Lateralization of brain and behaviour is now considered a common feature for all vertebrates, from agnathans and fish to birds and mammals. An important place in this field of research is occupied by amphibians and reptiles - the key classes to understand evolution of lateralization of behaviour and its relations to structure and development. This special issue of Lateralitycomprises a collection of papers, presented at the International Symposium on Behavioural and Morphological Asymmetries in Amphibians and Reptiles - the first of its kind. This is the first attempt to integrate and overview the works in the young field of study of lateralization in herpetological subjects, which is only about five years old. The issue is focused on amphibians (as reptiles are less involved so far) and specifically on the relations of behavioural and morphological directional asymmetries. It might serve as a starting point for future meetings and raise a number of evolutionary and developmental questions, directing the ways of prospective research. The issue consists of six review and original papers written by invited experts in the field. It provides references to almost all the available literature on the subject. Being a 'state-of-the-art' book, the issue is suitable for both advanced students and researchers specializing in behavioural sciences, neuroscience, developmental biology and morphology, who might wish to join the study of asymmetry in lower tetrapods for deeper insights into its evolution, development and function.ons, directing the ways of prospective research. The issue consists of six review and original papers written by invited experts in the field. It provides references to almost all the available literature on the subject. Being a 'state-of-the-art' book, the issue is suitable for both advanced students and researchers specializing in behavioural sciences, neuroscience, developmental biology and morphology, who might wish to join the study of asymmetry in lower tetrapods for deeper insights into its evolution, development and function.

This volume grew out of the 2nd International Symposium on Behavioral and Morphological Asymmetries, which took place in St. Petersburg (Russia) in September 2004 at the St. Petersburg State University under the patronage of the St. Petersburg Society of Naturalists. The Symposium is the descendant of a satellite event with a similar name of the 4th World Congress of Herpetology (December, 2001, Bentota, Sri Lanka). While the 1st Symposium (see special issue number 3 for 2002 of the journal, Laterality) covered only asymmetries observed in amphibians and reptiles, the second one had a broader scope. Three years passed since the Sri Lanka meeting and there was sustained and increasing interest in vertebrate lateralization in the scientific community, especially in lower vertebrates, or at least, in nonmammalian models. This supported not only by the collection of talks at the Symposium, but also by current publications in international periodicals. Talks here were substantially biased towards the lower vertebrates and birds, while reptiles remained to be studied in more detail. Two important rationales were considered for the Symposium and the volume, which you have in hand. The first was to bring together topics and specialists representing different branches of the relatively broad field of research of animal asymmetries. The contributions focused on three main subjects: (1) development of structural and functional asymmetries constituted; (2) evolution and adaptation; and (3) function. Aiming for a broader range of topics, the Symposium may still show the current perspective. The increasing number of contributors (twice as many as at the Sri Lanka meeting) give at least a hope that it was indeed so. We, however, further invited authors, who although not present at the meeting itself, nevertheless could contribute to the book to finalize its shape. The other purpose of this volume is to expose Western scientists to Eastern thoughts regarding laterality, and vice versa. We aimed also to help Russian scientists with limited resources and access to the international journals the chance to publish in the Western literature. It seemed to us that this is a fine and perfectly acceptable approach, which on the other hand explains some of the unevenness in the quality and the style of the different manuscripts. Taken together, these fourteen Chapters, we believe, display a variety of the most interesting and intriguing topics within the broad field of animal lateralization, showing the perspectives of its developments. Far from complete, the volume nevertheless is a state-of-the-art book, which complements a bulk of recent literature on genetics and developmental studies of asymmetries of the heart and other inner organs, interhemispheric specialization in human subjects, and fluctuating morphological asymmetry in animals.

This volume grew out of the 2nd International Symposium on Behavioral and Morphological Asymmetries, which took place in St. Petersburg (Russia) in September 2004 at the St. Petersburg State University under the patronage of the St. Petersburg Society of Naturalists. The Symposium is the descendant of a satellite event with a similar name of the 4t

This book proposes a new way to think about evolution. The author carefully brings together evidence from diverse fields of science. In the process, he bridges the gaps between many different--and usually seen as conflicting--ideas to present one integrative theory named ONCE, which stands for Organic Nonoptimal Constrained Evolution. The author argues that evolution is mainly driven by the behavioral choices and persistence of organisms themselves, in a process in which Darwinian natural selection is mainly a secondary--but still crucial--evolutionary player. Within ONCE, evolution is therefore generally made of mistakes and mismatches and trial-and-error situations, and is not a process where organisms engage in an incessant, suffocating struggle in which they can't thrive if they are not optimally adapted to their habitats and the external environment. Therefore, this unifying view incorporates a more comprehensive view of the diversity and complexity of life by stressing that organisms are not merely passive evolutionary players under the rule of external factors. This insightful and well-reasoned argument is based on numerous fascinating case studies from a wide range of organisms, including bacteria, plants, insects and diverse examples from the evolution of our own species. The book has an appeal to researchers, students, teachers, and those with an interest in the history and philosophy of science, as well as to the broader public, as it brings life back into biology by emphasizing that organisms, including humans, are the key active players in evolution and thus in the future of life on this wonderful planet.

As scientific analysis of testable hypotheses has replaced the speculative approach to study of bone disease in recent and fossil amphibians and reptiles, the field has advanced from simply reporting observations to analyzing their implications. This process is predicated upon a reproducible data base which explains/diagnoses the nature of bony alterations and a secure review of the literature. Thereby hangs the rub. The herpetological literature are difficult to access (let alone read) and are scattered through many prominent and eclectic journals and in the lay literature. While older diagnoses often have not stood the test of time, the clarity of report descriptions usually allows confident identification of the underlying pathology.