Publisher's Synopsis
This book, with "Volume 1 - amphibians, reptiles, birds", brings together a collection of articles presenting an overview on the current debate on the relationships and patterns of evolution of the tetrapods (land vertebrates).;The contributors, who are zoologists and palaeontologists from both sides of the Atlantic working on the higher-order systematics of tetrapods, have applied the techniques of cladistic analysis to morphological and molecular data with a view to resolving the phylogenetic patterns in more detail than has previously been possible.;This book covers questions such as the closest relatives of tetrapods among fish, the relationships of modern amphibians, lizards, snakes, crocodiles and birds, and the origin and diversification of mammal groups.
