Coevolution and Systematics

This is a series of essays on the implications of coevolution phenomena for systematics. The most conclusive evidence for coevolution is to be found in host-parasite and other close relationships. Ideas about systematics of parasite groups, and to a lesser extent their hosts, have been influenced by the assumption that coevolution between hosts and parasites has resulted in parallel traits in their phylogenics which, in turn, may be reflected in their systematics; various rules have accordingly been put forward. This volume concludes that general parasitological rules can often be misleading, and host-parasite relationships should not be over-emphasized.