Animal evolution has always been at the core of Biology but even today many fundamental
questions remain open. The field of animal ¿evo-devö is leveraging recent technical and
conceptual advances in development paleontology genomics and transcriptomics to propose
radically different answers to traditional evolutionary controversies. This book is divided
into four parts each of which approaches animal evolution from a different perspective. The
first part (chapters 2 and 3) investigates how new sources of evidence have changed
conventional views of animal origins while the second (chapters 4¿8) addresses the connection
between embryogenesis and evolution and the genesis of cellular tissue and morphological
diversity. The third part (chapters 9 and 10) investigates how big data in molecular biology is
transforming our understanding of the mechanisms governing morphological change in animals. In
closing the fourth part (chapters 11¿13) explores new theoretical andconceptual approaches to
animal evolution. ¿Old questions and young approaches to animal evolution¿ offers a
comprehensive and updated view of animal evolutionary biology that will serve both as a first
step into this fascinating field for students and university educators and as a review of
complementary approaches for researchers.
