The Book of Animal Records is exactly as advertised: hundreds of pages chock-full of impressive animal achievements. Beginning with the mammals that humans recognize and love so well, and continuing through the other major extant animal groups, this book is an impressive repository of facts. Every section begins with a short introduction to a prominent animal order and a description of how many discovered species it contains, followed by a staggering variety of animal record-holders, from the expected “largest” or “smallest” individuals to more obscure tidbits such as “best grip,” “longest toes,” or “most bossy.”
The best part about reading this book is its ability to amaze the reader over and over again at the variety of animal adaptations that evolution has produced. For example, male Dayak fruit bats lactate right along with the females. Nine-banded armadillos always give birth to genetically identical quadruplets. Red kangaroos can jump an astounding...
University of California Press