Understanding Body Shapes of Animals: Shapes as mechanical constructions and Systems moving on minimal energy level - Softcover

Preuschoft, Holger

Softcover

ISBN 10: 3030276708 ISBN 13: 9783030276706

Verlag: Springer, 2025

Inhaltsangabe

This book discusses how and why animals evolved into particular shapes. The book identifies the physical laws which decide over the evolutionary (selective) value of body shape and morphological characters. Comparing the mechanical necessities with morphological details, the author attempts to understand how evolution works, and which sorts of limitations are set by selection.

The book explains morphological traits in more biomechanical detail without getting lost in physics, or in methods. Most emphasis is placed on the proximate question, namely the identification of the mechanical stresses which must be sustained by the respective body parts, when they move the body or its parts against resistance.

In the first part of the book the focus is on ‘primitive’ animals and later on the emphasis shifts to highly specialized mammals. Readers will learn more about living and fossil animals.

A section of the book is dedicated to human evolution but not to produce anotherevolutionary tree, nor to refine a former one, but to contribute to answering the question: “WHY early humans have developed their particular body shape".

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Prof. Dr. Holger Preuschoft is an Emeritus Professor at the Center for Anatomy, Ruhr-Universität in Bochum, Germany. 13 years back he was awarded the title "Docteur honoris causa" by the Université Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg, France. He has published more than 196 papers, and edited 9 multi-author books over the course of his career. 

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This book discusses how and why animals evolved into particular shapes. The book identifies the physical laws which decide over the evolutionary (selective) value of body shape and morphological characters. Comparing the mechanical necessities with morphological details, the author attempts to understand how evolution works, and which sorts of limitations are set by selection.

The book explains morphological traits in more biomechanical detail without getting lost in physics, or in methods. Most emphasis is placed on the proximate question, namely the identification of the mechanical stresses which must be sustained by the respective body parts, when they move the body or its parts against resistance.

In the first part of the book the focus is on ‘primitive’ animals and later on the emphasis shifts to highly specialized mammals. Readers will learn more about living and fossil animals.

A section of the book is dedicated to human evolution but not to produce another evolutionary tree, nor to refine a former one, but to contribute to answering the question: “WHY early humans have developed their particular body shape".

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Springer
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2025
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 3030276708
• ISBN 13: 9783030276706
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Auflage: 1
• Anzahl der Seiten: 595
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: ProductSafety@springernature.com; ProductSafety@springernature.com; ; Poststr. 9; Darmstadt; 64293; Deutschland