The Aegean Sea, the original Archipelago of the Greeks and Romans, is a truly unique sea. Located among three continents, each one leaving a distinct mark on local biodiversity, the Aegean comprises over 6,000 islands that vary extensively in size, age and palaeogeographical history and are home to hundreds of endemic species.

This is the first thorough scientific compendium dealing with the terrestrial components of the archipelago's biodiversity. The 48 experts that have authored its 16 chapters offer a detailed account of research that has been done so far in many animal and plant taxa, as well as a review of the geology and paleogeography, the phylogeography and the biogeography of Aegean Islands, highlighting its importance as a paradigmatic system for such studies at a global scale.

The volume is dedicated to Professor Moysis Mylonas, mentor of the majority of authors, who retired in 2018. Professor Mylonas devoted his entire career to research on Aegean biodiversity and biogeography, founded the Natural History Museum of Crete (at the University of Crete), and has been the founder of the ecological and evolutionary biogeography 'school of thought' in Greece.