In any scientific discipline, meetings with presented papers and discussions are the most effective stimulus to the advancement of knowledge. Nemerteans have long been largely neglected because their taxonomy is difficult: the need for histological study of serial sections has proved inhibiting to most zoologists. During the last twenty years, however, this intriguing phylum has attracted the attention both of increasing numbers of taxonomists as well as of workers interested in many aspects of, for example, their ecology, evolution, physiology and fine structure. The enthusiam stemming from the First International Meeting held in Philadelphia during December 1983 made it abudantly clear that regular meetings of this type should be continued. The Second, at the Tjärnö Marine Biological Laboratory in Sweden (August 1986), emphasized the importance of such international gatherings. The Third Meeting was held in Britain, at Y Coleg Normal, Bangor, North Wales, August 10--15, 1991, with 24 participants from six countries. This volume records most of the papers given at the conference.

The nemerteans are a fascinating, common and often locally abundant group of invertebrates, yet for long have attracted the attention of only a handful of scientists. In recent years, however, increasing numbers of people have developed diverse research interests in the group with the result that our knowledge of these worms has rapidly advanced. Clearly there is a need for a regular series of international meetings where individuals working on these animals can meet to exchange ideas, review developments concerning nemertean biology and freely discuss future proposals. The first such meeting was held in Philadelphia during December 1983. Twenty-seven scientists from eight countries participated in the Second International Meeting on Nemertean Biology, held at the Tjarno Marine Biological Laboratory, Sweden, 11-15 August 1986. The meeting was divid ed into five sessions: two dealt with ecological studies, two with nemertean taxonomy, and the final session covered aspects of general biology. A total of 26 papers was presented; four, by N. Anadem, G. Berg, 1. Bierne, and 1.M. TurbeviIIe, were for different reasons not submitted for inclusion in this volume. Three additional presentations were made on behalf of B. Kulikova, E. N. WiIImer, and Z. Yin, all of whom were unable to participate in the meeting.

The nervous system is particularly fascinating for many biologists because it controls animal characteristics such as movement, behavior, and coordinated thinking. Invertebrate neurobiology has traditionally been studied in specific model organisms, whilst knowledge of the broad diversity of nervous system architecture and its evolution among metazoan animals has received less attention. This is the first major reference work in the field for 50 years, bringing together many leading evolutionary neurobiologists to review the most recent research on the structure of invertebrate nervous systems and provide a comprehensive and authoritative overview for a new generation of researchers. Presented in full colour throughout, Structure and Evolution of Invertebrate Nervous Systems synthesizes and illustrates the numerous new findings that have been made possible with light and electron microscopy. These include the recent introduction of new molecular and optical techniques such as immunohistochemical staining of neuron-specific antigens and fluorescence in-situ-hybridization, combined with visualization by confocal laser scanning microscopy. New approaches to analysing the structure of the nervous system are also included such as micro-computational tomography, cryo-soft X-ray tomography, and various 3-D visualization techniques. The book follows a systematic and phylogenetic structure, covering a broad range of taxa, interspersed with chapters focusing on selected topics in nervous system functioning which are presented as research highlights and perspectives. This comprehensive reference work will be an essential companion for graduate students and researchers alike in the fields of metazoan neurobiology, morphology, zoology, phylogeny and evolution.

A basic practical manual for the process of describing new species, this desperately needed desk reference and guide to nomenclatural procedure and taxonomic writing serves as a Strunk & White of species description, covering both botanical and zoological codes of nomenclature.