The amphibian ear /

Wever, author of three previous books and more than 200 papers on vertebrate ears and hearing, has produced another outstanding work. This volume parallels and complements his book The Reptile Ear (CH, Jun '79) and provides its own wealth of detailed data on frogs, salamanders, and caecilians, and on general evolutionary relationships of amphibian ears. A glossary, list of references, and index accompany the 20 chapters, which are organized into five major sections. Part 1 discusses amphibian characteristics, origin and classification, experimental methods, and ear anatomy. Part 2 provides taxonomically ordered discussions of anurans. Urodeles and caecilians are focal points of Parts 3 and 4. Parts 2 and 3 start with general skull and ear structures, auditory receptor organs, and pathways for sound transmission. Subsequently, focus is on family-level conditions with frequent group-to-group comparisons. Part 4 coverage is similar except for sequence. Part 5 is summary in nature and issues a challenge to traditional views on origins of amphibian and amniote ears. Numerous black-and-white line drawings, graphs, and tables. A superb acquisition for libraries serving upper-division undergraduate and graduate students in zoology.-E.D. Keiser, University of Mississippi