Axis and Circumference

Harvard University Press has partnered with De Gruyter to make available for sale worldwide virtually all in-copyright HUP books that had become unavailable since their original publication. The 2,800 titles in the “e-ditions” program can be purchased individually as PDF eBooks or as hardcover reprint (“print-on-demand”) editions via the “Available from De Gruyter” link above. They are also available to institutions in ten separate subject-area packages that reflect the entire spectrum of the Press’s catalog. More about the E-ditions Program »

Cylindrical shapes appear everywhere in living nature: body forms, stems, torsos, tails, appendages. Why is this form so omnipresent? Stephen Wainwright perceives the cylinder as part of a natural pattern, designed to enhance an organism’s ability to compete for space, food, and mates—it facilitates reaching out competitively for nutrients, gas exchange, and reproduction, and efficiently promotes movement on land and through viscous liquids.

Of course, there are exceptions to the ubiquitous cylindrical form, such as lettuce, sea urchins, and box tortoises, but for every exception there are thousands of species that are cylindrical in overall shape or are composed of cylindrical parts. Other organisms, such as the stingray and the butterfly, are noncylindrical as adults but grow and mature through cylindrical shapes during their development. Wainwright, a master in illustrating concepts with real plants and animals, marshals a sweeping array of examples from nature to illuminate his discourse. Wainwright demonstrates how an organism’s function and its morphology are part of the same process—a process that can reveal not only how plants and animals work but how they have evolved over time. In short, he projects the physical plan of the organism into the evolutionary realm. For the professional biologist, Axis and Circumference presents a fresh and original thesis that will inspire debate and challenge experts to reconsider the role of mechanical thinking in paleontology and developmental biology. For students, this book will provide an integrated approach to the fundamental mechanical principles of functional morphology.