The history of dolphins is one of the most fascinating and instructive in the history of ideas in the western world. Indeed, it provides one of the most illuminating examples of what has probably occurred many times in human culture – a virtually complete loss of knowledge, at least in most segments of the culture, of what was formerly well understood by generations of men. Dolphins are mammals. They belong in the order Cetacea, suborder Odontoceti, family Delphinidae. Within the Delphinidae there are some twenty-two genera and about fifty-five species. The count includes the Killer Whale, the False Killer Whale, the White Whale, and the Pilot Whale, all of which are true dolphins. There are two subfamilies, the Delphinapterinae, consisting of the two genera Monodon monocerus, the Narwhal, and Delphinapterus leucas, the White Whale or Beluga. These two genera are distinguished by the fact that none of the neck vertebrae are fused, whereas in all remaining genera, embraced in the subfamily Delphininae, at least the first and second neck vertebrae are fused. It was Aristotle in his History of Animals (521b) who first classified whales, porpoises, and dolphins as Cetacea, τὰ κήτη οῖον δελφις καὶ φωκαὶνα καὶ φάλαινα. Aristotle’s account of the Cetacea was astonishingly accurately written, and quite evidently from firsthand knowledge of these animals...
Оцените электронную книгу
Поделитесь с нами своим мнением.
Где читать книги
Смартфоны и планшеты
Установите приложение Google Play Книги для Android или iPad/iPhone. Оно синхронизируется с вашим аккаунтом автоматически, и вы сможете читать любимые книги онлайн и офлайн где угодно.
Ноутбуки и настольные компьютеры
Слушайте аудиокниги из Google Play в веб-браузере на компьютере.
Устройства для чтения книг
Чтобы открыть книгу на таком устройстве для чтения, как Kobo, скачайте файл и добавьте его на устройство. Подробные инструкции можно найти в Справочном центре.