| The Tree of Life: A Phylogenetic Classification Contributor(s): Lecointre, Guillaume (Author), Le Guyader, Hervé (Author), Visset, Dominique (Illustrator) |
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ISBN: 0674021835 ISBN-13: 9780674021839 Publisher: Belknap Press OUR PRICE: $41.58 Product Type: Hardcover Published: January 2007 Annotation: Did you know that you are more closely related to a mushroom than to a daisy? That crocodiles are closer to birds than to lizards? That dinosaurs are still among us? That the terms "fish," "reptiles," and "invertebrates" do not indicate scientific groupings? All this is the result of major changes in classification, whose methods have been totally revisited over the last thirty years. Modern classification, based on phylogeny, no longer places humans at the center of nature. Groups of organisms are no longer defined by their general appearance, but by their different individual characteristics. Phylogeny, therefore, by showing common ancestry, outlines a tree of evolutionary relationships from which one can retrace the history of life. This book diagrams the tree of life according to the most recent methods of classification. By showing how life forms arose and developed and how they are related, "The Tree of Life" presents a key to the living world in all its dazzling variety. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Science | Reference - Science | Life Sciences - Biology - Science | System Theory |
| Dewey: 578.012 |
| LCCN: 2006047736 |
| Series: Harvard University Press Reference Library |
| Physical Information: 1.57" H x 7.8" W x 11.28" (3.66 lbs) 560 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Did you know that you are more closely related to a mushroom than to a daisy? That crocodiles are closer to birds than to lizards? That dinosaurs are still among us? That the terms fish, reptiles, and invertebrates do not indicate scientific groupings? All this is the result of major changes in classification, whose methods have been totally revisited over the last thirty years. Modern classification, based on phylogeny, no longer places humans at the center of nature. Groups of organisms are no longer defined by their general appearance, but by their different individual characteristics. Phylogeny, therefore, by showing common ancestry, outlines a tree of evolutionary relationships from which one can retrace the history of life. This book diagrams the tree of life according to the most recent methods of classification. By showing how life forms arose and developed and how they are related, The Tree of Life presents a key to the living world in all its dazzling variety., |
Contributor Bio(s): Lecointre, Guillaume: - Guillaume Lecointre is Professor and Research Scientist at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris.Le Guyader, Herve: - Hervé Le Guyader is Professor of Evolutionary Biology at the Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie (Université Paris 6). |