Life in the Dark: Illuminating Biodiversity in the Shadowy Haunts of Planet Earth

by Dante Fenolio

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.

Genres: Science, Nature, Nonfiction, Animals, Biology, Photography, Art

312 pages, Hardcover

First published April 15, 2016

Reviews

[Alex Telander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever since we saw our first shot of the great white shark from Jaws we’ve had some animosity about the oceans and the seas of our planet. When it comes to the deep dark depths of this world, that animosity blossoms into outright fear. Just thinking about those strange, alien creatures down there in the dark deeps where things like eyes aren’t even necessary causes one to shiver uncontrollably.

Thankfully, there’s a book called Life in the Dark where the deepnesses of the world can be experienced and enjoyed without dipping a toe in the water.

Life in the Dark is a coffee-table-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 is 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.

Originally written on April 2, 2016 ©Alex C. Telander.

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[Amy (Other Amy)]

I need this book.

http://skunkbear.tumblr.com/post/1428...

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Karlissa J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been waiting for a book about animals adapted to living in the dark - including subterranean and deep sea habitats - and here it is! (Plus, who better to write it than Dante Fenolio?)

Though this is less of a guide book and more of a commentary, it does contain short profiles for a variety of species, including over twenty cavefishes (considering most books only address one, that's pretty revolutionary). I also enjoyed the author's short stories about his own adventures encountering and photographing the often bizarre world of darkness-adapted creatures.