Morphological studies on the mouth cavity of urodeles. IV. The teeth of the upper jaw and the palate in Necturus maculosus (Rafinesque) (Proteidae: Amphibia).

Adults of the neotenic (paedomorph) Necturus maculosus possess in the upper jaw and the palate rather uniform, conical, monocuspid teeth arranged in a single line ("Zahnzeile"; monostichous pattern) and showing a broad dividing zone, which separates the pedicel and the distal crown. This zone consists of globular and fibrous material obviously mineralized. Both premaxillaries are provided with teeth by one continuous dental lamina, whereas the vomer and palatopterygoid are accompanied by two dental laminae on each side of the palate. The results are compared to the conditions observed in other larval, neotenic, and metamorphosed Urodela.