Oviductal retention of developing embryos, with provision for maternal nutrition
after yolk is exhausted (viviparity) and maintenance through metamorphosis, has evolved independently
in each of the three living orders of amphibians, the Anura (frogs and toads), the Urodela
(salamanders and newts), and the Gymnophiona (caecilians). In anurans and urodeles obligate viviparity
is very rare (less than 1% of species); a few additional species retain the developing young, but
nutrition is yolk-dependent (ovoviviparity) and, at least in salamanders, the young may be born before
metamorphosis is complete. However, in caecilians probably the majority of the approximately
170 species are viviparous, and none are ovoviviparous. All of the amphibians that retain their young
oviductally practice internal fertilization; the mechanism is cloaca1 apposition in frogs, spermatophore
reception in salamanders, and intromission in caecilians. Internal fertilization is a necessary
but not sufficient exaptation (sensu Gould and Vrba: Paleobiology 8:4-15, ’82) for viviparity. The salamanders
and all but one of the frogs that are oviductal developers live at high altitudes and are
subject to rigorous climatic variables; hence, it has been suggested that cold might be a “selection
pressure” for the evolution of egg retention. However, one frog and all the live-bearing caecilians are
tropical low to middle elevation inhabitants, so factors other than cold are implicated in the evolution
of live-bearing. Viviparity might facilitate life in a rigorous environment, but likely is not “caused
by such an existence. o 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.