Associate Dean of Faculty and Biology Professor Pat Reynolds is the co-author of a chapter in the new book Phylogeny and Evolution of the Mollusca (University of California Press, March 2008). Co-author Gerhard Steiner is a long-time collaborator of Reynolds' from the University of Vienna, Austria. Their chapter is titled "Scaphopoda."
According to the publisher's Web site, "Brought together by Winston F. Ponder and David R. Lindberg, 36 experts on the evolution of the Mollusca provide an up-to-date review of its evolutionary history. The Mollusca are the second largest animal phylum and boast a fossil record of over 540 million years. They exhibit remarkable anatomical diversity and include the bivalves (scallops, oysters, and clams), gastropods (limpets, snails, and slugs), and cephalopods (squid, cuttlefish, and octopus). This study treats each major taxon and supplies general information as well as overviews of evolution and phylogeny using data from different sources–morphological, ultrastructural, molecular, developmental, and from the fossil record."
Reviewer Geerat J. Vermeij, Distinguished Professor of Geology at the University of California, Davis, noted "This volume is the most up-to-date summary of what we know and don't know about molluscan phylogeny. Its great strength lies in outstanding reviews written by experts on both molecular approaches and the fossil record. It will serve as a standard reference work for years to come."
