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Urogenital morphology of dipnoans, with comparisons to other fishes and to amphibians
Author(s) -
Wake Marvalee H.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
journal of morphology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.652
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1097-4687
pISSN - 0362-2525
DOI - 10.1002/jmor.1051900414
Subject(s) - biology , synapomorphy , morphology (biology) , genitourinary system , extant taxon , anatomy , zoology , evolutionary biology , phylogenetics , genetics , clade , gene
The morphology of the urogenital system of extant dipnoans is compared among the three genera, and to that of other fishes and amphibians. Analysis is based on dissections, sectioned material, and the literature. Urogenital system morphology provides no support for the hypothesis of a sister‐group relationship between dipnoans and amphibians, for virtually all shared characters are primitive, and most characters shared with other fishes are also primitive. Urogenital morphology is useful at the familial level of analysis, however, and synapomorphies support the inclusion of Lepidosiren and Protopterus in the family Lepidosirenidae separate from Neoceratodus of the family Ceratodontidae.