Morphological Studies on the Mouth Cavity of Urodeles

Abstract

Adults of the neotenic (paedomorph) N. maculosus possess in the upper jaw and the palate rather uniform, conical, monocuspid teeth arranged in a single line ("Zahnzeile"; monostichous pattern) and showing a broad dividing zone, which separates the pedicel and the distal crown. This zone consists of globular and fibrous material obviously mineralized. Both premaxillaries are provided with teeth by 1 continuous dental lamina; the vomer and palatopterygoid are accompanied by 2 dental laminae on each side of the palate. The results are compared to the conditions observed in other larval, neotenic and metamorphosed Urodela.