A case of color aberration in a fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra) larva

Color aberrations in salamanders are caused by defective chromatophores or by disrupted synthesis of the pigments, and have been previously reported in Europe. In this paper we report the first case of leucism in a fire salamander larva from a cave-dwelling population in Romania. The leucistic larva was larger and heavier compared to the other larvae from the same breeding habitat.

Histogenetic and Organogenetic Processes in the Development of Specific Characters in some South African Tadpoles1

Ever since it was discovered that embryonic inductions can occur even where the inductor and the reacting tissues belong to different species of animals, it has been accepted that the specific nature of the reaction depends mainly on the properties of the reacting cells and not on the properties of the inductor. The embryonic cells appear to have only a limited set of possible reactions, determined by the genotype, whereas the inducing factors in different animals seem to be very similar and readily interchangeable. So the tissues of a species of salamander not normally possessing a balancer cannot develop one even if transplanted to another species which normally has that organ (Mangold, 1931; Rotmann, 1935a). Ectoderm of a frog embryo transplanted to the oral region of a salamander embryo will develop mouth parts, but these will be the mouth parts of a frog larva, with horny jaws and horny teeth, and not those of a salamander larva (Spemann & Schotté, 1932; Spemann, 1938).