The Origin of Animal Body Plans: A Study in Evolutionary Developmental Biology

by Wallace Arthur

While neo-Darwinism has considerable explanatory power, it is widely recognized as lacking a component dealing with individual development, or ontogeny. This lack is particularly conspicuous when attempting to explain the evolutionary origin of the thirty-five or so animal body plans, and of the developmental trajectories that generate them. This significant work examines both the origin of body plans in particular and the evolution of animal development in general. Wallace Arthur ranges widely in his treatment, covering topics as diverse as comparative developmental genetics, selection theory, and Vendian/Cambrian fossils. He places particular emphasis on gene duplication, changes in spatio-temporal gene-expression patterns, internal selection, coevolution of interacting genes, and coadaptation. The book will be of particular interest to students and researchers in evolutionary biology, genetics, paleontology, and developmental biology.

Genres: Evolution

360 pages, Paperback

First published October 13, 1997

About the author

Wallace Arthur is a Northern Irish evolutionary biologist, science writer, and Emeritus Professor of Zoology at the University of Galway. Educated at the University of Ulster and the University of Nottingham, he became known for interdisciplinary work linking evolution, ecology, and developmental biology. Arthur was among the founding editors of the journal Evolution & Development and has held visiting positions at Harvard University and Darwin College Cambridge. His research has focused on evo-devo, animal body plans, developmental bias, and arthropod segmentation. In later years he turned toward astrobiology and the possibility of extraterrestrial life, explored in books such as Parallel Worlds: Evolution of Life Across the Cosmos. He supports an expanded evolutionary synthesis incorporating advances in developmental biology.