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Understanding Body Shapes of Animals: Shapes as Mechanical Constructions and Systems Moving on Minimal Energy Level (2021)

Understanding Body Shapes of Animals

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"Understanding Body Shapes of Animals" by Holger Preuschoft is a physics book focused on Dynamics. Best for students, educators, and scientifically curious readers.

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".

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Best For: Students and researchers in physics, paleontology, zoology, and evolutionary biology interested in the mechanical aspects of animal morphology.
Focus: The relationship between animal body shapes and mechanical principles governing energy efficiency and evolutionary selection.
Covers: Physical laws influencing evolutionary value of body shapes, biomechanical analysis of morphological traits, and the constraints imposed by natural selection on animal form.
Why It Matters: Provides insight into how mechanical necessities shape evolutionary outcomes, enhancing understanding of the interplay between physics and biological evolution.

"Understanding Body Shapes of Animals" by Holger Preuschoft is a physics book focused on Dynamics. Best for students, educators, and scientifically curious readers.

Topic: Dynamics

Author: Holger Preuschoft

Who this is for:

  • Physics students
  • Science-minded readers
  • Readers building technical understanding

Why this book matters: It provides structured coverage of physics concepts in a way that supports deeper understanding and continued study.

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".

AuthorHolger Preuschoft
PublisherSpringer
Published2022-06-29
ISBN-139783030276676
BindingHardcover
LanguageEnglish
SubjectsScience
TopicDynamics

Format: Hardcover

Language: English

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