Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy: A Lab Manual

This laboratory manual is the culmination of 20+ years of teaching Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy at the undergraduate level. I simply felt that it was time to develop a lab manual that incorporated all the material I wanted my students to learn into one book without piecemealing sources, adding missing details, or skipping excessive material that was beyond the scope of an introductory comparative course. As it is, if it is all covered fully, this manual contains a large volume of material for the student to learn, and the instructor may choose to eliminate some areas of coverage at the organism and/or system level. I laid this manual out in taxonomic order, ranging from basal protochordates or invertebrate chordates to the mammal. Each chapter is organized by anatomical system and includes general descriptive external anatomy and internal systems. Most of the chapters include coverage of the skeletal, muscular, digestive, and urogenital system, with greatest detail placed on the anatomy of the shark, salamander, and cat as these are the taxa most commonly dissected in a comparative course. Vertebrate taxa such as the perch, bullfrog, and turtle are included due to specializations of one or more of their anatomical systems: for example, the bird is included due to its many unique adaptations for flight. A series of exercises follow each chapter that are intended to help the student develop a greater familiarity of the anatomical systems across the vertebrate classes. In conjunction with a good lecture text and the abundance of excellent material available through internet sources, the comparative anatomy student should be able to clearly visualize the evolutionary development and modifications in form and function across the vertebrate taxa using specimens representing the major classes.