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Embryonic Staging Table For A Direct- Developing Salamander, Plethodon Cinereus (Plethodontidae), Ryan Kerney

Ryan Kerney

This work presents a refined staging table for the direct-developing red-backed salamander Plethodon cinereus, which is based on the incom- plete staging system of James Norman Dent (J Morphol 1942; 71:577– 601). This common species from eastern North America is a member of the species-rich lungless salamander family Plethodontidae. The stag- ing table presented here covers several stages omitted by Dent and reveals novel developmental features of P. cinereus embryos. These include putative Leydig cells and open gill clefts, which are found in lar- vae of metamorphosing species but were previously reported as absent in direct-developing Plethodon. Other features found …