Great Adaptations: Star-Nosed Moles, Electric Eels, and Other Tales of Evolution’s Mysteries Solved

I bought this book after reading a review in the newspaper, and am glad I did. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and read it cover to cover in only a few days. The story of the animals in this book is fascinating for their very interesting adaptions, but more interesting is the author's road to understanding those adaptations, and how he uses excellent scientific method to do so. The animals described, and the behaviors they exhibit tells me that there is amazing complexity, even in the very small, and our road to understanding these across the biological spectrum is long; indeed we have just started out.Dr. Catania's writing style is engaging, and full of interesting anecdotes, quips, and side comments that add great color to what he is writing about, while making sure you continue on the line of inquiry with him. He's a gifted storyteller, and not every scientist is.My only quibble with the book is that the title is a bit misleading. Dr. Catania is clearly a strong believer in the entirety of the theory of evolution. The book makes a good case for natural selection leading to changes in an animal, and the ontogeny of the star of the star nosed mole, and it's appearance in fetal moles of other species does seem to lead to that conclusion.However, I'm personally unconvinced that understanding adaptions in an organism necessarily leads to evidence for how that organism, body type, and cellular complexity, could arrive on the scene. So, I found myself a bit disappointed to learn that Dr. Catania doesn't even entertain the idea that maybe something larger is at work here in how these organisms came to be. I realize that science cannot prove or disprove a creator, but these adaptations, like many in the animal world, are so precisely tuned and fitted for the needs and environment of these animals, that it is difficult for me to understand how that idea might not even be of interest to the author.That aside, if you are even remotely curious about the world, enjoy a good tale, and maybe even would like some dinner-party conversation starter, this book is for you.

I heard this book discussed on a podcast and decided to buy it afterward. I can certainly say Dr. Kenneth Catania added greatly to my knowledge of moles, snakes, shrews, eels, worms, and wasps. He provides some insightful views into his natural encounters with these animals and experiments in the lab. The author provides QR codes to watch videos of behaviors he's describing in the text. Very helpful! Also important, is how the author describes the process of being a scientist. Failures, long hours, dead-ends, and frustrations. But if persistent, those obstacles can lead to fascinating insights not expected. I really enjoyed those parts of the book. One of the best science books I've read this year.

So much of the study of evolution focuses on changes in animal morphology over time, and a lot of attention is paid to fossils. But the most interesting, and important, adaptations are behavioral, not morphological. Little about behavior can be gleaned from fossils of extinct species, you need to study the adaptations for extant species for that. This book focuses on the remarkable adaptive behaviors of species that are all around us in the here and now. It's a fresh look at evolution from a behavior perspective.Catania blends memoir with science in a captivating journey that takes us through his professional career history as a biologist, and gives us a window into a fascinating animal world that few of us are able to view directly. (Even Darwin himself would be fascinated by what Catania tells us about earthworm behavior.)

With the world going to hell in a handbasket, it is easy to forget that alluring mysteries and wondrous miracles surround us every day. In Great Adaptations, Vanderbilt University neurologist Kenneth Catania transports us to a world far removed from COVID-19 and QAnon. He investigates misfits of the animal world: a star-nosed mole, an electric eel, earthworms, and more. In each case, Catania uncovers a scientific mystery and then provides us with an entertaining detective story. The book is an easy read, but it never speaks down to the reader. It is sometimes humorous, but one never forgets that Catania is a serious scientist. This is the book every scientist wishes they could write after a career of writing dry, technical papers. I hope Great Adaptations inspires more young readers to become biologists, neurologists, or ethologists.

Catania conveys his lifelong fascination with obscure animals and insects in a very easy to read style. He doesn't patronize his audience and still manages to keep it readily understood. His ability to parlay his relationships and enthusiasm to obtain resources for his studies is amazing. The use of QR codes in the book to link to videos of experiments is wonderful and adds depth and detail as well as a bit of ick factor to some of the experiments. you really get a sense of the author's excitement and interest in his lifelong pursuit of understanding.

My inner nerd is showing, but this book is so truly cool! It shows the world that it is okay to love biology and science your whole life, not just in high school. In fact, if you want to make your whole life be about science and weird creatures like starnosed moles or electric eels, you can! Furthermore, you don't have to be a nerd to do it! All the amazing life that inhabits this planet is awesome to all of us!

A scientist who writes like a novelist makes this an entertaining and fascinating read. . This book made my family's week. Each night after I finished a section I regaled my wife and kids with tales of star-nosed moles, tentacled snakes, jewel wasps, electric eels and/or worm grunting. Each chapter also has QR codes that you can scan to see videos of these amazing creatures and the unusual experiments that the author creates. Highly recommended.

An excellent read!