Such is the pressure on teaching time in schools and universities that students
are taught less and less of the diversity that is life on this planet. Most
students, and indeed most professional biologists that these students become,
know far more of cell function than of biodiversity. This text is a profusely
illustrated, quick-reference guide to all types of living organisms, from the
single-celled prokaryotes and eurkaryotes to the multicellular fungi, plants and
animals. All surviving phyla and their component classes are characterised and
described, as are their lifestyles, ecology, relationships, and within-group
diversity (with orders displayed in list form). Overall, the book's aim is to
provide biologists