Blackburn, D.G., H.E. Evans, and L.J. Vitt (1985). The evolution of fetal nutritional adaptations. In: Vertebrate Morphology(H.-R. Duncker and G. Fleischer, eds.). Fortschritte der Zoologie 30: 437-439. Gustav Fischer, Stuttgart.

Viviparous (live-bearing) vertebrates have evolved a variety of specializations by which the nutritional needs of their embryos can be satisfied. The enormous diversity of these adaptations has been well documented in reviews of fish (Amoroso, 1960; Hoard, 1969; Wourms, 1981), amphibians (Wake, 1977, 1980, 1982), reptiles (Weekes, 1935; Bauchot, 1965), and mammals (Mossman, 1937; Wimsatt, 1962; Luckett, 1977). This paper is a preliminary attempt to examine these adaptations from an evolutionary standpoint. We shall summarize evidence that strong evolutionary convergence in fetal nutritional adaptations has occurred frequently in viviparous vertebrates. Hypothetical explanations for the observed trends are also suggested.

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