E. H. Colbert, M. Morales, E. C. Minkoff. 2001. Colbert's Evolution of the Vertebrates. A History of the Backboned Animals Through Time. 5th ed. Wiley-Liss, New York, 560 pp. ISBN 0-471-38461-5, price (cloth), $145.00. Colbert's Evolution of the Vertebrates was first published in 1955 and fast became a classic textbook on vertebrate paleontology. Although it is intended for a popular audience, this book soon was and is used as reference in University student education, especially in North America. Unfortunately, this book is highly problematic, and I would discourage everyone from using or buying it. To write this review also was challenging for me because Edwin H. Colbert (who passed away soon after this edition was published) was an eminent and respectable scientist who published major articles in different fields of paleontology, especially on Mesozoic reptiles and dinosaurs. In the following paragraphs, I will outline why I am so dissatisfied with this book by reviewing some of its numerous problematic aspects. Terminology. —The table of contents is quite extensive, but it already shows a general characteristic of this book: the terminology used is hopelessly out-of-date. Nobody seriously working in paleontology would still use (and print) terms like the paraphyletic “Pisces” (p. 18), “ostracoderms” (p. 24), or “labyrinthodonts” (p. 96). In addition, the authors synonymize some taxonomic names that are …