Systematics and the Origin of Species, from the Viewpoint of a Zoologist

Ernst Mayr

Harvard University Press, 1999 - Animals - 334 pages

Ernst Mayr is perhaps the most distinguished biologist of the twentieth century, and Systematics and the Origin of Species may be one of his greatest and most influential books. This classic study, first published in 1942, helped to revolutionize evolutionary biology by offering a new approach to taxonomic principles and correlating the ideas and findings of modern systematics with those of other life science disciplines. This book is one of the foundational documents of the "Evolutionary Synthesis." It is the book in which Mayr pioneered his new concept of species based chiefly on such biological factors as interbreeding and reproductive isolation, taking into account ecology, geography, and life history.

In his new Introduction for this edition, Mayr reflects on the place of this enduring work in the subsequent history of his field.

Contents

• THE METHODS AND PRINCIPLES OF SYSTEMATICS: 3
• TAXONOMIC CHARACTERS AND THEIR VARIATION: 18
• PHENOMENA OF GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION: 33
• SOME ASPECTS OF GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION: 71
• THE SYSTEMATIC CATEGORIES AND THE NEW SPECIES: 102
• THE POLYTYPIC SPECIES IN NATURE AND: 123
• THE SPECIES IN EVOLUTION: 147
• NONGEOGRAPHIC SPECIATION: 186
• THE BIOLOGY OF SPECIATION: 216
• THE HIGHER CATEGORIES AND EVOLUTION: 275

Bibliographic information

• Title: Systematics and the Origin of Species, from the Viewpoint of a Zoologist; Emersion: Emergent Village Resources for Communities of Faith Series
• Author: Ernst Mayr
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Harvard University Press, 1999
• ISBN: 0674862503, 9780674862500
• Length: 334 pages