Dopo i primi quattro capitoli introduttivi su come sono e dove vivono gli invertebrati, sui concetti generali di classificazione e filogenetica, sul concetto di 'bauplan', sull'embriologia, sull'origine dei metazoi, questo trattato affronta per ogni phylum l'aspetto morfofunzionale e la filogenesi con indirizzo cladista. Altra caratteristica del volume è l'apparato iconografico che consiste in oltre 2250 disegni, che alla qualità dell'esecuzione associano un'alta potenzialità didattica, e 400 fotografie in bianco e nero.
Let's face it: it's a giant textbook on taxonomy - it's not exactly exciting. It's the Hulk of biology textbooks, and it has everything you never wanted to know about invertebrates. Is it a great information database? Yes. Are you going to want to read it cover to cover and memorize it for an exam? Dear God, no.
This book is well constructed and has changed for the better from the past edition. Still, it can be very difficult to make technical jargon sound interesting. The information is delivered in a very textbook scientific fashion, but still carries the interest of those seeking knowledge on all invertebrates.
The class I needed this textbook for was truly amazing, but the textbook? Goodness...so dense with words, it was often very overwhelming. Also really annoyed me that there was no glossary in the back.
Taxonomy is somewhat outdated and the sheer scope and organization of the book make it overwhelming, however it is still a useful source and the overview boxes of every phylum are actually helpful.