This new edition of the Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera gives a taxonomic overview of the most diverse group of all organisms living in the world-largest biogeographical area. The present volume is an updated edition of the first issue in 2003 but restricted to data published before the year 2000. It contains information about 33,914 taxa (together with synonyms), and increases the number of included species and other taxa by almost 5,000. In addition, thousands of species have their distributional data completed, and their ranks, systematic positions and nomenclature corrected. Almost two hundred new acts fix systematics and nomenclature, and numerous problems are discussed. Even such well known genera as Calosoma and Carabus, or tribes as Bembidiini and Panagaeini, are completely reorganized compared to the previously published catalogues. Thus, the work is a scaffold for biotic surveys, ecological studies, and nature conservation. It responds to the urgent need of an assessment of the still remaining forms of life, threatened by the on-going destruction of habitats. Taxonomy provides the basic building blocks of our understanding of the diversity of life. It stems from innate human curiosity: confronted with an unknown species we ask first “what is it”? Taxonomists recognize species and other systematic entities (taxa), define them and place them within the framework of known organisms, providing means for their subsequent identification. Contributors are: Antonio Tomás Tomas Andújar, Carmelo Fernández Andújar, Michael Balkenohl, Igor Belousov, Yves Bousquet, Boleslav Březina, Achille Casale, Hans Fery, Jan Farkač, Pier Mauro Giachino, Henri Goulet, Martin Häckel, Jiří Hájek, Oldřich Hovorka, Fritz Hieke, Jan Hrdlička, Charles Huber, Bernd Jaeger, Ilya Kabak, Boris M. Kataev, Erich Kirschenhofer, Tomáš Kopecký, Ivan Löbl, Werner Marggi, Andrey Matalin, Wendy Moore, Peter Nagel, Paolo Neri, Sergio Pérez González, Alexandr Putchkov, James A. Robertson, Joachim Schmidt, José Serrano, Luca Toledano, Uldis Valainis, Bernhard J. van Vondel, David W. Wrase, Juan M. Pérez Zaballos, Alexandr S. Zamotajlov.

This follow-up to The Anthropology of Modern Human Teeth puts methods to use in interpreting human origins and affinities.

This book is the first to explore in detail the systematics and taxonomy of the digenean fauna of fish in Indian marine waters. It includes morphological descriptions of 648 species in 190 genera and 30 families. The figures from the original publications are enhanced and made more attractive. Each description is accompanied by information on hosts and distribution. Digenetic trematodes, usually known as Digeneans, are the most diverse group of metazoan parasites of marine fishes. They are parasitic flatworms (Phylum Platyhelminthes) with a complex life-cycle and as adults inhabit mainly the alimentary system and associated organs, but also occur in the blood, under the scales, in the body cavity and in the gall and urinary bladders. Keys to families, genera and species are provided, except for a few large and controversial genera, where morphological characters are insufficient for identification. Although there is extensive literature on Digeneans, it is scattered and largely in obscure local journals. Bringing together most of the primary literature on the subject, this book provides a primer for further study and a starting point for the use of modern molecular methods for the fauna of this region. Unique in its scope, it is a valuable resource for students, professional parasitologists and ecologists as well as fishery and wildlife biologists.

This book is the second volume in a series of 4 volumes in the Handbook of Zoology series treating morphology, anatomy, reproduction, development, ecology, phylogeny, systematics and taxonomy of polychaetous Annelida. In this volume a comprehensive review of a few more derived higher taxa within Sedentaria are given, namely Sabellida, Opheliida/Capitellida as well as Hrabeiellidae. The former comprise annelids possessing a body divided into two more or less distinct regions or tagmata called thorax and abdomen. Here two groups of families are united, the spioniform and sabelliform polychaetes. Especially Spionidae and Sabellidae are speciose families within this group and represent two of the largest annelid families. These animals live in various types of burrows or tubes and all possess so-called feeding palps. In one group these appendages are differentiated as grooved feeding palps, whereas in the other they may form highly elaborated circular tentacular crowns comprising a number of radioles mostly giving off numerous filamentous pinnulae. Often additionally colourful, the latter are also received the common names "feather-duster worms", "flowers of the sea", "Christmas-tree worms". Opheliida/Capitellida including five families of truly worm-like annelids without appendages represents the contrary. Their members burrow in soft bottom substrates and may be classified as non-selective deposit feeders. Molecular phylogenetic analyses have shown that Echiura or spoon worms, formerly regarded to represent a separate phylum, are members of this group. Last not least Hrabeiellidae is one out of only two families of oligochaete-like terrestrial polychaetes and for this reason received strong scientific interest.