Evolution (20pp)
Timeline of life on Earth
How life on Earth began
How evolution works
The first animals
The animal family tree (covering the 30ish described animal phyla)
Ongoing evolution

Invertebrates (40pp)
Overview of all invertebrates
Sponges
Cnidarians
Echinoderms
Molluscs
Cephalopods
Arthropods
Spiders
Crustaceans
Insects
Other invertebrates

Vertebrates (86pp)
Fish
Sharks and rays
Bony fish
Leaving the seas
Amphibians
Reptiles
Pterosaurs
Dinosaurs
Modern reptiles - snakes and lizards
Modern reptiles - turtles and tortoises
Modern reptiles - crocodilians
Birds
Bird evolution
Overview of all bird orders
Seabirds and water birds
Birds of prey
Flightless birds
Songbirds
Mammals
Mammal evolution
Monotremes and marsupials
Afrotherians
Insectivores
Rodents and lagomorphs
Bats
Primates
Carnivores
Hoofed mammals
Cetaceans

Ecology and conservation (30pp)
How ecosystems work
Relationships between species
Animal social behaviour
Adaptation to change
Conservation
Extinction
The future of animals

Endmatter (6pp)