The evolutionary biology of the Bivalvia

Bivalves are the key components of Recent marine and freshwater ecosystems and have been so for most of the Phanerozoic. Their rich and long fossil record, combined with their abundance and diversity in modern seas, has made bivalves the ideal subject of palaeobiological and evolutionary studies. Despite this, however, topics such as early evolution of the class, relationships between various taxa and the life habits of some key extinct forms have remained remarkably clear.In the last few years there has been enormous expansion in the range of techniques available to both palaeontologists and zoologists and key discoveries of new faunas which shed new light on the evolutionary biology of this important class.This volume integrates palaeontological and zoological approaches and sheds new light on the course of the bivalve evolution. This series of 32 original papers tackles key issues including: up to date molecular phylogenies of major groups; new hard and soft morphological cladistic analyses; reassessments of the early Palaeozoic radiation; important new observations on form and functional morphology; analyses of biogeography and biodiversity; novel (palaeo)ecological studies. Readership: Professional palaeontologists and zoologists. Also useful for final year and postgraduate courses specifically on molluscs. Also available: Palaeozoic Reefs and Bioaccumulations: Climatic and Evolutionary Controls - Special Publication no 275 - ISBN 1862392218 Evolution and Palaeobiology of Pterosaurs - Special Publication No 217 - ISBN 9781862391437 The Geological Society of LondonFounded in 1807, the Geological Society of London is the oldest geological society in the world, and one of the largest publishers in the Earth sciences.The Society publishes a wide range of high-quality peer-reviewed titles for academics and professionals working in the geosciences, and enjoys an enviable international reputation for the quality of its work.The many areas in which we publish in include:-Petroleum geology-Tectonics, structural geology and geodynamics-Stratigraphy, sedimentology and paleontology-Volcanology, magmatic studies and geochemistry-Remote sensing-History of geology-Regional geology guides