Biology 2e is designed to cover the scope and sequence requirements of a typical two-semester biology course for science majors. The text provides comprehensive coverage of foundational research and core biology concepts through an evolutionary lens. Biology includes rich features that engage students in scientific inquiry, highlight careers in the biological sciences, and offer everyday applications. The book also includes various types of practice and homework questions that help students understand—and apply—key concepts. The 2nd edition has been revised to incorporate clearer, more current, and more dynamic explanations, while maintaining the same organization as the first edition. Art and illustrations have been substantially improved, and the textbook features additional assessments and related resources.

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Describe the distinguishing characteristics of chordates
Identify the derived characters of craniates that sets them apart from other chordates
Describe the developmental fate of the notochord in vertebrates

In this transcript of an interview filmed for Evolution: "Great Transformations," Ted Daeschler and Neil Shubin describe the discovery and significance of some of their key fossil finds.

This illustration from Evolution by Monroe W. Strickberger shows the remarkable similarities between the bones in the forelimbs of various tetrapods, all of whose limbs serve very different functions.

Some vertebrates have fins and some have limbs with digits to move across land. Discover these creatures with limbs and digits from who they are to who they were and how they evolved.