Understanding the Tree of Life

Kevin Omland is Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, specializing in avian evolution, behavior, and conservation. His research focuses on using phylogenies to explore the evolution of colour and song in birds, with particular interest in female song in New World orioles and the conservation of the endangered Bahama Oriole. Passionate about teaching, he emphasizes biodiversity, evolutionary trees, and understanding humanity's place in the tree of life. Kevin is an experienced author and has published over 90 peer-reviewed journal articles and contributed two book chapters on phylogeny and evolutionary biology.

• Foreword Kostas Kampourakis; Preface; Acknowledgements; 1. Introduction to the tree of life – Drawing trees and why there is no trunk; 2. Human origins – We are African…mostly; 3. Primates – Our closest living cousins; 4. Which mammals are the most primitive – None of us; 5. Birds are reptiles, Birds are theropod dinosaurs; 6. The Crawl onto land – Tetrapod evolution and the gain and loss of limbs; 7. Which fishes are 'primitive'? Do fish even exist?; 8. Animal evolution – Sponges and comb jellies are our cousins; 9. Plants, animals, fungi and 'protists' – We are eukaryotes; 10. Archaea then bacteria are our most distant cousins; Concluding remarks; Summary of common misunderstandings; References and further reading; Figure credits; Index.