Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 9, 2026

Understanding Cerebellar Pattern Formation
Published on: November 1, 2007
Pigment pattern formation in larval ambystomatid salamanders: Ambystoma tigrinum tigrinum
1Department of Zoology, Uppsala University, Box 561, S-751 22 Uppsala, Sweden.
Abstract:
We have begun a comparative study of pigment patterns and their mechanisms of formation in ambystomatid salamanders in an attempt to elucidate the evolution of these traits in this family. In Ambystoma t. tigrinum, the migration of the prospective pigment cells was followed by using scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy combined with markers (dopa incubation for detecting melanophores, ammonia-induced pterin fluorescence for detecting xanthophores). The pigment pattern resulting from the cell migration shares features both with the alternating vertical xanthophore and melanophore bars of A. mexicanum and the horizontal stripes of certain salamandrids and ambystomatids. The pigment pattern of A. t. tigrinum is interpreted here as an intermediate evolutionary step between a primitive horizontal stripe pattern and a derived vertical bar pattern. The initiation of pigment pattern formation resembles the situation in A. mexicanum, probably reflecting the close phylogenetic relationship between the two taxa.
More Related Videos
05:45Author Spotlight: Exploring Regeneration in Axolotls Through Insights in Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms, Bone Healing, and Implications for Human Therapies
Published on: April 12, 2024
10:07Isolation of Giant Lampbrush Chromosomes from Living Oocytes of Frogs and Salamanders
Published on: December 5, 2016
Related Concept Videos
Pigmentation
Melanin occurs in two primary forms: eumelanin that provides black and brown pigment and pheomelanin that provides red color. Dark-skinned individuals produce more melanin than those with pale...
Fixed Action Patterns
Patterns of Fever
Formation of Species
Solution Formation
This selective...
Standard Enthalpy of Formation