: Rather than relying solely on genes, it emphasizes using the fossil record to date molecular trees and interpret the evolution of body plans.
: It highlights how molecular biology—specifically molecular phylogenetics and developmental biology—provides the "objective source of data" needed to test evolutionary scenarios that once seemed unsolvable. Animal Evolution. Genomes, Fossils, and Trees
Published in 2009 by Oxford University Press, it serves as a major synthesis of three traditionally separate fields: , molecular systematics , and developmental biology (evo-devo). Core Themes and Utility : Rather than relying solely on genes, it