Fires of Life

"Vividly narrated and illustrated" this analysis of how endothermy evolved in birds and mammals is "provocative and fascinating" (Southeastern Naturalist).

This pioneering work investigates why endothermy, or "warm-bloodedness," evolved in birds and mammals, despite its enormous energetic costs. Arguing that single-cause hypotheses to explain the origins of endothermy have stalled research since the 1970s, Barry Gordon Lovegrove advances a novel conceptual framework that considers multiple potential causes and integrates data from the southern as well as the northern hemisphere. Drawing on paleontological data; research on extant species in places like the Karoo, Namaqualand, Madagascar, and Borneo; and novel physiological models, Lovegrove builds a compelling new explanation for the evolution of endothermy. Vividly narrated and illustrated, this book stages a groundbreaking argument that should prove provocative and fascinating for specialists and lay readers alike.


"A lovely synthesis. . . . A particular value of this book is the unification of the paleontological and comparative physiology literatures. I loved the images of reconstructed ancestral vertebrates; these bring the bones to life, and helped me reimagine our endothermic ancestors." —Jon Harrison, Quarterly Review of Biology

"In my view Barry Gordon Lovegrove is probably the best person alive to tackle this subject in the round." —Andrew Clarke, Emeritus Fellow, British Antarctic Survey, author of Principles of Thermal Ecology

"Barry Lovegrove has a history of tackling key macroevolutionary questions from the perspective of evolutionary physiology. [A] must-read." —Theodore Garland, Jr., University of California, Riverside


"The evolutionary journey of endothermy in vertebrates: a lot older and hotter than you think." —Fritz Geiser, University of New England