Invertebrates

This second edition offers a current overview of the 34 animal phyla, with the Protista included, and is written both for undergraduate courses and as a go-to reference for anyone studying invertebrate biology. Its approach centers on two ideas: bauplans, or the basic structural designs of animal bodies, and evolutionary relationships traced through phylogenetics.

Each phylum follows the same layout. The book covers its systematics, then its bauplan, examining how it supports and moves, feeds and digests, circulates blood and exchanges gases, excretes waste and regulates water balance, handles nervous signaling, and reproduces and develops. A phylogeny section closes each entry. Readers also find detailed classifications, phylogenetic trees, and references for every phylum, along with tables that summarize the defining traits of each group.

The text is illustrated with many detailed line drawings. New to this edition are color photographs.