Overview

When the first platypus specimen reached England from Australia in 1799, the scientific community claimed that it was a hoax. On closer investigation, dubious European naturalists eventually declared it to be real, though in an age obsessed with classification, the category-defying platypus sparked heated debates across Europe for a century. In Platypus, Ann Moyal provides a unique biography of one of the world's most famously strange creatures and tells the incredible story of how it became the focus of the great scientific debates of the nineteenth century. Eloquent and concise, Platypus uncovers the earliest theories and latest discoveries about this delightfully odd member of the animal kingdom.

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9780801880520

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Reviews

A spirited and eminently readable account of this odd Australian mammal that follows the story of its discovery, the scientific infighting over its place in taxonomy, and modern efforts to understand its biology and keep and breed it in captivity. - Booklist Moyal affectionately examines the scientific history of one of nature's most fascinating oddities. - Quarterly Review of Biology If any animal has mystery and charisma, it is the platypus. This book tells its story, and it's a winner... It has something for everyone - the excitement of a detective story, the history of biological ideas... Everybody will enjoy this book, and the story continues to unfold... Read it and enjoy. - Nature Engaging... In recounting the story of how the platypus was studied and eventually classified, Moyal explains that it became entangled in broader debates over taxonomy and evolution among the wise men of European science. - Christian Science Monitor

Author Information

Ann Moyal is a historian of science. She has held research and teaching positions at a number of universities and is the founder and past president of the Independent Scholars Association of Australia. She lives in Canberra.

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