This volume is the result of a NATO Advanced Study Institute held in England at Kingswood Hall of Residence, Royal Holloway College (London University), Surrey, during the last two weeks of July, 1976. The ASI was organized within the guide lines laid down by the Scientific Affairs Division of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. During the past two decades, significant advances have been made in our understanding of vertebrate evolution. The purpose of the Institute was to present the current status of our know­ ledge of vertebrate evolution above the species level. Since the subject matter was obviously too broad to be covered adequately in the limited time available, selected topics, problems, and areas which are applicable to vertebrate zoology as a whole were reviewed. The program was divided into three areas: (1) the theory and methodology of phyletic inference and approaches to the an­ alysis of macroevolutionary trends as applied to vertebrates; (2) the application of these methodological principles and an­ alytical processes to different groups and structures, particular­ ly in anatomy and paleontology; (3) the application of these re­ sults to classification. The basic principles considered in the first area were outlined in lectures covering the problems of character analysis, functional morphology, karyological evidence, biochemical evidence, morphogenesis, and biogeography.

Inhalt

1. Approaches to the Analysis of Macroevolutionary Trends.- The Methodology of Phylogenetic Inference Above the Species Level.- Comments: On Phyletic Analysis of Gekkotan Lizards.- Adaptation and the Comparative Method.- Functional Morphology and Evolution.- Embryogenesis, Morphogenesis, Genetics, and Evolution.- Comments: The Development of the Tetrapod Limb: Embryological Mechanisms and Evolutionary Possibilities.- Phylogenetic Aspects of Karyological Evidence.- The Phyletic Interpretation of Macromolecular Sequence Information: Simple Methods.- Comments: Evolution of Pacreatic Ribonucleases.- The Phyletic Interpretation of Macromolecular Sequence Information: Sample Cases.- Zoogeography and Phylogeny: The Theoretical Background and Methodology to the Analysis of Mammal and Bird Faunas.- 2. Macroevolutionary Trends Among Vertebrate Taxa.- Phylogenetic Relationships and a Classification of the Eutherian Mammalia.- Wing Design and the Origin of Bats.- Comments: Energetics of Hovering Flight and the Origin of Bats.- Comments: Comments on Flight and the Evolution of Bats.- Ontogeny of Amniote Fetal Membranes and their Application to Phylogeny.- Sarcopterygii and the Origin of Tetrapods.- Comments: The Origin of the Tetrapod Limb within the Rhipidistian Fishes.- An Exceptional Reproductive Strategy in Anura: Nectophrynoides Occidentalis Angel (Bufonidae), an Example of Adaptation to Terrestrial Life by Viviparity.- The Evolution of Terrestrial Locomotion.- The Contribution of Paleontology to Teleostean Phylogeny.- Phylogenetic Reconstruction: Theory, Methodology, and Application to Chordate Evolution.- Insularity and Its Effect on Mammalian Evolution.- Evolution of the Carnivorous Adaptive Zone in South America.- Geographical and Ecological Distribution of the Earliest Tetrapods.- 3. Phylogeny and Classification of Vertebrate Taxa.- Cladistic Classification as Applied to Vertebrates.- Comment: Phylogenetics: Some Comments on Cladistic Theory and Method.- On the Phenetic Approach to Vertebrate Classification.- Foundations and Methods of Evolutionary Classification.