Photography: Frans Lanting

An incredible new collection of photographs chronicles life on Earth from its origins to the present day FOR MORE THAN two decades Frans Lanting has photographed the world as we’ve never seen it before. His images have appeared in National Geographic and have won him the prestigious BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year award. His new book is an extraordinary collection of images that chart life from its origins to the present day; from moon jellies in California (this page), related to sea creatures from nearly 600 million years ago, to the birth of a baby Nile crocodile in Botswana. It is the ultimate pictorial record of evolution. Life: A Journey Through Time by Frans Lanting, Taschen (£39.99); www.lifethroughtime.com

MOON JELLIES, CALIFORNIA Probably the most widely recognised jellyfish, the moon jelly has a transparent, saucer-shaped bell and is slightly venomous.

GIANT WATER LILY,PANTANAL, BRAZIL Its corrugated leaf pad serves as a flotation device and solar panel

NILE CROCODILE HATCHLING, OKAVANGO DELTA, BOTSWANA The crocodile’s natural survival skills mean it can swim as soon as it emerges from the egg and hits the water – as well as hunt for food.

WATER LILIES, OKAVANGO DELTA, BOTSWANA Water lilies are among the oldest families of flowering plants living today.

FALSE STAGHORN FERN, HAWAII VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK, HAWAII Ferns are over 370 million years old. Their rigid stem helps to transport water and nutrients to the plant head.

GIANT TORTOISES IN POND, ALCEDO VOLCANO, GALAPAGOS ISLANDS The largest native animals of this famed archipelago can live for more than a century and inspired Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.

QUIVER TREES, RICHTERSVELD NATIONAL PARK, SOUTH AFRICA These succulent plants from the aloe family can survive on less than three inches of annual rainfall.