Animal Weapons

WINNER OF THE PHI BETA KAPPA AWARD IN SCIENCEThe story behind the stunning, extreme weapons we see in the animal world--teeth and horns and claws--and what they can tell us about the way humans develop and use arms and other weaponsIn Animal Weapons, Doug Emlen takes us outside the lab and deep into the forests and jungles where he's been studying animal weapons in nature for years, to explain the processes behind the most intriguing and curious examples of extreme animal weapons-fish with mouths larger than their bodies and bugs whose heads are so packed with muscle they don't have room for eyes. As singular and strange as some of the weapons we encounter on these pages are, we learn that similar factors set their evolution in motion. Emlen uses these patterns to draw parallels to the way we humans develop and employ our own weapons, and have since battle began. He looks at everything from our armor and camouflage to the evolution of the rifle and the structures human populations have built across different regions and eras to protect their homes and communities. With stunning black and white drawings and gorgeous color illustrations of these concepts at work, Animal Weapons brings us the complete story of how weapons reach their most outsized, dramatic potential, and what the results we witness in the animal world can tell us about our own relationship with weapons of all kinds.

Preface xiExtremes 1Part I. STARTING SMALL 1. Camouflage and Armor 13 2. Teeth and Claws 26 3. Claspers, Graspers, and Giant Jaws 40Part II. Triggering the Race 4. Competition 53 5. Economic Defensibility 70 6. Duels 85Part III. Running Its Course 7. Costs 107 8. Reliable Signals 123 9. Deterrence 135 10. Sneaks and Cheats 148 11. End of the Race 157Part IV. Parallels 12. Castles of Sand and Stone 171 13. Ships, Planes, and States 193 14. Mass Destruction 211Acknowledgments 221Notes 225Index 261