Meiofauna Taxa — a Systematic Account

Abstract

Many of the zoological groups belonging to the meiobenthos are either omitted in zoology textbooks or commented upon as “small and isolated groups” in a few lines in petit. However, for the advanced student, they often represent anatomically fascinating and phylogenetically important taxa. Nevertheless, the overview over these meiobenthic groups given here with its prevalence on ecological and gross diagnostic aspects and its omission of many anatomical details, cannot substitute textbook reading. The frame of this book does not allow for completely covering all groups that possibly have some isolated representatives of meiobenthic size. Its figures, which depict only some selected forms, cannot serve for any more detailed identification. Each chapter begins with taxonomical data, continues with biological, ecological and distributional comments and ends with some aspects of relationship and phylogeny (where appropriate, these topics are set off by separate subheadings).