Awards

• Commended for Technical Text 2017 (United States)

Overview

Deep inside caves, at the bottoms of oceans and lakes, beneath the ground: these concealed habitats are absent of sunlight. This strange and fascinating world of complete darkness is not a solitary place-it is inhabited by millions of life forms. Yet most humans-creatures of daylight-have never seen any of them. Until now. In this fascinating-sometimes eerie-book, extreme wildlife photographer and scientist Dante Fenolio brings the denizens of these shadowy haunts into focus. Life in the Dark shows us the many ways in which life forms have adapted to lightless environments, including refinements of senses, evolution of unique body parts, and illumination using ""biological flashlights."" With more than 200 mesmerizing color photographs, Life in the Dark unveils bizarre creatures like the firefly squid, the giant Amazonian catfish, the Chinese cavefish, and even the human bot fly, which lives in the darkness beneath its host's skin. Fenolio's rich and vibrant images shed new light on the world's fascinating creatures of darkness.

Full Product Details

9781421418636

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Reviews

A well illustrated introduction to [deep sea] creatures! The Birdbooker Report In this intriguing text, Dante Fenolio takes readers on a remarkable tour of some of the most unique and extreme environments on Earth. From the abyssal depths of the deep ocean to the subterranean worlds of caves, this impressive collection of photographic essays provides a celebration of biodiversity in realms that exist in perpetual darkness. Underground Movement ... mesmerizing... Publishers Weekly

A well illustrated introduction to [deep sea] creatures! The Birdbooker Report In this intriguing text, Dante Fenolio takes readers on a remarkable tour of some of the most unique and extreme environments on Earth. From the abyssal depths of the deep ocean to the subterranean worlds of caves, this impressive collection of photographic essays provides a celebration of biodiversity in realms that exist in perpetual darkness. Underground Movement ... mesmerizing... Publishers Weekly ... amazing and full of detail... a must read MonsterFish Keepers.com If Edgar Allan Poe had been a nature photographer, he might have written a story with the following title: Life in the Dark... Fenolio's photography will capture anyone's attention. The writing is also excellent, with a conservation thread that runs throughout the book. -- Whit Gibbons Tuscaloosa News Life in the Dark is a coffee-table-book-sized hardcover that immediately entrances and sucks you in like an addictive thriller. The design features glossy black pages that help give a sense of the dark depths of the oceans of our planet. The pictures and photography are spectacular, with incredible detail and color. The book is also packed with information on different fish and watery wildlife from below, showing just how complicated and fascinating nature can get in an ecosystem of darkness with a pressure level that would squash an ordinary person as flat as a pancake. Manhattan Book Review With more than 200 first-class photographs accompanied by informative texts this author portrays the large diversity of these organisms living in lightless settings as well as pictures of these environments... Fenolio is a rare combination of someone with a doctorate in biology but who happens to be one of the best wildlife photographers around. Environmental Biology of Fishes ... I devoured this book; I read it like a novel while I marveled at the images. Marveled at the magnificent diversity of life on earth. Marveled at the beauty of evolution. If you're a naturalist, if you consider yourself in biodiversity's fan club, even if you just like a good photograph: buy this book. You will not be disappointed. It will open your eyes to a part of the planet that you likely have never seen or even pondered. Nature - Cool Green Science Fenolio's book showcases these rarely seen creatures in all their glory. From bioluminescent sea-life to creatures with refined senses to help them survive sans sunlight, Life in the Dark highlights these unbelievable creatures like never before. The Weather Channel Dante Fenolio's Life in the Dark: Illuminating Biodiversity in the Shadowy Haunts of Planet Earth reads like an unlikely cross between a deeply informative - yet easily digested - textbook and a slick coffee table book of obscure wildlife photography... Through crystal-clear visions of creatures clad in both flamboyant neon skins and prehistoric-looking camouflage getups, biodiversity takes center stage in dramatic fashion. The San Antonio Current ... to say that the photography of such a difficult and diverse subject is utterly stunning is to give poor credit... Think of Life in the Dark as a picture-rich, inspiring and personal journey by a naturalist through the world's more unusual forms of nature, accompanied by readable text and comment designed to draw you into learning more... If you have the slightest interest in nature, let alone caves, this book will captivate you. Descent Life In The Dark: Illuminating Biodiversity in the Shadowy Haunts of Planet Earth takes readers on a spectacular photographic tour of the places that our eyes alone could never show us: the unfathomable pitch black darkness of the deep ocean and caves and rivers far below the earth's surface... If there's one lesson [it] teaches, it's that the complexity and diversity of life is far greater than most of us could possibly imagine. Eastern Surf

Author Information

Dante Fenolio, a zoologist, biologist, and wildlife photographer, is the director of conservation and research at the San Antonio Zoo.

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