Amphibian Morphogenesis / Edition 1

by Harold Fox

Overview

This book came about as a result of a review I had written earlier on fea­ tures of cellular changes occurring during anuran metamorphosis. Only a limited treatment of this subject was possible in such a circumscribed work and only specific examples of organic change were dealt with. Thus the sins of omission weighed heavily, for so much information could not be included to provide a more comprehensive and authenticated account of the elaborate, complex, and far-reaching changes that an aquatic larva undergoes to become a terrestrial froglet. A good deal of my working life has been spent investigating amphib­ ians, especially their larval developmental morphology during metamor­ phosis, first at the level of light microscopy and in later years by electronmicroscopy. Initially I was particularly concerned with morpho­ logical homologies of a variety of larval structures, such as the cranial and pharyngeal skeleton and the nerves and musculature, in order to learn more about amphibian phylogeny, for during my pre-and early postgrad­ uate years G. R. Beer and D. M. S. Watson inspired an undying interest in and respect for vertebrate comparative anatomy. However, it now seems to be that amphibian phylogenetic relationships are best dealt with by the paleontologists, so ably demonstrated by D. M. S. Watson and A. S. Romer and the contemporary enthusiasts in this field like A. L. Panchen, R. L. Carroll, E. Jarvik, and K. S. Thompson among a host of others, particularly in the USA.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780896030435
Publisher:	Springer-Verlag New York, LLC
Publication date:	05/02/1984
Series:	Bioscience
Edition description:	1984
Pages:	316
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.03(d)

Table of Contents

Section I. Amphibians.- 1. The Origin of the Amphibians.- 2. Living Amphibians.- 3. Metamorphosis in Urodeles.- 4. Metamorphosis in Anurans.- 5. General Consideration of the Endocrinal Mechanisms Responsible for Anuran Larval Metamorphosis 10.- Section II. Staging of Embryonic and Larval Amphibians.- 6. Anurans and Urodeles.- 7. Caecilia (Apoda or Gymnophiona).- 8. Tables of Staged Specimens.- Section III. Organic Origin, Development and Change In Anuran Larvae to the Completion of Metamorphosis.- 9. Introduction.- 10. The Thyroid Gland.- 11. The Pituitary Gland.- 12. The Hypothalamus and Median Eminence.- 13. The Ultimobranchial Body.- 14. The Parathyroid Glands.- 15. The Larval Skeleton—Specific Features During Metamorphosis.- 16. The Nohord.- 17. The Central Nervous System.- 18. Larval Musculature.- 19. The Blood.- 20. The External and Internal Gill Filaments.- 21. Balancers.- 22. Features of the Larval Respiratory System.- 23. The Alimentary Canal.- 24. The Pancreas.- 25. The Liver.- 26. The Pronephros.- 27. The Lymph Glands.- 28. The Skin of Amphibian Larvae.- Section IV. Cellular Differentiation, Ontogeny, and Molecular Biology.- 29. A Consideration of Cellular Diversity.- 30. Early Cleavage Cells and Their Nucleocytoplasmic Relationship.- 31. Cellular Differentiation During Embryogenesis to Premetamorphosis.- 32. Appraisal of Morphological and Functional Cellular Changes During Metamorphosis.- 33. Epilog.- References.- Species Index.