Phylogeny and Classification of Birds: A Study in Molecular Evolution

Sibley, Charles G. and Jon E. Ahlquist

ISBN 10: 0300040857 / ISBN 13: 9780300040852

Published by Yale University Press, 1990

About this Item

976 pages. 7-1/4 by 10-1/4 inches. Based on the genetic material of 1,700 bird species. With an introduction to the structure and function of DNA. First edition (first printing). A fine copy in a fine dust jacket. A large, heavy book. From the Harvard office library of the paleontologist and leading advocate for evolution, Stephen Jay Gould. With a posthumous tipped in bookplate indicating the provenance. *** Intellectually, Gould understood the true nature of these bookplates, but the book collector in him appreciated them. In his essay 'A Seahorse for All Races' Gould writes about one of his prized possessions, a book from Charles Dickens' library: 'Dickens made no annotations, but a bookplate on the cover, presumably inserted as a come-on for a sale after Dickens' death in 1870, does prove that [he] kept and shelved the book.' *** We offer our Gould bookplates, printed letterpress in two colors, in the same spirit. This book presents the results of a study of the evolutionary history and classification of living birds based on comparisons of the DNAs (genetic material) of about 1700 species. Sibley and Ahlquist's DNA-DNA hybridization technqiue is a biochemical method that measures the degree of genetic similarity between the DNAs of different species of other groups of organisms, but this book includes the largest set of DNA comparisons for any group.

Seller Inventory # 222957

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Phylogeny and Classification of Birds: A Study in Molecular Evolution
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication Date: 1990
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0300040857
• ISBN 13: 9780300040852
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Edition.
• Dust Jacket Condition: Fine
• Seller catalogs:
  • Birds

About this title

Synopsis

Presents the results of thousands of comparisons of the DNAs of about 1,700 species of birds, representing all of the major groups of living birds. Sibley and Ahlquist's DNA-DNA hybridization technique is a biochemical method that measures the degree of genetic similarity between different species. The authors received the Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal in 1988 by the National Academy of Sciences for their work on this book. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.