Two generations of the tongue and gustatory organs in the development of Hynobius dunni Tago.

In the development of Hynobius dunni there are two consecutive generations of the tongue and two generations of gustatory organs (taste buds and taste disks). The anlage of the developing secondary tongue appears just in front of the free ending of the primary tongue beginning at the larval developmental stage 62. From stage 67, a gradual reduction in the anterior part of the gill skeleton that supports the primary tongue occurs as the developing secondary tongue replaces the primary one. The lining of the entire oropharyngeal cavity of larvae contains only gustatory organs of the taste bud (TB) type. In younger larvae, the sensory area of a TB has a diameter of between 10 and 13 microm, while in older larvae, TBs reach 16-18 microm in diameter. After metamorphosis, some gustatory organs in the secondary tongue with a sensory area of 26-36 microm in diameter appear. In older animals they may reach as much as 56-71 microm. In other regions of the oropharyngeal epithelium than the tongue, these organs have an ellipsoid shape with a major axis of about 50 microm. On the basis of the cytomorphological criteria established previously, these organs were designated as taste disks. Thus, the presence of two generations of gustatory organs is characteristic of some urodeles, as well as frogs.