Systematics and the Origin of Species from the Viewpoint of a Zoologist

by Mayr, Ernst

• ISBN13: 9780674862500
• ISBN10: 0674862503
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-10-15
• Publisher: Harvard Univ Pr

Summary

Ernst Mayr is perhaps the most distinguished biologist of the twentieth century, and Systematics and the Origin of Species may be one of his greatest and most influential books. This classic study, first published in 1942, helped to revolutionize evolutionary biology by offering a new approach to taxonomic principles and correlating the ideas and findings of modern systematics with those of other life science disciplines. This book is one of the foundational documents of the "Evolutionary Synthesis." It is the book in which Mayr pioneered his new concept of species based chiefly on such biological factors as interbreeding and reproductive isolation, taking into account ecology, geography, and life history. In his new Introduction for this edition, Mayr reflects on the place of this enduring work in the subsequent history of his field.

Table of Contents

FOREWORD	ix	(2)
THEODOSIUS DOBZHANSKY
PREFACE	xi	(2)
INTRODUCTION, 1999	xiii	(2)
INTRODUCTION	xv
NILES ELDREDGE
I THE METHODS AND PRINCIPLES OF SYSTEMATICS	3	(15)
II TAXONOMIC CHARACTERS AND THEIR VARIATION	18	(15)
III PHENOMENA OF GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION	33	(38)
IV SOME ASPECTS OF GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION	71	(31)
V THE SYSTEMATIC CATEGORIES AND THE NEW SPECIES CONCEPT	102	(21)
VI THE POLYTYPIC SPECIES, IN NATURE AND IN SYSTEMATICS	123	(24)
VII THE SPECIES IN EVOLUTION	147	(39)
VIII NONGEOGRAPHIC SPECIATION	186	(30)
IX THE BIOLOGY OF SPECIATION	216	(59)
X THE HIGHER CATEGORIES AND EVOLUTION	275	(24)
LITERATURE	299	(16)
INDEX	315