Department of Organismal Biology & Anatomy, University of Chicago, 1027 E 57th Street, Culver 108, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
Semin Cell Dev Biol. 2010 Jun;21(4):424-31. doi: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2009.11.001. Epub 2009 Nov 12.
Ontogenetic series of extinct taxa are extremely rare and when preserved often incomplete and difficult to interpret. However, the fossil record of amphibians includes a number of well-preserved ontogenetic sequences for temnospondyl and lepospondyl taxa, which have provided valuable information about the development of these extinct groups. Here we summarize the current knowledge on fossil ontogenies of amphibians, their potential and limitations for relationship assessments, and discuss the insights they have provided for our understanding of the anatomy, life history, and ecology of extinct amphibians.
灭绝分类单元的个体发育系列极为罕见，而且即使保存下来，也往往不完整，难以解释。然而，两栖动物的化石记录中包含了大量保存完好的有尾类和无尾类分类单元的个体发育序列，这些序列为这些已灭绝类群的发育提供了有价值的信息。在这里，我们总结了关于两栖动物化石个体发育的现有知识，讨论了它们在评估亲缘关系方面的潜力和局限性，并探讨了它们为我们理解已灭绝两栖动物的解剖结构、生活史和生态学所提供的认识。
