"To my mother, who passed on her sense of wonder to me." Even the dedication with which zoologist Jackie Higgins chose to open her first book strikes a pleasantly familiar chord in the author of this review, who owes to her own grandmother the ability to marvel at every small gift nature offers, from the vivid colours of great tits to the unmistakable scent of resin. The sense of wonder is just one of the many senses that don't feature among the five most widely known. "Sentient" – the book's title, published in Italy by Longanesi – is a journey of discovery into our senses, from the most familiar to those we didn't even know we possessed, which we find amplified in animals classifiable as "sensory champions". It is a compelling journey that takes the reader around the globe and urges them to press on swiftly, stop after stop, chapter after chapter, to discover all the species waiting along the way.

From the mantis shrimp to the great grey owl: what the "sensory champions" teach us

To avoid robbing readers of the element of surprise, we will mention only a few of these species: the mantis shrimp, whose eyes boast twelve types of photoreceptors dedicated to colour vision; the "Doli" (Dolichopteryx longipes), a deep-sea fish equipped with four retinas that can see in the depths of the ocean, reminding us how rarely human beings put their night vision to the test. And yet, as the great grey owl teaches us, it is also our hearing that guides us in the dark and allows us to explore our surroundings through sounds – or rather, soundscapes. Then there is touch and smell: how many of us associate the memory of a person, a place or a moment with a scent they will carry in their memory forever?

The beauty of the species that inhabit the Earth

With Higgins's book, science comes alive. Each chapter reads like a revelation. What stands out is the zoologist's work in gathering the findings of a series of scientific studies, like pieces of a puzzle that ultimately reveals itself in all its splendour: a picture that celebrates the beauty of all the species inhabiting this planet – including the lesser-known and less appreciated ones, such as a bat capable of explaining the meaning of altruism or a spider capable of unveiling the secrets of circadian rhythms.

"I deliberately included in 'Sentient' animals that people tend to avoid, in the hope of overcoming prejudice. So, as well as revealing the magic of moths and spiders, I enjoyed writing about the caring, generous and altruistic side of the common vampire bat," Higgins explains to the LifeGate editorial team. "This book is my attempt to 'turn the tables'. Usually, people ask whether animal species other than our own are sentient. With my book, instead, I decided to look at other species that could shed light on our own sentience. I chose animals that could reveal something surprising about how we perceive the world, and deepen our understanding of what it means to be human."

Sentient: anti-speciesism as an alternative to anthropocentrism

The poet Fernando Pessoa was right: "What we see is not what we look at, but what we are." When we think about it, our experience does not correspond to reality, because we can only experience what we perceive. Higgins's work invites us to reflect on the fact that every sentient being with whom we share this planet offers us a different interpretation of the way we perceive – and even understand – the world.

"When anthropocentrism places us at the centre of the universe and prioritises our interests over those of all other sentient beings, it inevitably also prioritises our view of the world, our Umwelt. The awareness that many other Umwelten exist reveals just how narrow our perspective is, and how far from universal. Anti-speciesism, by contrast, challenges every hierarchical vision and promotes equality among all sentient beings: if we strive for equality, it is our responsibility to explore and come to know the different possible Umwelten," the zoologist continues.

Broadening our horizons has many benefits. On one hand, only by putting ourselves in another animal's position can we understand its needs, recognise whether we are putting its life at risk, and learn to protect it. On the other, "once we shift our worldview, even the most ordinary scene before us fills with possibility and promise: our world is far richer than we can imagine," Higgins concludes.