Publisher's Synopsis
Even in the early days of Earth, before history, life was complicated, yet the balance of existence was maintained. It was a world of hovering mists, primeval forests and steaming seas, of strange creatures who flew and crawled and leapt and even stranger ones who eventually walked upright on two feet and then proceeded to challenge their environment. There was an equilibrium and a biological richness which seems to have disappeared from most of the world today.;This book provides examples of that early world that have survived until today, and in particular describes in loving detail the creatures that inhabit these unknown places, often little changed from their ancestors who roamed the world of the dinosaurs. Habitat by habitat from the tops of our mountains to the depths of the oceans, it describes these sturdy survivors, telling the story of how they have changed from then to now - or not as the case may be. From crocodiles and sharks, lizards and iguanas to stink-birds and rhinoceros, monkeys and man, it explains the origins not only of our species but of all species and how they live in today's world.
