"Addresses an important topic for biologists and zoologists about vertebrates' place in the 'grand scheme'... genuinely witty and charming... magnificent." -- Neil J. Gostling, University of Southampton

Our understanding of vertebrate origins and the backbone of human history evolves with each new fossil find and DNA map. Many species have now had their genomes sequenced, and molecular techniques allow genetic inspection of even non-model organisms. But as longtime Nature editor Henry Gee argues in Across the Bridge, despite these giant strides and our deepening understanding of how vertebrates fit into the tree of life, the morphological chasm between vertebrates and invertebrates remains vast and enigmatic.

As Gee shows, even as scientific advances have falsified a variety of theories linking these groups, the extant relatives of vertebrates are too few for effective genetic analysis. Moreover, the more we learn about the species that do remain -- from sea-squirts to starfish -- the clearer it becomes that they are too far evolved along their own courses to be of much use in reconstructing what the latest invertebrate ancestors of vertebrates looked like. Fossils present yet further problems of interpretation. Tracing both the fast-changing science that has helped illuminate the intricacies of vertebrate evolution as well as the limits of that science, Across the Bridge helps us to see how far the field has come in crossing the invertebrate-to-vertebrate divide -- and how far we still have to go.

"A beautiful ode to some of the least appreciated animals... guides the reader joyfully through deuterostomes -- weaving disparate elements of embryology, paleontology, and morphology into an unprecedented and accessible narrative." -- Jakob Vinther, University of Bristol

• We started tracking this book on July 10, 2018.
• This book was £22.80 when we started tracking it.
• The price of this book has changed 175 times in the past 2,114 days.
• The current price of this book is £11.40 last checked 21 hours ago.
• This book is at its lowest price in the past 90 days.
• This lowest price this book has been offered at in the past six months is £3.99.
• This lowest price this book has been offered at in the past year is £2.99.
• The lowest price to date was £2.17 last reached on July 5, 2019.
• This book has been £2.17 one time since we started tracking it.
• The highest price to date was £22.80 last reached on July 21, 2022.
• This book has been £22.80 4 times since we started tracking it.

• Science & MathsBiological SciencesPaleontology
• Science & MathsBiological SciencesZoology

• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Disabled
• Print Length: 324 Pages
• File Size: 2,602 KB