Hung Like An Argentine Duck: A Journey Back In Time To The Origins Of Sexual Intimacy

(Paperback)

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No doubt about it, sex sells. From homosexual penguins, lesbian ostriches to necrophiliac snakes and fellating fruitbats, it's all here in this unusual little book. Dr John Long discovered the Gogo Fish. What's that you say It's a 380-million-year-old fossilised armoured shark-like fish replete with a perfectly preserved embryo still attached by an umbilical cord. The Gogo is described as the oldest mother in the world and its discovery three years ago has pretty much rewritten evolutionary history. His find showed the first evidence of sexual behaviour in the prehistoric past. More fossils were discovered in the Kimberley region of WA that showed strange spiky and bony willies of the first jawed vertebrates. Yes, there are huge implications for us two-legged mammals as these todgers are the alleged precursors to the modern penis. So what's this book about It's a scientific but engaging look at how and why animals first became 'intimate' and where sex fits into the whole evolution theory. From the 42.5cm willy of the male Argentine duck to how snails and spiders reproduce - this is a fascinating book about, well, sex. John's broader coverage of the evolution of sexual intimacy in the animal kingdom demonstrates that the gap between human and animal behaviour is not as large as many of you might have thought. Like an eagle up high looking down, such breathtaking views of evolution can only be appreciated by taking a very big step backwards from the primates to the primeval beginnings of our vertebrate line. Without wishing to sound like a peeping Tom, I hope you enjoy the view.

Reviews

'John Long is renowned as the discoverer of the earliest evidence for internal fertilisation. In a book encompassing 380 million years of sexual evolution, he lays the full significance of his discoveries in fascinating context' - Tim Flannery. 'You are now holding a compromise between a book that you should carry hidden inside an opaque bag, and a sober respectable scientific treatise. It's a deliciously written account of the evolution of sex, in all of its bizarre manifestations. Read, blush, and enjoy!' - Jared Diamond, Professor of Geography at UCLA, Pulitzer-Prize-winning author of Guns, Germs, and Steel. 'I shall never feel the same about ducks again. Or fish. This is first class science told with brilliance and flair. Read and be astounded.' - Robyn Williams

Author Bio

Dr John Long is one of the world's leading palaeontologists and an award-winning author. Currently Vice President of Research and Collections at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, previously John was Head of Sciences at Museum Victoria, and Curator of Vertebrate Palaeontology at the Western Australian Museum. His CV is as impressive and as long as, well, as long as an Argentine Duck's todger - 42.5 cm to be precise. And his name, Dr John Long, is wonderfully appropriate for this cheekily titled popular science book.John Long will receive in December the prestigious 2011 Royal Society of Victoria Research medal.