Arthropod Biology and Evolution

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-ix

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2. An Introduction to the Biology and Evolution of Arthropods

   • Alessandro Minelli, Geoffrey Boxshall, Giuseppe Fusco

   Pages 1-15

3. The Arthropoda: A Phylogenetic Framework

   • Gonzalo Giribet, Gregory D. Edgecombe

   Pages 17-40

4. An Overview of Arthropod Genomics, Mitogenomics, and the Evolutionary Origins of the Arthropod Proteome

   • Davide Pisani, Robert Carton, Lahcen I. Campbell, Wasiu A. Akanni, Eoin Mulville, Omar Rota-Stabelli

   Pages 41-61

5. Arthropod Embryology: Cleavage and Germ Band Development

   • Gerhard Scholtz, Carsten Wolff

   Pages 63-89

6. Arthropod Post-embryonic Development

   • Alessandro Minelli, Giuseppe Fusco

   Pages 91-122

7. Arthropod Developmental Endocrinology

   • H. Frederik Nijhout

   Pages 123-148

8. Arthropod Regeneration

   • Diego Maruzzo, Francesca Bortolin

   Pages 149-169

9. The Arthropod Cuticle

   • Bernard Moussian

   Pages 171-196

10. Arthropod Segmentation and Tagmosis

    • Giuseppe Fusco, Alessandro Minelli

    Pages 197-221

11. The Arthropod Head

    • Stefan Richter, Martin Stein, Thomas Frase, Nikolaus U. Szucsich

    Pages 223-240

12. Arthropod Limbs and their Development

    • Geoffrey Boxshall

    Pages 241-267

13. Insect Wings: The Evolutionary Development of Nature’s First Flyers

    • Michael S. Engel, Steven R. Davis, Jakub Prokop

    Pages 269-298

14. Architectural Principles and Evolution of the Arthropod Central Nervous System

    • Rudolf Loesel, Harald Wolf, Matthes Kenning, Steffen Harzsch, Andy Sombke

    Pages 299-342

15. The Arthropod Circulatory System

    • Christian S. Wirkner, Markus Tögel, Günther Pass

    Pages 343-391

16. The Arthropod Fossil Record

    • Gregory D. Edgecombe, David A. Legg

    Pages 393-415

17. Water-to-Land Transitions

    • Jason A. Dunlop, Gerhard Scholtz, Paul A. Selden

    Pages 417-439

18. Arthropod Endosymbiosis and Evolution

    • Jennifer A. White, Massimo Giorgini, Michael R. Strand, Francesco Pennacchio

    Pages 441-477

19. The Evolvability of Arthropods

    • Matthew S. Stansbury, Armin P. Moczek

    Pages 479-493

20. Back Matter

    Pages 495-532

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More than two thirds of all living organisms described to date belong to the phylum Arthropoda. But their diversity, as measured in terms of species number, is also accompanied by an amazing disparity in terms of body form, developmental processes, and adaptations to every inhabitable place on Earth, from the deepest marine abysses to the earth surface and the air. The Arthropoda also include one of the most fashionable and extensively studied of all model organisms, the fruit-fly, whose name is not only linked forever to Mendelian and population genetics, but has more recently come back to centre stage as one of the most important and more extensively investigated models in developmental genetics. This approach has completely changed our appreciation of some of the most characteristic traits of arthropods as are the origin and evolution of segments, their regional and individual specialization, and the origin and evolution of the appendages. At approximately the same time as developmental genetics was eventually turning into the major agent in the birth of evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo), molecular phylogenetics was challenging the traditional views on arthropod phylogeny, including the relationships among the four major groups: insects, crustaceans, myriapods, and chelicerates. In the meantime, palaeontology was revealing an amazing number of extinct forms that on the one side have contributed to a radical revisitation of arthropod phylogeny, but on the other have provided evidence of a previously unexpected disparity of arthropod and arthropod-like forms that often challenge a clear-cut delimitation of the phylum.

• arthropod body plan
• arthropod development
• arthropod structure
• phylogeny
• segment formation
• Entomology
• Model invertebrates

From the book reviews:

“This volume, edited by Minelli et al., is a timely, invaluable, and extensive overview of advances. … This volume is a significant achievement and provides an outstanding starting point for students interested in any aspect of arthropod evolution, as well as a rich resource in which researchers specializing in particular taxa can situate their work in a broader evolutionary and functional context.” (John True, The Quarterly Review of Biology, Vol. 89 (3), September, 2014)

“The ambitious volume of Minelli and co-editors represents a comprehensive, stimulating and timely review of what is currently known about arthropods. Individual chapters reveal gaps in our knowledge and highlight possible directions for further research. … Minelli et al.’s book should not be neglected by zoologists, and I recommend it to all students, teachers and researchers interested in arthropods.” (Georg Mayer, Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, Vol. 52 (1), 2014)

“The contents are organized into 18 chapters devoted to morphology, paleontology, phylogeny and developmental biology, and to aspects of physiology and molecular biology. … The layout is aesthetically pleasing; drawings and illustrations … as well as the colour images are of high quality throughout. … it can be highly recommended to anyone interested in any group of arthropods and/or in any aspect of biology.” (Hannelore Hoch, Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift, Vol. 60 (2), 2014)

• , Department of Biology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy

  Alessandro Minelli, Giuseppe Fusco

• , Zoology Department, Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom

  Geoffrey Boxshall

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