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The evolution underground : burrows, bunkers, and the marvelous subterranean world beneath our feet / Anthony J. Martin.

by Martin, Anthony J., 1960-

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Pegasus Books, 2017.

Animal burrowing.

Burrowing animals -- Evolution.

Soil animals -- Evolution.

Underground ecology.

Underground areas.

9781681773124 (hc.)

First Pegasus Books cloth edition.

405 pages, 24 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, photographs ; 24 cm.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 305-391) and index.

The wondrous world of burrows -- Beyond "cavemen": a brief history of humans underground -- Kaleidoscopes of dug-out diversity -- Hadean dinosaurs and birds underfoot -- Bomb shelters of the phanerozoic -- Terraforming a planet, one hole at a time -- Playing hide and seek for keeps -- Rulers of the underworld -- Viva la evolución: change comes from within -- Appendix: Genera and species mentioned in The Evolution Underground.

Humans have gone underground for survival for thousands of years, from underground cities in Turkey to Cold War era bunkers. But our burrowing roots go back to the very beginnings of animal life on earth. Without burrowing, the planet would be very different today. Many animal lineages alive now including our own only survived a cataclysmic meteorite strike 65 million years ago because they went underground. On a grander scale, the chemistry of the planet itself had already been transformed many millions of years earlier by the first animal burrows, which altered whole ecosystems. Every day we walk on an earth filled with an underground wilderness teeming with life. Most of this life stays hidden, yet these animals and their subterranean homes are ubiquitous, ranging from the deep sea to mountains, from the equator to the poles. Burrows are a refuge from predators, a safe home for raising young, or a tool to ambush prey. Burrows also protect animals against all types of natural disasters: fires, droughts, storms, meteorites, global warmings and coolings. Paleontologist and ichnologist Anthony Martin reveals this hidden world that will continue to influence and transform life on this planet.

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