ABSTRACT
Amphibian development and reproduction is distinguished by a great variety of breeding, fertilization, and developmental modes, as well as differences in the degree of parental care and the use of aquatic or terrestrial habitats for reproduction. Because the ecology of amphibian reproduction is described in detail in several books and articles, among which that of Duellman and Trueb (1986) summarizes most of examples, I will focus mainly on early and postembryonic development. Our knowledge of amphibian development is based on detailed studies on only few species belonging to three genera: Rana, Bufo, and Xenopus in particular. Most of our knowledge about molecular and genetic regulation of developmental events comes from extensive studies of only one species, Xenopus laevis. For this reason, and because complicated processes of developmental control are best understood in anurans, the description of development provided in this chapter is based mainly on this amphibian species.
