The Invertebrate Tree of Life

In The Invertebrate Tree of Life, Gonzalo Giribet and Gregory Edgecombe, leading authorities on invertebrate biology and palaeontology, utilize phylogenetics to trace the evolution of animals from their origins in the Proterozoic to today. Phylogenetic relationships between and within the major animal groups are based on the latest molecular analyses, which are increasingly genomic in scale and draw on the soundest methods of tree reconstruction.

Giribet and Edgecombe evaluate the evolution of animal organ systems, exploring how current debates about phylogenetic relationships affect the ways in which aspects of invertebrate nervous systems, reproductive biology, and other key features are inferred to have developed. The authors review the systematics, natural history, anatomy, development, and fossil records of all major animal groups, employing seminal historical works and cutting-edge research in evolutionary developmental biology, genomics, and advanced imaging techniques. Overall, they provide a synthetic treatment of all animal phyla and discuss their relationships via an integrative approach to invertebrate systematics, anatomy, palaeontology, and genomics.

With numerous detailed illustrations and phylogenetic trees, The Invertebrate Tree of Life is a must-have reference for biologists and anyone interested in invertebrates, and will be an ideal text for courses in invertebrate biology.

Biography
Gonzalo Giribet is Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology in the Museum of Comparative Zoology and professor of organismic and evolutionary biology at Harvard University. He is the coeditor of Techniques in Molecular Systematics and Evolution. Gregory D. Edgecombe is Merit Researcher at the Natural History Museum, London. He is the editor of Arthropod Fossils and Phylogeny.

Media reviews
“Synthesizing morphological, molecular, geological, ecological, and other data sources, this outstanding book makes a unique contribution to research and education in invertebrate zoology. With its exceptional scholarship, it will have a well-worn presence on the desks of invertebrate biologists the world over and become an inseparable component of undergraduate and graduate courses.”
– Ward Wheeler, American Museum of Natural History

“An astounding synthesis of a field that has grown at an exponential rate, The Invertebrate Tree of Life provides an overview of the biology of invertebrate animals from a deep evolutionary context. Its thoughtful, interpretive coverage of morphology, molecular genetics, and the fossil record represents an achievement of incredible magnitude.”
– Vicki Buchsbaum Pearse, coauthor of Animals without Backbones and Living Invertebrates and founding editor of Invertebrate Biology

“A great book – one of the best I’ve read this century.”
– Reinhardt Møbjerg Kristensen, Natural History Museum of Denmark