Evolution (in Action): Natural History Through Spectacular Skeletons
By Jean-Baptiste de Panafieu and Patrick Gries
Thames & Hudson £35, 288 pages
FT bookshop price: £28
What does the skeleton of a flying fox look like? What lies beneath a sea turtle’s protective armour? How many bones are there in the curve of a flamingo’s neck? The answers to these and other such questions are revealed in the fascinating photographs of Patrick Gries.
Photographed in black and white, the restored skeletons of animals from natural-history museums and veterinary schools in France are lit to highlight their beauty and grace.
In an imposing shot, an African elephant, bereft of its trunk and oversized, flapping ears, is recognisable only by its tusk; its skull appearing to have an almost human profile, which only adds to the strangeness of a compelling image.
