Review by Choice Review
Results of a comparative study of life history traits in 82 species of the marine gastropod genus Conus in the Indo-Pacific provide the data base for this extraordinary synthesis of the relationships between dispersal potential and geographic distribution patterns. In a slim volume of seven chapters, the authors provide summaries of the general and reproductive biology of Conus and detailed accounts of 82 species; correlate aspects of reproduction, life history, and development with biogeographic patterns; and, in an appendix, summarize the database that provides the substance of their argument. The result is a remarkable portrayal of the roles of life history, dispersal, vicariance, hypotheses, and models in the Indo-Pacific distribution of a genus with more extant species (500) than any other genus of marine invertebrates. Exquisitely drawn figures of egg capsules; two color plates of living adults, veliger larvae, and juveniles; and tables, graphs, and maps provide substance and ornament to the text. Upper-division undergraduate; graduate; faculty. E. A. Kay; University of Hawaii
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
