Featuring a new foreword by E.O. Wilson of Harvard University, new structure and entries based on the latest developments in evolutionary science, and new elements of special interest to the reader including "The Ribosome Standard" by C. Woese, and "Origins of Larvae" by D.I. Williamson, The Five Kingdoms: An illustrated Guide to the Phyla of Life on Earth is 15% revised and updated.
With new full-colour illustrations, this book remains the only book to consistently and completely reconcile Woese's three domain theory with the historically founded five domain approach.This is a concise guide to all forms of life on earth in a clear student-friendly text. It defines and describes the major taxonomic groups – Prokaryote and Eukaryote – and the four kingdoms of Eukarya. This classification system is entirely consistent with the fossil record, developmental and morphological biology and the new molecular data.
This is the only book that includes all forms of life with brief, informative and definitional descriptions, now with full-colour illustrations.
- Introduction
- Field Trips Through Time
- Virtual Field Trips
- Virtual Biodiversity, Websites
- Superkingdom Prokarya
- Kingdom Bacteria
- Superkingdom Eukarya
- Kingdom Protoctista
- Kingdom Animalia
- Kingdom Fungi
- Kingdom Plantae
- Epilogue: Common Ancestry and Biodiversity