The Tree of Life

Did you know that you are more closely related to a mushroom than to a daisy? That crocodiles are closer to birds than to lizards? That dinosaurs are still among us? That the terms "fish," "reptiles," and "invertebrates" do not indicate scientific groupings? All this is the result of major changes in classification, whose methods have been totally revisited over the last thirty years.

Modern classification, based on phylogeny, no longer places humans at the center of nature. Groups of organisms are no longer defined by their general appearance, but by their different individual characteristics. Phylogeny, therefore, by showing common ancestry, outlines a tree of evolutionary relationships from which one can retrace the history of life.

This book diagrams the tree of life according to the most recent methods of classification. By showing how life forms arose and developed and how they are related, The Tree of Life presents a key to the living world in all its dazzling variety.

    Preface
    Introduction

    1. Life
    2. Eubacteria
    3. Archaea
    4. Eukaryotes
    5. Chlorobionta
    6. Embryophyta
    7. Metazoa
    8. Protostomia
    9. Mollusca
    10. Euarthropoda
    11. Deuterostomia
    12. Sarcopterygii
    13. Mammalia
    14. Primata
    15. Actinopterygii

    Appendixes
    Sequenced Genomes
    General bibliography
    Glossary
    Index of common names
    Index of Latin names