The Greatest Show on Earth

by Richard Dawkins

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  PICTURE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Special thanks go to the following who gave valuable advice and guidance on the accuracy and suitability of the illustrations, in the text and in the colour sections: Larry Benjamin, Catherine Bosivert, Philippa Brewer, Ralf Britz, Sandra Chapman, Jennifer Clack, Margaret Clegg, Daryl P. Domning, Anthony Herrel, Zerina Johanson, Barrie Juniper, Paul Kenrick, Zhe-Xi Luo, Colin McCarthy, David Martill, P. Z. Myers, Colin Palmer, Roberto Portela-Miguez, Mai Qaraman, Lorna Steel, Chris Stringer, John Sulston and Peter Wellnhofer.

  COLOUR SECTIONS

  page 1: The Earthly Paradise by Jan Brueghel the Elder, 1607–8, Louvre, Paris: Lauros/Giraudon/The Bridgeman Art Library.

  pages 2–3: (a) Wild cabbage (Brassica oleracea), sea cliffs, Dorset: © Martin Fowler/Alamy; (b) vegetable spiral: Tom Poland; (c) Bernard Lavery, holder of 14 world records, with one of his giant cabbages in Spalding, Lincs., 1993: Chris Steele-Perkins/Magnum Photos; (d) sunflowers, Great Sand Dunes National Monument, Colorado: © Chris Howes/Wild Places Photography/Alamy; (e) sunflower field, Hokkaido: Mitsushi Okada/Getty Images; (f) Astucieux du Moulin de Rance, a British Belgian Blue bull, presented by B. E. Newton: Yann Arthus-Bertrand/CORBIS; (g) Kathy Knott, the winner in a posing routine at the 1996 British Bodybuilding Championships: © Barry Lewis/Corbis; (h) Chihuahua and Great Dane: © moodboard/alamy.

  pages 4–5: (background) summer meadow, Norfolk: © G&M Garden Images/Alamy; (a) comet orchid (Angraecum sesquipedale), Perinet National Park, Madagascar: Pete Oxford/Nature Picture Library and Xanthopan morgani praedicta: © the Natural History Museum/Alamy; (b) bucket orchid (Coryanthes speciosa): © Custom Life Science Images/Alamy; (c) bee emerging from a bucket orchid: photolibrary/ Oxford Scientific Films; (d) Andean Emerald hummingbird (Amazillia franciae), Mindo, Ecuador: Rolf Nussbaumer/Nature Picture Library; (e) South African sunbird, Cape Town, South Africa: © Nic Bothma/epa/Corbis; (f) Hummingbird Hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum), Switzerland: Rolf Nussbaumer/Nature Picture Library; (g) hammer orchid and wasp, Western Australia: Babs and Bert Wells/Oxford Scientific Films/photolibrary; (h) Ophrys holosericea orchid attracting male buff-tailed bumble bee: blickwinkel/Alamy; (i, j) evening primrose (Oenothera biennis) in normal and ultraviolet light: both Bjorn Rorslett/Science Photo Library; (k) spider orchid (Brassia rex), Papua New Guinea: © Doug Steeley /Alamy

  pages 6–7: (a) Pair of pheasants (Phasianus colchius): Richard Packwood/Oxford Scientific Films/ photolibrary; (b) guppies: Maximillian Winzieri/Alamy; (c) Malaysian orchid mantis (Hymenopus coronatus), Malaysia: Thomas Minden/Minden Pictures/National Geographic Stock; (d) leaf mantis nymph, Amazon rainforest, Ecuador: © Michael & Patricia Fogen/Corbis; (e) satanic leaf-tailed gecko: © Jim Zuckerman/Corbis; (f) caterpillar mimicking snake, rainforest, Costa Rica.

  page 8: Gorilla experiment: Simons, D. J., & Chabris, C. F. (1999). Gorillas in our midst: Sustained inattentional blindness for dynamic events. Perception, 28, 1059–1074. Crocoduck tie: courtesy of Josh Timonen. Caddis fly: photo courtesy of Graham Owen.

  page 9: Darwinius masillae: © Atlantic Productions Ltd/photo Sam Peach.

  pages 10–11: (a) Devonian scene by Karen Carr: © Field Museum; (b) Tiktaalik fossil: © Ted Daeschler/ Academy of Natural Sciences/VIREO; (c) Tiktaalik model and photo: copyright Tyler Keillor; (d) manatee and calves, ZooParc, Saint-Aignan, 2003: AFP/ Getty Images; (e) dugong at Sydney Aquarium, 2008: AFP/Getty Images; (f) Odontochelys : Marlene Donnelly/courtesy of The Field Museum.

  pages 12–13: (a, b) the enzyme hexokinase closes round a glucose molecule: courtesy Thomas A. Steitz. (c) Cutaway artwork of an animal cell: Russell Knightley/Science Photo Library.

  pages 14–15: (a) Fertilized human egg cell and (b) two-cell human embryo at 30 hours: both Edelmann/Science Photo Library; (c) eight-cell human embryo at 3 days and (d) sixteen-cell human embryo at 4 days: both Dr Yorgos Nikas/Science Photo Library; (e) embryo at 10 days inside the womb, just implanted in the uterine lining; (f) at 22 days, the embryo has a curved backbone and the neural tube is open at both ends; (g) at 24 days, the embryo is firmly implanted in the uterine wall, the heart extends almost up to the head and the placenta links it to the uterus, and (h) at 25 days: all photo Lennart Nilsson © Lennart Nilsson; embryo (i) at 5-6 weeks; (j) at 7 weeks: both Edelmann/Science Photo Library; (k) foetus at 17 weeks, (l) at 22 weeks: both Oxford Scientific Films/ photolibrary; (m) newborn baby: Getty Images/Steve Satushek.

  page 16: Starling sequence: dylan.winter@virgin.net.

  page 17: San Andreas Fault in the Carrizzo Plain, Central California: © Kevin Schafer/Alamy.

  pages 18–19: (a) Diagram showing the age of the oceanic lithosphere, data source: R. D. Muller, M. Sdrolias, C. Gaina and W. R. Roest, ‘Age spreading rates and spreading symmetry of the world’s ocean crust’, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst. 9.Q04006. doi:10.1029/2007/GC001743. Image created by Elliot Lim, CIRES & NOAA/NGDC, Marine Geology and Geophysics Division. Data & images available from http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/; (b) artwork showing the process of sea floor spreading: Gary Hincks/Science Photo Library; (c) artwork showing convection currents: © Tom Coulson/Dorling Kindersley.

  pages 20–1: (a) Caldera of a volcano, Fernandina Island, Galapagos: Patrick Morris/Nature Picture Library; (b) Galapagos Islands from space: Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC; (c), (d), (f), (g) Diving pelican, Seymour Island; swimming marine iguana Fernandina Island; Galapagos tortoise, Santa Cruz; and pelican, penguin and Sally Lightfoot crabs, Santiago Island: all © Josie Cameron Ashcroft; (e) Espanola saddleback tortoise (Geochelone elephantopus hoodensis), Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos: Mark Jones/Oxford Scientific/photolibrary.

  pages 22–3: (a) Eastern Grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus), Murramarang National Park, New South Wales: Jean Paul Ferrero/Ardea; (b) open eucalyptus woodland, near Norseman, Western Australia: Brian Rogers/Natural Visions; (c) koala and joey: photo courtesy Wendy Blanshard/Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary; (d) duck-billed platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus), swimming underwater; (e) ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta), Berenty Reserve, Southern Madagascar: Hermann Brehm/Nature Picture Library; (f) baobab tree, (Adansonia grandidieri), Western Madagascar: Nick Garbutt/Nature Picture Library; (g) Verreaux’s sifaka lemur (Propithecus verreauxi), Berenty Reserve, Southern Madagascar: (left) Kevin Schafer/Alamy; (middle) © Kevin Schafer/Corbis; (right) Heather Angel/Natural Visions.

  page 24: Blue-footed booby (Sula nebouxii): (main picture) © Michael DeFreitas South America/ Alamy; (top to bottom) © Westend 61/Alamy; © Fred Lord/Alamy; F1Online/photolibrary; (bottom two) Nick Garbutt/Photoshot.

  page 25: Clare D’Alberto: © David Paul / dpimages 2009.

  pages 26–7: (a) spider monkey, Belize, Central America: Cubolimages srl/Alamy; (b) male flying lemur, Borneo: Tim Laman/National Geographic Stock; (c) Egyptian fruit bat: © Tim Flach.

  pages 28–9: (a) Ostrich (Struthhio camelus), running: © Juniors Bildarchiv/Alamy; (b) flightless cormorant (Nannopterum harrisi), Punta Espinosa, Fernandina, Galapagos: © Peter Nicholson/Alamy; (c) flightless cormorant (Nannopterum harrisi), diving, Fernandina, Galapagos: Pete Oxford/Nature Picture Library; (d) kakapo (Strigops harboptilus), New Zealand; (e) harvester ant removes her wings before giving birth, artwork by John Dawson: National Geographic/Getty Images; (f) cave salamander (Proteus anguinus): Francesco Tomasinelli/ Natural Visions; (g) s
hort-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), Gulf of California, Mexico

  pages 30–1: (a) European cuckoo ejecting host shrike (Lanius senator) egg from nest, Spain: © Nature Picture Library/Alamy; (b) lioness (Panthera leo), hunting young kudu, Etosha National Park, Namibia: © Martin Harvey/Alamy: (c) Large White (Pieris brassicae) caterpillar with larvae of parasitoid wasp (Cotesia glomerata) leaving to pupate: © WILDLIFE GmbH/Alamy; (d) canopy of Kapur trees, Selangor, Malaysia: © Hans Strand

  page 32: (a) Amazon estuary, aerial view: © Stock Connection Distribution/Alamy; (b) wild garlic (Allium ursinum), Cornwall: © Tom Joslyn/Alamy; (c) hills and pastureland, Morgan Territory, California: © Brad Perks Lightscapes/Alamy; (d) moss (Hookeria luscens), leaf cells, a polarised light micrograph, showing two whole cells containing chloroplasts: Dr Keith Wheeler/Science Photo Library.

  ILLUSTRATIONS IN TEXT

  Figures in the text on the following pages were redrawn by HL Studios: 90, 149 (both), 153, 166, 167, 168 (both), 173 (both), 176, 177, 186, 187, 189, 191, 192 (both), 193, 196, 222, 225, 227, 228, 230, 231, 232, 287, 289, 290, 294 (both), 295 (both), 300 (all), 302, 304, 307, 343, 346, 347 (both), 350 (both), 354, 357 and 365.

  Individual credits:

  page 7: ‘I still say it’s only a theory’, cartoon by David Sipress from the New Yorker, 23 May 2005: © The New Yorker Collection 2005 David Sipress from cartoonbank.com. All Rights Reserved.

  pages 40 and 42: Computer-generated images courtesy the author.

  page 55: Hamburgh fowl, Spanish fowl and Polish fowl, from Charles Darwin, The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication, 1868.

  page 57: Kabuki mask of a samurai warrior, detail of a 19th-century woodblock by Utagawa Toyokuni III, photo courtesy Los Angeles Natural History Museum. Heikea japonica, a male collected in Ariake Bay, off Kyushyu, Japan, 1968, width 20.4mm, photo Dick Meier, courtesy Los Angeles Natural History Museum.

  page 67: Two lines of maize selected for high and low oil content, from J. W. Dudley and R. G. Lambert, ‘Ninety generations of selection for oil and protein in maize’, Maydica 37 (1992) 81–7.