Invertebrate Relationships: Patterns in Animal Evolution - Softcover

Willmer, Pat

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521337127 ISBN 13: 9780521337120

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1990

Synopsis

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.

About this title

Book Description

This account of the relationships between invertebrate phyla and the phylogenetic pattern of the animal kingdom serves as a meaningful introduction to the field of invertebrate phylogeny.

Review

"...a magnificent treatise on metazoan phylogeny that should spawn considerable controversy and, with that, perhaps new insights into this age-old question." The Quarterly Review of Biology

"Willmer has succeeded in producing an excellent introduction to problems of phylogeny and a contemporary review of invertebrate zoology. No library attempting to keep abreast of advances in studying evolution of the invertebrates should be without it." Choice

"This book is 'must' reading for all invertebrate zoologists. In fact, anyone interested in the phylogenetic relationships of animals would benefit from reading this volume." Milton Fingerman, American Zoologist

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1990
• ISBN 10: 0521337127
• ISBN 13: 9780521337120
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 416