Nature’s weirdest wonder? A rat that holds its breath for 18 minutes

An Immense World Ed Yong Bodley Head £20

There are an estimated 50 billion birds on the planet and untold quintillions of insects. There are 1,400 varieties of bat, 34,000 known species of fish and 67,000 species of crustacean.

The variety and sheer diversity of species that inhabit this Earth is breathtaking. They are creatures who share the same space but experience it in different ways, each in their own sensory bubble, perceiving only a fraction of the ‘Immense World’ of the title. This is a book about the perceptual world of animals and how they use their senses; it is a hymn to the wonders of evolution. Organised into chapters that revolve around specific stimuli – from smell, taste, vision, pain, touch and hearing to the more specialised arenas of vibration, electromagnetism and echolocation – it is a breathless compendium of extraordinary facts about an almost bewildering array of creatures.

Did you know that a snake’s forked tongue (left) is actually an organ of smell? That insects taste with their feet? That a naked mole-rat can survive for up to 18 minutes without oxygen? That crocodiles have sensitive skin? Or that the giant squid has the largest eyes on the planet?

Yong is a Pulitzer Prize-winning science journalist and the depth of his knowledge and his passion for his subject is clear throughout. He meets dedicated scientists who spend years devising ingenious experiments to uncover the mysteries of the universe.

He finishes with a timely warning about biological annihilation and sensory pollution. His own extensive research is evidenced by more than 40 pages of bibliography.

However, many of the scientific concepts are too complex for this reader to understand fully, and there are far too many irritating, distracting footnotes.

Ultimately, this book reads like a list, albeit a fascinating one.