Barry S. C. Leadbeater is a retired Reader in Protistology at the University of Birmingham. His academic research interests include: ultrastructure, physiology and ecology of algae and protozoa, whereas his biotechnological research interests include: algae and water quality; physiology of algal/protistan biofilms and biological aspects of water treatment processes. He has authored and co-authored over 80 papers, edited five books and, presently, he is a monitoring editor of the journal Protist.

'We look around and see a world full of animals, plants and fungi, but our eyes are deceptive. Most life on Earth is microscopic. Amongst the great diversity of single-celled life, the choanoflagellates deserve our special attention. As well as being important ecologically, choanoflagellates occupy a position of pivotal significance in the evolution of life. They are the closest single-celled relatives of the animal kingdom. To understand how animals evolved, we must study choanoflagellates. In this landmark book, Barry Leadbeater ranges from ecology and evolution, through to cell biology and ultrastructure, to reveal the secrets and the significance of these important and amazingly beautiful organisms.' Peter Holland, University of Oxford

• Preface; 1. Historical perspectives; 2. The collared flagellate: functional morphology and ultrastructure; 3. Craspedida: choanoflagellates with exclusively organic coverings; 4. Loricate choanoflagellates: Acanthoecida; 5. Loricate choanoflagellates: requirement for silicon and its deposition in costal strips; 6. Loricate choanoflagellates: Acanthoecidae – nudiform species; 7. Loricate choanoflagellates: Stephanoecidae – tectiform species; 8. Loricate choanoflagellates: evolutionary relationship between the nudiform and tectiform conditions; 9. Choanoflagellate ecology; 10. Choanoflagellate phylogeny: evolution of metazoan multicellularity; Glossary; Figure credits; References; Index.