Download or read book The Evolutionary Biology of the Bivalvia written by Elizabeth Harper and published by Geological Society of London. This book was released on 2000 with total page 512 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bivalves are key components of recent marine and freshwater ecosystems and have been so for most of the Phanerozoic. Their rich and long fossil record, combined with their abundance and diversity in modern seas, has made bivalves the ideal subject of palaeobiological and evolutionary studies. Despite this, however, topics such as the early evolution of the class, relationships between various taxa and the life habits of some key extinct forms have remained remarkably unclear. This volume integrates palaeontological and zoological approaches and sheds new light on the course of bivalve evolution.