Key transitions in animal evolution

"The origin of multicellular animals is one of those difficult and delicate biological problems that have been pondered for centuries. This book summarizes recent results in phylogenetics and developmental biology that address the evolution of key innovations in metazoans. The first section covers phylogenetic issues. Focusing on nervous system and sensory organ development, the second section addresses prominent questions concerning the developmental biology of metazoan evolution. A third section discusses the evolution of pattern and process in the incredible forms of life that we call Metazoa and covers evolution of life histories and the evolution of biogeochemical aspects of metazoans. The book has over 40 illustrations and an up-to-date bibliography of over 500 references. Each chapter concludes with a set of questions for study and discussion."--

Section 1. Tangled Roots in the Animal Tree of Life -- Chapter 1. Putting Animals in their Place Within a Context of Eukaryotic Innovations / Danielle Vazquez, Laura Wegener Parfrey, Laura A. Katz -- Chapter 2. Elucidating Animal Phylogeny / Kevin M. Kocot, Johanna T. Cannon, Kenneth. M. Halanych -- Chapter 3. Key Transitions in Animal Evolution / Dennis V. Lavrov -- Chapter 4. Pending Issues in Development and Phylogeny of Arthropods / Jean S. Deutsch -- Section 2. The Earliest Animals -- Chapter 5. The Pre-Nervous System and Beyond--Poriferan Milestones in the Early Evolution of the Metazoan Nervous System / Michael Nickel -- Chapter 6. "A Key Innovation in Animal Evolution, the Emergence of Neurogenesis / Brigitte Galliot -- Chapter 7. From Cnidaria to "Higher Metazoa" in One Step / Ferdinando Boero, Stefano Piraino -- Chapter 8. Basal Metazoan Sensory Evolution / D.K. Jacobs, D.A. Gold, N. Nakanishi, D. Yuan, A. Camara, S.A. Nichols, V. Hartenstein -- Chapter 9. Cnidarian Gene Expression Patterns and the Origins of Bilaterality--Are Cnidarians Reading the Same Game Plan as "Higher" Animals? / Eldon E. Ball, Danielle M. de Jong, Bernd Schierwater, Chuya Shinzato, David C. Haywa…