Invertebrates Books

This book is an excellent and thorough review of all aspects of slug biology, as well as their pest status and control. This is by far the best slug book currently available, and is a must for anyone studying these little creatures.

The book was in excellent shape and the service was speedy. A very infomative book that describes Radiolaria. These organisms make up radiolarian cherts and cover the bottom of the abyss. This book describes in detail, these micro-inverts.

The present volume is the last one for the Ammonoidea in the Treatise collection. It only deals with Cretaceous Ammonoidea, contrary to the the first version published in 1957. Volumes dealing with Paleozoic, Triassic and Jurassic ammonites are to be published.

Information is accurate and recent publications are taken in account for this revision work. Systematics are slightly improved since some groups are better understood now.

Presentation is well done and pictures of different families are not mixed together as it was sometimes the case in the first version. Extensive figures are of great quality. Yet, one can be slightly disappointed since in some cases ventral views and suture lines are not provided.

However it remains the best reference to Cretaceous Ammonoidea to date. I strongly recommand this book to anybody who already knows Cretaceous Ammonoids and who wants to have a comprehensive overview of their morphological aspects and to any student/researched working on this group.

At last, volume one of the long-awaited update to Moore's 1959 epic.  It is difficult to understand the monumental amount of work in one of these volumes of the Treatise without reading through it.  Take the chapter on ontogeny, for example.   How do we know how a trilobite developed?  After all, we can hardly watch one.   Only by collecting hundreds of fossils - at first, no doubt, misidentified as different species - and comparing them, across collection, institution, and probably national boundaries: work which may take multiple workers decades. The 530 pages of this volume represents whole lifetimes of dedicated research.

The Treatise is a technical reference for professional palaeontologists so you will want to be a very enthusiastic amateur before you consider buying it. If you are, though, then this is definitely the definitive word on trilobite morphology, habit, ontogeny, evolution and classification available today. It is not a complete systematic review of the whole class, however: This is the first volume of a work which is expected to stretch to three. Systematic descriptions are given for the Agnostida and Redlichiida only.

Readers familiar with the 1959 version will first notice that the familiar line drawings have been almost totally replaced by excellent (at least 600 dpi) photographs of actual fossils. As before, taxonomic descriptions are provided down to generic level, providing authorship, synonymy, diagnostic morphology, type species and provenance.

If you are interested in Trilobites, ancient arthropods that are the signature of the Paleozoic, then this classic work, written by the world experts of the time is a must for your collection. Not only is there an illustrated catalogue of the families and genera of trilobites known at the time (10,000 species vs today's 15,000+), but such hidden treasures as a review of many of the Burgess Shale arthropods (then considered Trilobitomorpha and therefore included in the work), and detailed discussions and descritpions of the major features of trilobites, their biology and ecology and their evolution over time are presented. While many of the conjectures are different from today's (more enlightened?) considerations, they provide tantalizing insight on the difficulties of paleontological science: deducing the nature of a world that has not existed for hundreds of millions of years.

Such classical trilobite workers as H.B. Whittington, R.C. Moore, and F. Rasetti to name a few, had a hand in this: the still-standing single definitive source for trilobitophiles.

A revision of the treatise on trilobites is beginning to emerge (Kaesler 1997), and two of the most primitive orders (Agnostida and Redlichiida) were revised in Volume One of the revision. We won't see a completed revision of the 1959 Treatise (in two more volumes) until sometime in the first decade of this new millenium.

In conclusion, for its current value as a trilobite information source, for its historical value as the world view on trilobites at the dawn of the 1960s, and for its >1000 individual drawings and figures of trilobites and their kin, this is a must for the trilobite-lover's library.

respectfully submitted, Dr. Sam Gon III

Harry Whittington is acknowledged as one of the key workers in invertebrate paleontology, and his decades of work with trilobites and other invertebrates (he described the weird wonders of the Burgess Shales, such as Opabinia and Anomalocaris) reflects his passion for these primordial creatures. In this book, he presents a 1992 summary of what is known of their biology and diversity, and accompanies the text with a huge high resolution B&W photographic library of specimens that demonstrate the amazing range of variation that trilobites exhibit. This can be a difficult book to acquire. It took two years of searching through used book web sites before I was finally able to get a copy, and it is cherished for the foundation it provides on trilobite morphology, ontogeny, and classification (but the pictures are still the best part!) In short, if you are interested in trilobites, this book is a required part of your reference library. I understand that it has recently been reprinted, so I hope you are able to get your copy without the grueling 2 year wait!

When this book first came out in 1974 it was one of the best books of its type and its photos were pure eye candy. Though as time has gone by more complete publications have come along but this book is still quite beautiful informative and worth owning.
Recommended

I've been looking for a book on tropical Pacific invertebrates for years. This book, with its beautiful photographs and interesting comments about natural history of coral reef animals has given me new insight to the coral reefs of the tropical pacific.

This second volume in the A Veterinary Guide To The Parasites Of Reptiles series provides complete information necessary for an accurate diagnosis and treatment of reptiles affected by arthropod parasites (excluding mites). Susan Barnard (Department of Herpetology, Zoo Atlanta) and Lance A. Durden (Institute of Arthropodology and Parasitology, Georgia Southern University) collaborate to produce a text that is comprehensive and presented in annotated outline form for quick reference. Chapters are divided by arthropod groups (true bugs, flies, fleas, and ticks), and includes descriptions, hosts, host locations, sources of infestation and life cycles. Also included is a chapter on laboratory procedures for the herpetoculturist, and a bibliography of more than 430 references. Also highly recommended is the first volume in this series, A Veterinary Guide To The Parasites Of Reptiles: Volume 1, Protozoa.

This is an aquatic entomology text based on Australian and Tasmanian bugs; however, I learned more about North American bugs from this book than most books dedicated to the Americas. Fun, easy to read, and informative. Highly recommended for aquatic bug people all over the globe!