Richard A. Fortey – författare

The arthropods contain more species than any other animal group, but the evolutionary pathways which led to their current diversity are still an issue of controversy. Arthropod Relationships provides an overview of our current understanding, responding to the new data arising from sequencing DNA, the discovery of new Cambrian fossils as direct evidence of early arthropod history, and developmental genetics. These new areas of research have stimulated a reconsideration of classical morphology and embryology. Arthropod Relationships is the first synthesis of the current debate to emerge: not since the volume edited by Gupta was published in 1979 has the arthropod phylogeny debate been, considered in this depth and breadth. Leaders in the various branches of arthropod biology have contributed to this volume. Chapters focus progressively from the general issues to the specific problems involving particular groups, and thence to a consideration of embryology and genetics. This wide range of disciplines is drawn on to approach an understanding of arthropod relationships, and to provide the most timely account of arthropod phylogeny. This book should be read by evolutionary biologists, palaeontologists, developmental geneticists and invertebrate zoologists. It will have a special interest for post-graduate students working in these fields.

This monograph describes early Ordovician (Ibexian: Tremadocian–early Floian) trilobites from Northern Spitsbergen from the section through the Kirtonryggen Formation adjacent to Hinlopen Strait. The Formation is divided into three Members, each with distinct trilobites collectively representing the fullest known succession from the Bathyurid biofacies of the eastern Laurentian carbonate platform. Previous research on the Ordovician of Spitsbergen is summarised and correlations with similar faunas previously described from Canada, Greenland, western Newfoundland, Vermont–New York State, Oklahoma and Missouri are discussed. Taxonomic problems are discussed in detail leading to the recognition of 53 species, of which 15 are new, belonging to 31 genera including four new. Twenty-four taxa are described under open or tentative nomenclature. The lower Member yields the earliest known occurrences of the Illaenoidea, Proetoidea and Scutelluoidea, supporting the hypotheses relating the origin of new major clades to inshore habitats.