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From: Q2813@pucc.Princeton.EDU (Creative Business Decisions)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Allometry (was Ev. by Dup. & Div.)
Message-ID: <3598@pucc.Princeton.EDU>
Date: Thu, 15-Oct-87 13:47:49 EDT
Article-I.D.: pucc.3598
Posted: Thu Oct 15 13:47:49 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 17-Oct-87 09:39:18 EDT
References: <369@prlb2.UUCP>
Reply-To: Q2813@pucc.Princeton.EDU
Organization: Princeton University, NJ
Lines: 30
Disclaimer: Author bears full responsibility for contents of this article


Christian Ronse writes:
 
>I have read that the paleontologist W.K. Gregory proposed in 1935 (Quart. Rev.
>Biol. 10) that a frequent occurrence in evolution is the sudden replication of
>an existing body part followed by a subsequent elaboration and divergence of
>function of the two parts. Is this suggestion verified?
 
The fossil record seems to indicate this, but can't _prove_ it.  Recent
studies with fruit flies also support the idea.  Sorry, no references;
this is the word from my professors.  Allometry is the name I know for
this subject.
 
>I am particularly interested in the case of the evolution of the human (or
>simply primate) brain. Such a mechanism has been invoked to explain the
>multiplicity of visual areas in the primate occipital lobe (Allman, 1977), and
>the similarity between the perception of short-range movement and stereopsis
>(Anstis, 1970).
 
>Any pointer to serious articles or books appreciated.
 
Use "allometry" as a keyword when searching through publication
permutation indices.  A classic "must read" on the topic is
 
D'Arcy Thompson, Sir Wentworth;  _On_Growth_and_Form_;
ed. J.T. Bonner;  1961;  Princeton University Press.
 
This book did for allometry what Darwin's _Origin_of_the_Species_
did for evolution.  It is also well written and enjoyable.
 
-Una