Ebook: The animal kingdom: a very short introduction

Molecular biology has revolutionized our understanding of animals and their evolution. In this Very Short Introduction, Peter Holland provides an authoritative summary of the modern view of animal life, its origins, and the new classification resulting from DNA studies.;What is an animal? -- Animal phyla -- The evolutionary tree of animals -- Basal animals : sponges, corals, and jellyfish -- The bilaterians : building a body -- Lophotrochozoa : wondrous worms -- Ecdysozoa : insects and nematodes -- Deuterostomes I : starfish, sea squirts and amphioxus -- Deuterostomes II : the rise of vertebrates -- Deuterostomes III : vertebrates on land -- Enigmatic animals.