J[ Zool[ Syst[ Evol[ Research 27 "1999# 016Ð017Þ 1999 Blackwell Wissenschafts!Verlag\ BerlinISSN 9836!4634

Book Review:Buchbesprechungen

MOCZYD;OWSKA\ M[] Cambrian acritarchs from Upper Silesia\

Poland!biochronology and tectonic implications[ Fossils +Strata\ 35\ 0887\ 010 pp[\ US, 22[99[ ISBN 71Ð99Ð26581Ð2[

Acritarchs\ commonly interpreted as planktonic photoautotrophic pro!tists are known from the Proterozoic to the Holocene[ They are impor!tant for stratigraphic purposes especially in the Neoproterozic andEarly Palaeozoic\ and they are often present when other stratigraphicsigni_cant fossil are lacking[ In this issue\ acritarch assemblages fromPoland "Silesia#\ sampled from three cored boreholes\ are investigated[Basically\ the work shows a fourfold subdivison[ In a _rst block\ thegeologic setting\ the regional geology as well as individual charactersof the sampled rocks "lithology and trace fossils# are introduced\ to!gether with palaeoenvironmental interpretations and taphonomic con!ditions[ It is followed by more general information on the mic!ropalaeontological record and biodiversity of phytoplankton duringCambrian times[ This part is illustrated by 02 simple but informative_gures and photographs[ In the second part\ illustrated by seven _gures"range charts\ palaeogeographic scetches#\ detailed information on acri!tarch biostratigraphy and its application to the working area are givenwith comments on palaeobiogeographic and tectonic implications[ Thethird block focuses exclusively on the palaeontologic description of thematerial[ The book deals with 16 genera with 72 species and illustratesthese in numerous photographs[ One genus and 06 species are newlyintroduced[ In a _nal part\ a conclusion is presented with the resultslisted[ This work is surely of interest for all stratigraphers working oncomparable material or in the same time interval[ As the stratigraphicdata are well documented and presented\ this work will also be ofvalue in a regional geologic context[ Often enough in palaeontologicmonographic treatments\ the reader is left without any conclusions[Luckily\ it is not the case here[ It becomes clear even for non!palaeontologists\ how detailed taxonomic investigations help to re_nestratigraphic frameworks[ This\ on the other hand\ is crucial for relativedating of geologic processes and reconstruction of palaeogeographicchanges\ as shown in context with this work[ Beyond any possiblecontroversial discussion of the data\ the structure and presentation ofthe work leaves a very positive impression throughout[

F[ WIESE\ Berlin

KRISTENSEN\ N[ P[ "ed# 0888] Lepidoptera\ Moths and Butter~ies[

Volume 0] Evolution\ Systematics\ and Biogeography[ Hand!buch der Zoologie Ð Handbook of Zoology\ Band:Volume IVArthropoda] Insecta\ Part 24[ Walter de Gruyter\ Berlin:NewYork[ X ¦ 383 pp[\ numerous _gs[ Hb\ DM 287[99[ ISBN 2!00!904693!6[

This is the _rst modern treatment of one of the mega!diverse insectorders in the classical {Handbuch der Zoologie| series\ a well establishedmajor reference work within the German reading biological communitynow in its second edition\ which has a new approach[ In contrast toprevious volumes in this series\ the two Lepidoptera volumes are nolonger the work of one or two single authors but represent a realteam e}ort\ involving for the present volume 18 authors[ Despite themultiauthor approach\ this outstanding work can still be credited lar!gely to a single person\ the main editor of the present volume[ N[ P[Kristensen\ as well as mastering all editorial tasks\ himself contributedto eight chapters\ three of which he produced as a single author[ It isalso apparent that the editor\ in my view rather successfully\ tried tokeep a strict guidance on the individual contributions\ which resultedin making the book appear much more homogeneous than might beexpected from a large team e}ort[ This is to be truly valued by all users

of such a major reference work\ and still leaves enough room forindividual chapters to be clearly distinct[ As it stands\ this work o}ersa comprehensive treatment of the Lepidoptera from a systematic view!point\ a true state of the art review compiled by the World|s leadingspecialists\ and as such to be highly recommended[

The _rst of the two planned volumes devoted to the order Lepi!doptera covers the _elds of systematics and phylogeny\ as well as relatedareas of evolution and biogeography[ The book holds 10 chapters eachwith a separate bibliography\ including a short historical review\ twointroductory chapters with one on phylogeny and the fossil record\ andanother summarizing the present higher classi_cation with keys foradults "to superfamily# and for larvae "to family#\ and 05 chaptersdevoted to individual higher taxa[ A chapter on the evolution of larvalfood "plant# preferences in Lepidoptera\ and another on biogeographyconclude this book[ The volume also contains an index to all the taxanames mentioned in the text[

The book is written with a strong\ consistent Hennigian phylogeneticapproach\ recognizing only presumed monophyletic taxa for which therespective apomorphic character states are always listed[ The seeminglyunavoidable dilemma of how best to transform a highly asymmetricalcladogram into a strictly hierarchical Linnean classi_cation has beenresolved in this case by abandoning all formal higher categories abovethe superfamily level[ Thus\ the classi_cation presented here is devoidof all infraorders or other such categories[ The monophyletic entitieswithin the Lepidoptera\ instead\ some of which have long been estab!lished as monophyla like the Zeugloptera "�Micropterigoidea#\ Aglos!sata "�Agathiphagoidea# or the Ditrysia are simply referred to asclades of which those above the superfamily level generally remainwithout a formal name[

The revised\ in some cases new\ higher classi_cation for the entireLepidoptera adopted here divides the order into 35 superfamilies\ threeof which "Galacticoidea\ Simaethistoidea\ and Whalleyanoidea# arebeing newly proposed\ comprising a total of 010 recognized families[For 37 families\ a subfamily classi_cation is presented in the respectivechapters[ The amount of systematic innovation for individual groupsis di}erent according to chapter\ with some taxa like the Tortricoidea\Bombycoidea or the butter~ies being treated in a relatively conservativemanner "new results being already published separately#\ and withthe classi_cation for groups like the Gelechioidea\ Pyraloidea\ andNoctuoidea being largely revised[ In particular the treatment of theGelechioidea stands out in this respect\ as the chapter written by R[ W[Hodges contains a complete cladistic analysis based on a study of 27morphological characters in 26 family group taxa\ which gives rise tothree newly described families[ In the treatment of the Noctuoidea\ thelargest superfamily of Lepidoptera with up to 69\999 species known\the traditional concept of {tri_d| vs[ {quadri_d| "sub#families for theNoctuidae is _nally overthrown\ and new concepts are o}ered for anumber of groups\ like the Arctiidae and Nolidae[

One of the few items I found missing in this otherwise excellenttreatise is a comprehensive synoptic table of the adopted classi_cationto family Ð or even subfamily Ð level\ perhaps augmented with someadditional information like species numbers and geographical distri!bution[ In the age of rising concern on global biodiversity\ basic infor!mation like species numbers and faunistic data are needed\ at least fora broader audience who don|t take the time to look at all the individualchapters of the book where these data can easily be obtained[ A minorconcern is that the new family group taxa and synonymies introducedin the present volume are not made very visible in the text\ e[g[ for theGelechioidea and Pyraloidea\ and there is no separate index or list forthem in the volume[ Illustrations depict mostly morphological charac!ters and set specimens "with the nice exception of a pollen collectingprodoxid {Yucca Moth|# and are of good quality\ but only in black andwhite[ In my view\ the total lack of colour illustrations in this volumerepresents a real drawback\ for which the publisher is certainly to blame[One cannot help the impression that colour illustrations were avoided

017 Book Reviews

somehow on purpose\ perhaps in the mistaken idea that this wouldmaintain a more scienti_c image to the book[ Apart from surely helpingto increase sales\ colour in this case would also have added scienti_cvalue\ particularly for the superb illustrations of types of larvae "p[ 276#and cocoons "p[ 289# which are characteristic for di}erent groups in thesuperfamily Noctuoidea Ð the original pictures are presumably all col!our slides and some of the taxa shown here are being illustrated for the_rst time[

In summary\ the book combines very well a pertinent review witha substantial amount of new original work\ and the editor is to becongratulated for striking a right balance by still ful_lling the referencepurpose of a {handbook|[ The book thus stands out as a landmarkpublication in systematics not just for entomology[ In its _eld\ this workwill certainly set the standards for Lepidoptera systematics not for yearsbut rather decades\ which makes it follow well in the tradition of the{handbook of zoology| series[ In combination with the second Lepi!doptera volume announced for 1999\ it should provide a valuable sourceof information for anyone with a scienti_c interest in this fascinatinggroup of insects\ making it a must for all institutional and Ð despite thevery high price Ð for serious private libraries as well[

C[ L[ HAÝUSER\ Stuttgart

MOšLLER ANDERSEN\ N[] Water striders from the Paleogene of

Denmark with a review of the fossil record and evolution of

semiaquatic bugs "Hemiptera\ Gerromorpha#[ BiologiskeSkrifter\ 49\ 0887\ 046 pp[\ 199 DKr[ ISBN 76!6293!184!0[

The Paleogene "Tertiary# rock units of the Fur and Ošlst Formations ofnorthern Denmark "44Ð43 my# are well known amongst fossil collectorsand palaeontologists for their highly diverse and well preserved inverte!brate and vertebrate faunas[ The work of Mo�ller Anderson focusseson an explicit part of the insect fauna\ the semiaquatic bugs[ In a moregeneral introduction\ problems on the treatment of fossil Gerromorphaand the rarity of adequate fossil!bearing localites are discussed\ andknown Mesozoic and Cenozoic Gerromorpha localities are listed[ Theregional geology of the Fur and Ošlst Formations is brie~y presented\together with comments on their palaeoenvironment and palaeo!diversity[ The palaeontological descriptive part shows a threefold sub!division[ It is illustrated by numerous _gures on eight b:w!plates[Measurements of individuals are presented in tables or histograms[ Ina _rst block\ the _nds from Denmark are described\ including somematerial from Baltic amber[ Data on the geological horizon\ taxondistribution and habitat are\ when possible\ given[ In a second part\ theauthor investigates additional Cenozoic occurrences worldwide\ andthe third part focuses on Mesozoic Gerromorpha[ Nineteen genera"four new# with 26 species "seven new# are described[ The last blockdeals with phylogenetic problems in context with the fossil record\ andphylogenetic classi_cations based on fossils are discussed[ After somemore general statements\ the fossil as well as extant material is used toreconstruct possible phylogenetic relationships on family\ subfamily\genus and\ to some extent\ species level\ illustrated by several clado!grams[ Finally\ palaeoecolocical and palaeobiological aspects are dis!cussed\ including topics such as palaeoenvironments\ habitat\ colo!nisation of marine habitat and adaptions "locomotion\ wingpolymorphism\ feeding\ reproductive biology#[ Additionally\ the his!torical biogeography of the Gerromorpha is considered[

This work may be useful for scientists working on comparable topics\especially when they are only used to work on extant material[ The

synthesis of fossil and extant material and the controversial discussionon possible phylogenetic relations of the group in question points tosome general problems that palaeontologists encounter almost inevi!tably\ e[g[ the non!continuous fossil record and preservation problems[Fossil collectors may _nd this contribution interesting as it may serveas an identi_cation aid[

F[WIESE\ Berlin

JANVIER\ P[] Early Vertebrates\ Oxford Monographs on Geology

and Geophysics 22[ Oxford University Press\ 0885[ 397 pp[\193 _gs\ - 64[99[ ISBN 9!08!743936"6#[

Evolutionary biology has experienced quite an unexpected renaissancewithin the last 04 years[ This is due\ to a large degree\ to the in~uenceof Hennigian and other cladistic methods[ As a consequence of thephylogenetic systematic approach a careful reexamination of the avail!able\ largely morphological\ data occurred[ Later\ analysis of molecularinformation became increasingly important[ However\ molecular datahave methodological problems of its own\ and molecular informationis hardly applicable to the rich fossil record of vertebrates[ Becausemany structural data can be extracted from published morphologicalinvestigations\ the new methods have also stimulated new research offossil and extant taxa[ Cladistic hypotheses are a challenge for themorphologist\ and it is to be hoped that both approaches will pro_tfrom each other by means of the principle of {mutual illumination|sensu Hennig[

Philippe Janvier has reviewed in a marvellous e}ort the evolutionof early vertebrates[ After having made major contributions to themorphology and phylogenetic systematics of many fossil taxa since theseventies himself\ he now presents a comprehensive synopsis reachingfrom the earliest _nds to the origins of tetrapods[ Due to the personalexperience and interest of the author\ the palaeozoic _sh!like vertebratesprovide the bulk of the discussion in this book^ the actinopterygiansare treated too\ but more in passing[ However\ the author does not onlyexpose the phylogeny of the known taxa to the scrutinising view of acladist\ he astonishingly succeeds in the presentation of the evidence tothe reader as well[ In a very clear and uniform style he considers mostof the morphological evidence widespread in the literature accumulatedduring the last hundred years[ The evolutionary biologist can _nd mostof the facts of palaeontology\ comparative anatomy and embryologythat are of relevance for the clari_cation of phylogenetic relationships[This book will therefore become a classic work and a valuable sourceof information for any student interested in the early evolution ofvertebrates[

However\ the book is not only an accumulation of valuable facts\but the author takes the opportunity to include many ideas on metho!dological aspects and technical di.culties of modern evolutionaryresearch[ By the huge e}ort of considering all organ systems and allpalaeoecological data\ he succeeds in designing a comprehensive andintegrative picture of palaeozoic vertebrate life[ Although he commentscritically on the procedure of reconstruction itself\ he attempts to pre!sent reliable reconstructions of the animals and of their palaeo!environ!ment of the various palaeozoic periods in the introductory chapter withthe declared intention to stimulate the reader into the painstaking e}ortof studying the underlying anatomical details[ One would wish to seethis book in the hands of all students and researchers of evolutionarybiology\ but the high price will probably prevent such a wide distri!bution[ It should at least be present in all biological libraries[

W[ MAIER\ Tu�bingen[