Invertebrate Relationships

ISBN-13: 9780521337120 / Angielski / Miękka / 1990 / 416 str.

P. G. Willmer; Pat Willmer

Opis

This book succeeds in bringing together the previously scattered literature on invertebrate phylogeny, forming a unique introduction to this fascinating and controversial subject. Phylogenetic study is an important corner-stone of biology, for the evolutionary relationships between groups of animals bear heavily upon the analysis of their physiology, behavior and ecology. Until now, there have been few books which analyse the diversity of animal life in terms of its origins and the relationships between different groups. After reviewing the current state of the subject, the author discusses the various sources of evidence which bear upon the question of how living animals are related to each other. Then, these lines of evidence are applied to particular groups of invertebrates. The prevalence of convergent evolution is a strong theme, as it becomes clear that many features, from details of cell chemistry and structure to overall body plan and life history, have been invented repeatedly and independently under similar selection pressures. Pat Willmer has drawn upon her experience teaching invertebrate zoology to undergraduates at Cambridge and Oxford to produce a stimulating, meaningful account of the relationships between invertebrate phyla and of the phylogenetic pattern of the animal kingdom.

Recenzje

'Anyone with an interest in phylogeny at high taxonomic levels should own this book, and this applies to undergraduates in biological and palaeontological sciences as well as to advanced students and veteran professionals. It is an excellent sorting-out of a traditionally difficult area.' James W. Valentine, Nature

Spis treści

Part I. Introduction to Animal Phylogeny: 1. Approaches to animal phylogeny; 2. Morphological patterns and traditional divisions; Part II. Sources of Evidence in Invertebrate Phylogeny: 3. Evidence from the fossil record; 4. Evidence from chemistry and genetics; 5. Evidence from embryology and larvae; 6. Evidence from cell ultrastructure; Part III. Phylogeny of Major Groups: 7. The origin of the Metazoa; 8. Acoelomates and other lowly worms; 9. The pseudocoelomates; 10. The phylogenetic position of molluscs; 11. Arthropod phylogeny; 12. The deuterostomes; 13. The Iophophorates; 14. A phylogenetic overview of invertebrates; References; Index.