Lanterna Rally

Author: Th Mortensen

Publisher:

Published: 2015-07-21

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 9781331926467

Excerpt from Studies of the Development and Larval Forms of Echinoderms Ever since Joh. Muller about seventy years ago published his celebrated studies on the Echinoderm larvae, showing such unexpected richness of forms to exist among them and making known in the main features their wonderful metamorphosis, those larvae have been among the favourite objects of zoological research. The study of the larval forms themselves, the differentiation of the original simple larval type into the many highly specialized or even quite extreme forms (e.g. Auricularia nudibranchiata or Echinopluteus transversus), tracing the morphological transformation of the different parts of the larval body (so masterly done already by Joh. Muller) or of the supporting skeleton makes in itself quite a fascinating subject. The metamorphosis of the bilateral, free-swimming larva into the radial, more or less sedentary, adult - a metamorphosis no less striking than that of a caterpillar into a butterfly (indeed, the Kchinoderm metamorphosis has been characterized as the most remarkable ontogenetic change in the animal kingdom) - presents a number of interesting problems. Then the Echinoderm larvae have proved to be exceptionally good objects for experimental embryological studies, for experimental hybridization and for heredity studies. No wonder that an extensive litterature has arisen on forms presenting so many points of interest. The significance of the pelagic larvae for the study of geographical distribution was pointed out in the author's work ..Die Echinodermenlarven der Plankton-Expedition" (1898. p. 108), and this was in the author's mind when, speaking of the relation between the East African and the West Indian Echinoid fauna), the desirability of studying the development of the forms common to both regions, as, upon the whole, that of tropical Echinoderms in general, was emphasized, this being almost a terra incognita, an ample field of most promising research." About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."