Dawley E M
Department of Biology, Ursinus College, Collegeville, Pennsylvania 19426, USA.
Microsc Res Tech. 1998 Jun 15;41(6):506-18. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0029(19980615)41:6<506::AID-JEMT6>3.0.CO;2-K.
Differences in the sizes of sensory and neural structures are used as an indication of differences in the function of those structures. Large VNOs often are interpreted to mean that this sense is particularly important in the life history of the animal. They also are assumed to be associated with more primitive animals. I examined VNO sizes across mammalian, reptilian, and amphibian lineages while attempting to account for total body size, because VNO and total body sizes are related. Most descriptions of VNO size and development are not quantified and often ambiguous. Large VNOs in a lineage should not be interpreted necessarily as primitive. Comparisons across smaller taxonomic ranges are easier to interpret. Plethodontid salamanders are a diverse set of species for which VNO descriptions show trends in size associated with habitat, sex, and season. Semiaquatic species tend to have proportionately larger VNOs than terrestrial species, males have larger organs than females, and VNOs can show increases and decreases in size that may be associated with seasonal activities. Salamanders may use their VNOs to locate and identify mates, as part of the courtship sequences, or to identify and assess neighboring territory holders.
感觉和神经结构大小的差异被用作这些结构功能差异的一个指标。大型的犁鼻器通常被解释为意味着这种感觉在动物的生活史中特别重要。它们也被认为与更原始的动物有关。我研究了哺乳动物、爬行动物和两栖动物谱系中的犁鼻器大小，同时试图考虑总体身体大小，因为犁鼻器大小和总体身体大小是相关的。大多数关于犁鼻器大小和发育的描述没有量化，而且常常含糊不清。一个谱系中的大型犁鼻器不一定应被解释为原始的。在较小的分类范围内进行比较更容易解释。无肺螈科蝾螈是一组多样的物种，对于它们，犁鼻器的描述显示出与栖息地、性别和季节相关的大小趋势。半水栖物种往往比陆栖物种有相对更大的犁鼻器，雄性的器官比雌性的大，并且犁鼻器的大小可能会随着季节性活动而增大或减小。蝾螈可能利用它们的犁鼻器来定位和识别配偶，作为求偶序列的一部分，或者识别和评估相邻领地的占有者。
