num_pages: 256
description: From the familiar to the improbable the gross to the endearing The Modern Bestiary is a compendium of curious creatures. It includes both animals that have made headlines and those you've probably never heard of such as skin-eating caecilians harp sponges or zombie worms - also known as bone-eating snot flowers.Arranged by elements (Earth Water Air) The Modern Bestiary contains well-known species told from new unexpected angles (rats that drive cars; fish that communicate by passing wind) as well as stranger and lesser-known creatures including carnivorous mice that howl at the moon cross-dressing cuttlefish and antechinuses - small marsupials that literally mate themselves to death. Finally there are the 'aliens on Earth' - the incredible the surreal the magical - such as tardigrades tongue-eating lice and immortal jellyfish creatures so astonishing that they make unicorns look rather commonplace.Written by a zoologist with a flair for storytelling this is a fascinating celebration of the animal kingdom.
language: English
title: The Modern Bestiary: A Curated Collection of Wondrous Creatures
publisher: Wildfire